To develop an education system that is relevant to national development and industrial growth, private sector operators have been advised to support government’s efforts to boost career awareness among secondary school students.
The Permanent Secretary/Tutor General, Lagos State Education District Six, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Onadipe said this at Oregun Junior High School, Lagos recently during the maiden career guidance workshop organised by Promasidor Nigeria Limited.
Speaking at the event tagged ‘Harness Your Dream’, which was facilitated by staff of Promasidor, Onadipe called for a public-private sector partnership in preparing secondary school students for the future.
“I am very excited about the initiative. I am glad to know that a corporate organisation like Promasidor is thinking in this direction. We need to nurture the kids as they grow. It is about catching them young. When we help them to nurture their career interests, they grow up with a clear picture of what they want to do. I am so happy with Promasidor for this noble idea, and I pray that other companies will do a similar thing. The participants are currently in junior secondary three. What this means is that they already know exactly the subjects they will focus on in their senior classes.â€
On his part, the Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anders Einarsson, said the programme would help the students to marry their passion and talents to make the right choice, adding that the initiative targets JS3 students because of the sensitive nature of the class.
Einarsson, who was represented by the company’s Head of Legal/PR, Mr. Andrew Enahoro said: “It is a catch-them-young scheme. This implies that the young people who go through the process will have the rare opportunity of subjecting their options to a clinical test before they start learning the essential subjects required to be the best in their chosen professions.
“The programme is an interface between students and experts who have excelled tremendously in their careers, each giving the students hands-on experience. This is worthwhile at a time when the gap between theory and practice is widening. This will also create an opportunity for mentorship that will last for a lifetime.â€
Einarsson disclosed that the programme is among Promasidor’s efforts to impart directly on children. Describing it as a pilot edition, he said the company is committed to its success as a pan-Nigerian forum.
The Principal of the school, Mrs. Adenike Oresanya, said the students left the workshop more enlightened about their career options. She was particularly happy with emerging careers such as ICT, which the students were exposed to.
Other careers that featured during the ‘Harness Your Dream’ session were accounting (business financing and management), digital marketing, human resource management (personnel management and talent acquisition), and business management and entrepreneurship.
A corporate social responsibility of Promasidor Nigeria, the primary objective of the programme is to help public school students understand varieties of career options and guide them along their career paths with the company’s staff members serving as resource persons.
