ACCA Trains NYSC Members on Employability Strategies
Obinna Chima The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) recently organised an employability seminar aimed at grooming professionals and encouraging entrepreneurial skills among members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos state.
The exercise was aimed at equipping the NYSC members with skills to make them easily employable in post-service year.
Speaking at the event, the Country Head, ACCA, Mrs. Toyin Ademola explained that the exercise was part of the association’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) targeted at reducing the unemployment challenge facing graduates in the country.
“One of the key things we have noticed as a major hindrance to graduates not getting jobs, is because they are unemployable and not because they are no jobs. When we say employability, it is not because these graduates are not qualified, but because they lack some the basic qualities that appeals to any employer,” She added.
She urged the NYSC members to be always prepared for interview opportunities.
“When you go for an interview, it is an opportunity for you to sell yourself, and there is nobody else that can sell you than you. So, even if it is your uncle or the president that recommended you o that employer, you have to be properly prepared for the interview,” Ademola told the gathering of over 3,000 NYSC members.
She advised the graduates to be determined, focused and to have the vision of what they want to achieve in life.
“Whether you are working for yourself or for an organisation, be energetic and always go the extra mile. Whenever you are selling yourself, you are selling your idea, your intelligence and your integrity. You must be confident about your ideas,” she added.Speaking further on the partnership with NYSC, Ademola explained that “one of the things we have set out to do for the corp members is to send their CVs to our partner recruitment agencies who will then advice the graduates on how best to draft CVs and also help them secure job interviews.”
She argued that efforts by ACCA to address the unemployment challenge in the country was yielding result.
“I think our effort has contributed immensely to the employability ratio of graduates, though it might take a little longer before the overall impact becomes very visible. Remember we are in a country of over 170 million people that produces an estimate of 100,000 graduates annually, and there is no way we can get in touch with every single graduate,” she said.
In her presentation, the Chief Executive Officer, Human Capital Development Consultants, Mrs. Bisola Longe, pointed out that the first step to success is for someone to have a vision of what he or she wants to be in life.
“You must know where you are going. The people that succeed most in life create their own life. So, the best way for you to predict your future is to create it. You must have the right attitude,” Longe advised.