Preparation for the Labour Market: Good Grades Are Not Enough

For most young secondary school-leavers and their parents, getting a first class in the university is the best achievement ever. In most homes, this is not even negotiable as it is a trend in the family, right from the father to the youngest. The family of Nigeria’s former finance minister and coordinator of the economy, Mrs Okonjo Iweala come to mind. She went to Harvard and gradated with the best grades and everyone in the house (her four children) followed suit. I also have a friend whose both parents are outstanding chartered accountants; he is also chattered at 20. Definitely, there are all cool stories and sounds so nice in your ears, well even to me too. However, for me there are just some clarifications to be pointed out, a few questions to be asked and a submission to be crafted.

First of all, education is a means to an end. Like I always say, no matter how awesome technology, inventions, etc may be, it remains insignificant if it fails to solve problems. The same thing could be said for education whether formal or informal. Knowledge in itself is not power, the application of it is. If this is taken, then the question is what really matters or perhaps what then is the end? if education is a means. This differs with context. However, in the situation being considered in this write-up, the end actually is competing in the labour market for a source of livelihood, fulfilment, impacting lives etc. What you want to achieve with your education is left to you, however what is common is the struggle we all need to fight in order to be reckoned with or to at least have our own share of what the economy has to offer. Definitely for any battle, struggle or problem to be solved, there are skills required. The skills required for success in the labour market as we call it, have remained what distinguishes a first class in the labour market from the other with a first class in school. It has been said times without number that, networking, communication, personal branding and the likes should be at the disposal of anyone who is competing or operating in the market. Apparently, these skills are also some form of education if you look at it from that point. What this means is that, there will also be different level of competencies (grades) like we have in the academic system for courses taken.

Simply put, success (certificates) here will also be dished out along these grades.

Having known this, wouldn’t you rather prepare for this market by taking up leadership positions in schools, attending events that boost your network and engaging in volunteering activities?

How best have you mastered these skills required to triumph in the labour market? We can help you achieve this even while in school.

2017/2018 PTDF PHD And MSC Overseas And Local Scholarship

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) is a parastatal of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources established by Decree 25 of 1973 for the purpose of developing and promoting petroleum technology and for creating the manpower needs of the oil and gas industry through research and training of Nigerians.
 To ensure a steadfast implementation of this mandate, PTDF is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates for Overseas and in-Country MSc and PhD Scholarships. Awarded
will be granted for studies in the 2016/2017 academic session in the United Kingdom Germany, Australia, USA and France (Grenoble INP) as well as PTDF upgraded Universities in Nigeria.

Small Businesses Done Successfully

As a matter of fact, currently over 100m Nigerians living below poverty line , this makes up about 46% of Nigerians. The situation has been made worse by current administration. However, there is always a life saver and that is helping ourselves with the little we possess.

According to Bill," Demographically, Africa is the world’s youngest continent, and its youth can be the source of a special dynamism". I really do believe in this and explains why I have chosen this path of devoting my time to youth empowerment.

I have discovered that many of us really want to own a very big conglomerate emanating from that fantastic idea that we have inside of us. However, at most times, fund is the main reason these dreams are killed. There are many solutions to funding problem such as getting a loan, pitching to venture capitalists, getting sponsors via competitions organized by the Government such as AsoVilla. 

Most of these methods seem not enough to cater for the large volume of ideas ready to be taken to the next level. This brings us to the next question which is what is the alternative and perhaps a more practical way. The answer to this is the whole essence of this post, continue reading.

Small businesses make up over 70% of business that run the economy in Nigeria and most people who own big businesses started with other small businesses completely different from what they are currently operating. This is usually done to raise funds, create awareness, test the ground, and also to develop practical business skills.

I have done a few small businesses and still working on some too, I will give straight information about Barbing Salon and Keke Napep with pictures. There is also room for live inspection, questions offline and other consulting on what I have done. I also created a new whatsapp group for small businesses too for a few real persons who are interested in doing real life businesses.

Barbing.

Barbing is very lucrative and you start making money right from the day it starts. On the mainland, it is quite cheap to set up. I will keep updating this post as I remember more information from my experience. For now, Items you need are:

1. Rent a very cheap shop, barbing is a service that is not tied to only the rich. Just like food, it is a necessity and not luxury.

2. Clippers Original clippers will cost you about 9,000 for 2 pieces which I recommend.

3. Chairs-

4. Mirrors

5. Sliding Doors

4. Posters

What Makes Me A True Nigerian

Many years ago, as fate will have it, there came a Nation consisting of people of diverse backgrounds and discrepancies.

Since then, many things evolved. Our various cultures have been adulterated, our food types have been replaced with western foods and our music are now old fashioned.

However, something was passed on and for 100 years, it remain unaltered. I have something which am sure my forefathers had and that is my Language. Our numerous unaldulterated languages truly identify us as Nigerians.

In our various localties, We speak them as they were spoken by the people before us. And that is why in Nigeria today, ethnicity remains paramount, not for discrimination but for acknowledgement and ensuring continuity of originality.

This makes me a true Nigerian!

What about you?

Everything You Need To Know About World Bank Paid Internship For Graduates

The World Bank Group Internship offers highly motivated and successful individuals an opportunity to improve their skills while working in a diverse environment. Interns generally find the experience to be rewarding and interesting.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the internship, candidates must possess an undergraduate degree and already be enrolled in a full-time graduate study program (pursuing a Master’s degree or PhD with plans to return to school in a full-time capacity). Generally, successful candidates have completed their first year of graduate studies or are already into their PhD programs.

Interns will gain exposure to the work of the World Bank Group in the hopes that some will be interested in returning to the Bank for a career after completing their studies. The Bank Group pays an hourly salary to all interns and, where applicable, provides an allowance towards travel expenses.

