By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Sumbrungu (U/E), April 4, GNA – The Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) in the Upper East Region has held seminars aimed at empowering its students with employable skills to take advantage of job opportunities and to fit well into the job market.
The seminars, which were organised by the Industrial Liaison Office and Job Placement Centre (ILO&JPC) of BTU, with funding support from Education Collaborative (EduColab), an Initiative led by the Ashesi University, were intended to create a common platform for Industry Players to share their experiences and the necessary skills required for the job market to the students.
It was also meant to address one of the major obstacles facing tertiary students in the country, lack of appropriate skills to meet the job market when they graduate, thereby worsening the unemployment situation in the country.
Addressing students at one of the seminars, Mr Cudjoe Alfred, a Laboratory Scientist at the Upper East Regional Hospital, admonished the students not to only depend on the acquisition of one employable skill, but to focus on acquiring additional employable skills to widen their employment opportunities.
“If you acquire more than one skill the possibility of you getting a job in the job market will be higher than someone who has just acquired only one job skill. I, therefore, want to encourage you to try and learn more employable skills,” he stressed.
He entreated the students to be conscious of time management and nurture in them “emotional intelligence” and stressed that most workers particularly in the private sectors lose their jobs due to poor attitude towards clients and not being time conscious.
Ms Ellen Gandaa, the Chief Executive Officer of Comme Ci Come Ca Hotel in Bolgatanga, advised the students to learn how to endure and also be prepared to adapt to any working environment they found themselves.
She told the students especially the Department of Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management (HCIM) students that most hospitality industries had collapsed as a result of a lack of good communication skills of staff towards guests coupled with the poor environment of the facilities.
Mr Alexis Ayamdor, the Sectional Head of the Industrial Liaison Office and Job Placement Centre of BTU, who doubled as the Project Team Leader, explained that the objective of the project was to provide space for the Industry Players and the University to chart the way forward, to ensure positive career progression of students.
He noted that it was also the objective of the project to profile 45 Industry Captains related to BTU fields of study and to help deepen the University’s relations with the industry towards the training of young persons.
He stated that BTU was awarded a grant of 3,000 US dollars to organize a series of employable seminars for students and faculties members with captains from the industry
Professor Joseph K. Laary, the Dean of Students of BTU, warned the students to be mindful of the fact that the mere acquisition of a certificate was not a yardstick to gain employment but their attitude and appealed to the students to nurture in them good character.
The forum which attracted about 700 students drawn from the Departments of Industrial Arts, Medical Laboratory Technology, HCIM, Liberal Studies and Statistics, created a platform for the students to ask a series of questions about employable skills and job market dynamics.
GNA