Ashesi University mentors students

About thirty corporate institutions and businesses at the weekend opened their doors to students of Ashesi University, under the university's Career Guidance Services.

The third annual career fair aimed to bridge the yawning gap between products of training institutions and the practical demands of the job market.

Among participating institutions were Multimedia Group Limited (MGL), Zenith Bank, Databank Group, Cal Bank, Type, Tigo, SCG, Busy Internet, AABN, and a host of others.

A common theme that ran from one stand to another was for students to go job-hunting with open minds devoid of preconceptions of landing jobs based solely on their courses of study. Such an approach, the students were told, limits their career prospects.

For most of the students, apart from coming into direct contact with players in the real job world, they were also happy the fair exposed them to internship and employment opportunities as some of the participating businesses actually went talent-hunting, convinced that the university's products, given their course modules and corporate culture training, were potential leads for great talents.

According to Mrs. Jane Gyekye, Human Resource and Corporate Affairs Manager of MGL, who led a large theme of senior staff of the company to the fair, the media is saturated from the outlook, however there is usually an acute need for fresh programming and talent, "and there is no better forum to go hunting than a training institution with the apt culture that also understands business."

She explained that a key aptitude in setting high standards at Multimedia is keeping the right people in the right positions, assuring that Multimedia would open its doors to a number of talents it identified during the fair for internship programmes and national service.

Practical world
At the Zenith Bank stand, Frederick Osei Bonsu of the bank's Human Resource Department, counseled students to enter the job market prepared to adapt to situations because that is the reality of the job place.

He said the bank usually would require that job seekers would be armed with at least a good first degree as a basic, emphasizing however that in a world where human resource supply always outweighs job market demands, enterprising and hardworking graduates stand a fairer chance of landing the few vacancies. He urged the students to always do more than minimum requirements.

Mr. George Katako, CEO of SCG Consulting, an accounting, payroll and taxation software developing firm, counseled students that they owed more to society in helping find solutions to problems than seeking fulfillment in money-making.

He said hard work has many divine ways of rewarding the faithful worker, and advised students to give of their best wherever they found themselves.

Mr. Katako said students must explore and experiment with situations to derive real and practical solutions and thereby help break down some societal misconceptions and also bring themselves into reconciliation with the real world of opportunities.

The Assistant Director of Career Services at the Ashesi University, Mrs. Ophelia Sam, was grateful to the institutions that responded to interact with the students and said since the students are being prepared for the job world and entrepreneurship, the practical input of would-be absorbing institutions is always a realistic support.

"We consider the job market as our salesmanship and for us the forum for both students and potential employers is a great learning and networking experience. This is one of many ways, indeed a very practical way of addressing requirements of employers."

Story by Isaac Yeboah