This internship typically seeks candidates in the following fields: economics, finance, human development (public health, education, nutrition, population), social science (anthropology, sociology), agriculture, environment, private sector development, as well as other related fields. Fluency in English is required. Prior relevant work experience, computing skills, as well as knowledge of languages such as French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and Chinese are advantageous.

Internship Benefits

The Bank Group pays an hourly salary to all interns and, where applicable, provides an allowance towards travel expenses. Interns are responsible for their own living accommodations. Most positions are located in Washington, D.C. (some positions are offered in country offices) and are a minimum of four weeks in duration.

The Bank Group’s Internship is offered during two seasons, and applications are accepted during the following periods:

Summer Internship (June–September)

The application period for the Summer Internship is December 1–January 31 each year.

Winter Internship (December–March)

The application period for the Winter Internship is October 1–31. All applications MUST be submitted online. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

 Application Details

The application checklist is meant to facilitate your application experience.

• Ensure that you use either Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Internet Explorer 10 or higher as your browser version.
• Please make sure that you are connected with a reasonable bandwidth of internet connection without any network/firewall restriction.
• You will be asked to register for an account and provide an email address.
• You must complete your application in a single session and will be able to submit it only if you have uploaded all the required documents and answered all the questions (all questions marked with an asterisk-*- are required).
• Please complete the application within 45 minutes to avoid the system timeout.
• Provide the most current contact information.Ensure that you have correctly spelled out your email address, since this will be our main channel of communication with you regarding your candidacy
• Ensure that you have correctly spelled out your email address, since this will be our main channel of communication with you regarding your candidacy.

Remember to enter your complete phone number (country code + city code + number).

Please do not enter any special characters (“-<>&#” etc.) in any of the application fields.  Try not to copy and paste any characters/text from Microsoft Words.

Please attach the following documents (mandatory) before submitting:

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Statement of Interest

Proof of Enrollment in a graduate degree

Note:

 Each file should not exceed 5 MB, and should be in one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, or .pdf

Please make sure that the filenames of the documents that you are attaching do not contain any special characters, such as “-<>&#” etc.  PDF files are the best files to upload.

Once you submit your application, you will not be able to make any further changes/updates

Consulting Or Consultancy

Where we are today

We currently live in a society where words and derivatives are manufactured and coined on a daily basis. The English Language is a very rich one and seems like it gets updated like a computer program. In fact, the most interesting part is its many variants by geographical locations and period.

Consulting and Consultancy is one of such cases where ‘ing” and “ancy” seek to explain one concept in two slightly different dimensions or realms. This is the first stage to solving the rampage-holding confusion which is understanding that there is just  a meaning defined by context the words are being used.

Breaking it down

To start with, consulting means the allocation of businesses objective advice and assistance relating to the management, structure, strategy and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. However, consultancy is the provision of professional services to give professional advice within particular field external organizations and other companies. 

With regards to IT consulting companies and IT consultancy companies, the term consultancy tends to be used more widely outside of the United States... consultancy tends to be used more widely outside of the United States

What next

There is a lot to correct and set straight as regards the brand of an organization. Most Nigerian companies are SMES. SMEs will not have any meaningful evident impact on the economy except there are well packaged to reflect their place in the society. If you offer professional advice and documentations to businesses then you are a consultancy firm, which means also that you provide consultancy to firms and individuals.

References

This dichotomy also happens in our institutions of higher learning where discipline name have a long range of different words referring to a single discipline. Some school say Accounting some say accountancy the same logic applies here and should not cause any interpretation issues.

Activities for the First 5 Years of Your Career

As usual, no long story, no superfluous foreign alignment, no theoretical validations, this is pure yarns for naija youths.

Well, if you never knew, be aware that the most fantastic and wonderful task ever completed or accomplished by you can only be done in the early part of your career. As you go higher, whether you like it or not, things that matter to you change and part of this is a rapid dwindling of the zeal to create an impression. There is a time limit to when you can put in crazy energy and sacrifices to the rudiments or Nitti gritty of your profession.

As you move higher, you will tend to have seen it all and you have more distraction from family. Not only that, your financial responsibility increases, your ego increases and that enthusiasm you used to have as a graduate trainee declines rapidly. There is nothing to worry about if you are still within this ‘enthusiasm rush’ age, just make sure you do the following:

Read anything readable

Look here, at this point there is nothing like reading within your field or discipline after all you are not yet experienced in any field yet. Don’t waste this energy rush, take up any task takeable, read up anything readable and consume anything consumable. You never know when all this will come handy. This was how random knowledge saved me some days ago at the office.

Don’t reject task

If you look at my CV, I wrote “I have been privileged to work and learn in ………”. This is

because you actually learn in some tasks you take part in. Most relevant and career-uplifting tasks that will be assigned to you during your career journey will be beyond your skillset and will usually require extra time at work, research and seeking help from a colleague (within and outside your workplace). Never say this was not stated in my contract or employee letter, take it up, jack up, and attempt to deliver.

Promote your brand

My guy, no time for waiting on the management to recognize you after this much work. Oga, you need to market yourself.  First of all you even need to brand yourself, declare and publicise what you stand for, craft a custom way of handling projects you are a part of. When this is done, you can then consistently be outspoken about your accomplishments. Craft an updated professional profile with tasks completed by you including your inventions and discoveries (Intellectual property) . Brand yourself like Debola Williams.

Learn the politics

Know exactly where to concentrate effort, align yourself properly, never believe only on competence or technical know-how. Identify the caucus and be aware of their interests in order to avoid a conflict. Know who to fight in the public and identify those that do not care about work but loyalty. You have been warned.

Thank you.