Access Bank emerges best in CRS Graduates internship training begins in Jos

Access Bank has been adjudged the best Nigerian company in corporate citizenship in the first ever competitive index on corporate social responsibility in Nigeria, by CSR-in-Action.

In the Corporate Citizenship Index (3C-index) released on recently, a total of 117 private sector companies raked in the report were assessed using six ranking pillars: Human Right, Anti-Corruption, Community Investment, Economic, Labour and Reporting. The indices reflected how companies functioned in these areas of development.

On a scale of 100 Per cent, Access Bank scored 83.3Per cent on Millennium Development Goals focus areas to emerge as the best Nigerian organisation in Corporate Citizenship.

To emerge the best company, Access Bank outperformed Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Exxon Mobil, GT Bank and Procter and Gamble (P&G) in the top 5 category.

In a comment which was a tacit acknowledgement of the bank’s pioneering role in sustainability on the African continent, CSR-in-Action, in a statement, noted that it was no surprised that Access Bank scored in the highest in targeted community investment, especially on MDG focus areas with a score of 83.3%.

Speaking on the bank’s performance, its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe said: “At Access Bank, we have set for ourselves the ambitious target of becoming the world’s most respected African Bank. The Federal Ministry of Finance Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) has commenced a three-day orientation training for interns and firms in Jos, Plateau State capital.

The training, according to the organisers, was meant to enable interns optimise their internship period by developing useful skills and positive work habits, and to provide an opportunity to share experiences with other participants, including firm representatives on opportunities and challenges in the workplace.

The Project Director of GIS, Peter M. Papka, said the scheme trained graduate interns during their internship at the beginning on work etiquette, personal appreciation and development, improving employability skills and how to optimise the internship period. At the end, interns are trained on life after internship, exit strategies and entrepreneurship.

Papka who was represented by Jimoh Folahanmi at the event, said that Nigeria’s education curricula in higher institutions did not provide for the development of workplace skills, adding that largely accounted for graduates unemployment.

In his remark, Chief Executive Officer of Jos Business School, Ezeikel Gomos, frowned at firms and organisations in the state for not joining the scheme, challenging graduates to key in to the programme as a major solution to their unemployment.