As part of its desire to tackle the issue of unemployment in Nigeria, the Ladies of St. Mulumba, VGC Sub Council Lekki II, Lagos State has organised an employability seminar for the youths in different parishes under the sub council.
Speaking at the seminar in Lagos recently with the theme; ‘The Hiring Process: Things You Should Know’, the President, Ladies of St Mulumba, VGC Sub Council Lekki II, Lady Nnenne Ukairo, said the seminar was focused on hiring process such as tips to write good curriculum vitae and tips for successful interview.
“The key focus of the seminar is that we actually want to assist the youths of Nigeria, (graduates and the unemployed) who have been shut out of the hiring process due to poorly-presented Curriculum Vitae. We are aware that in Nigeria, there are many qualified youths seeking for jobs, but are not well aware that your Curriculum Vitae is one of the very important steps in the employment process.”
“You must have a well-written curriculum Vitae expressing and defining you and your qualification before a recruiting company or Employer can move to the next step of inviting you for an interview.”
She explained that after the seminar the youths would be better positioned to write good curriculum vitae that would earn interview invitations, and ultimately secure jobs.
According to Lady Ukairo, the knighthood embarks on charity initiatives such as visiting the hospitals, prisons, adding that this seminar is one of the charity activities of the knighthood “and I think at this time in Nigeria, it is very necessary to educate and assist the youths on the subject with the view to positioning them for employment.”
She added: “This is one of our charity activities. The next charity activity might not focus on this, it might focus on another initiative. For the youths of Nigeria, we have had a lot of programmes ranging from pro-life, to instill morality and the sanctity of life. We have also had skills acquisition programmes in other parts of the country.”
“Next empowerment programme for our Sub-Council will be a follow-up on this training and another area of need, entrepreneurship. Today, we are focusing on academics for those who wish to secure paid employment having successfully acquired educational qualifications”
Also speaking at the event, the Vice-President, Ladies of St. Mulumba, VGC Sub Council Lekki II, Mrs. Theresa Chiejina, noted that the seminar provides an opportunity for members of the knighthood to contribute their time and talent to youth development in the country.
She further stated that unemployment is one of the challenges facing the youths in the country, adding that the seminar is aimed at positioning the youths on how to secure job opportunities, while also building their employability skills.
“Some of the youths attend interviews, but they are not well equipped so they have lost courage on how to properly present themselves; they are not aware of what the employer is looking for or what is expected of them.”
“But with this training, we can help them to get focused. So if you know that you are qualified for a job, the way you approach it is different. And if you are not qualified, you will be able to know what other skills required of you, then you can go and fortify yourselves,” Chiejina added.