By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Fidelity Bank Plc, one of the country’s leading financial institutions, is collaborating with JSK Etiquette Consortium to teach contemporary manners and social skills to children in Nigeria with a training programme which held recently at the Fidelity Bank Private Banking office, in Ikoyi, Lagos.
This laudable initiative which is part of the Bank’s Mentorship Program for the Younger Generation, also seeks to enlighten and equip children with the right values at an early age.
Children between the ages of nine to 15 years, were also trained on other soft skills such as communication and collaboration to prepare them for future endeavours.
In his welcome address at the one-day Youth Etiquette Class held in Lagos, the Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo said, “at a time when inappropriate behaviour and manners are threatening to push our core values as a nation to the background, we need to rekindle hope for tomorrow by teaching children basic etiquette while reinforcing what parents may have thought them.”
Mr Okonkwo stated that it was against this background that Fidelity Private Banking came up with the mentorship programme, as the role of children in national development cannot be over-emphasised.
Mrs Janet Adetu, the training facilitator noted that the workshop will not only provide children with requisite social skills to manage difficult situations but also boost their self-confidence.
“We want to build their self-confidence and make sure that our children are prepared to take up leadership opportunities in the near future,” she said.
Mrs Adetu, who is the Chief Executive Officer of JSK Etiquette, a leading etiquette and protocol company in Nigeria, said the essence of the workshop was to teach these children soft skills to enable them thrive in these difficult times.
Interactive teaching techniques that include demonstrations, role plays and questions and answers sessions were used to enhance the learning process during the training session; thus dispelling passivity, stimulating response and animated discussions during the training session.
Since inception in 1996, Fidelity Private Banking, according to the Bank manages wealth for select clients by providing them with innovative financial solutions that will enable them build a strong and enduring foundation for future generations.