By Benjamin Akoto
Sunyani, (Bono), Aug. 18, GNA – Professor Elvis Asare-Bediako, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), has urged graduates to network and remain innovative to acquire gainful employment.
He said: âSecuring employment in todayâs competitive job market requires strategy, planning and networking and not mere luckâ, explaining that the job landscape âis evolving rapidly, with traditional roles fading and new ones emergingâ.
He said the demand for adaptable, entrepreneurial, and digitally literate graduates remained higher for graduates to acquire jobs.
Prof Asare-Bediako gave the advice at the Second Edition of the UENR Alumni Job and Career Fair in Sunyani on the theme: âIgniting Potential: Unlocking Success through Skills, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Networkingâ.
It was aimed at equipping the students and graduates for the evolving and competitive job market. Prof. Asare-Bediako said the transition from academia to employment was increasingly complex and said that was âwinding, meandering, and zigzagging road often uncertain, sometimes discouraging and highly competitiveâ.
He noted that graduates were not only seeking jobs, but also searching for purpose, dignity, and opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities, describing the career fair as more than a routine university event.
He said it was a targeted intervention to tackle the teeming graduate unemployment problem facing the nation. Prof Asare-Bediako said that âsuccess in todayâs unpredictable world is earned through skill development, and not inheritedâ, saying that entrepreneurship had become a necessity, rather than a niche pursuit.
He highlighted the importance of strategic networking, stating that âno one succeeds aloneâ and reaffirmed the universityâs commitment to churn out graduates with visionary, ethical and resilient skills.
Miss Janat Issifu, the Chairperson of the UENR Global Alumni, indicated that the fair reflected the alumniâs vision to empower students and graduates to thrive, innovate, and build sustainable professional networks.
She said that the alumniâs website was being revamped to serve as a central hub for career development, offering job listings, internships, scholarships and downloadable resources as well as a mentorship platform.
Ms Issifu said that the âAlumni Connect Seriesâ , a monthly virtual engagement with industry players, had been launched to expose members to both local and international career opportunities.
Mr James Clarke Hayford, the Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations Officer of the University, advised the students to be proactive, confident, and intentional in their personal development and urged them to believe in their potential, regardless of their background or institutions.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Christian Akorlie