By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of the major highlights of the recently-held annual Career Fair of the Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja was the focus on employability issues and the event afforded participants to learn from experts in the field.
More than 3,000 students and others were present at the university campus in Abuja, with professional career advisors guiding graduates and interns on career strategies, skills development, CV writing techniques, setting up LinkedIn profiles, interview preps, and internship opportunities.
Over 50 organisations including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Providus Bank, Access Bank, Bank of Industry, Huawei Technologies, HP Inc., Interra Networks, Premium Wellness Services, Taj Bank, Polaris Bank, Nigerian Computer Society, Jaiz Bank, Norrenberger, to name a few were present at the event to interview students and alumni for internship and job opportunities on the spot.
The panel discussion featured notable players in the corporate and education sectors such as Dr Lanre Phillips, a seasoned professional currently responsible for managing the education sector for HP Inc. in Central and East Africa; Dr Ogo Ifeoma Akabogu of Bank of Industry; Mr Odinaka Ikejibe, Zonal Head, Business Banking at Access Bank, Abuja; Mrs Nnnena Obeka, seasoned Human Resources practitioner at Golden Penny; Mr Emmanuel Okwara, Jnr, seasoned financial, business and life coach/Country Director for Equiti Nigeria; and Ridwan Ganiy, current Chairman, Professor Ayodele Awojobi Design Competition (PAADC).
One of the participants, Ms Martha Ugwunwa, a 500-level Computer Engineering student, commended Nile University for hosting the Career Fair.
“Listening to the advice and experiences of the panellists as well as interacting with the representatives of the different organizations present was an eye-opening experience that helped me know what to expect in the labour market,” she said.
Explaining the rationale behind the fair, the Vice-Chancellor of Nile University of Nigeria, Prof. Dilli Dogo, said it was to bridge the gap between students, graduates, and employers.
“One of our key objectives at Nile University is employability and this Career Fair typifies our desire to expose our students, partners, and stakeholders to future opportunities.
“We realized that when graduates and interns apply for jobs, they compete against thousands of applicants for the same position. To that effect, we are leveraging our relationships with partner organisations to bring these employers directly to our students and alumni,” the scholar said.
On her part, the Head of Student Services at Nile University, Dr Fausat Aleshinloye, described the Career Fair, currently in its 3rd year, as a “major milestone for us at Nile University because it is the biggest and the first to be organised since we became members of the Honoris United Universities.”
“Employability is a key objective of Honoris, and this is reflected in its vision to continuously invest in reshaping the delivery of education to match the needs of employers against the backdrop of the fourth industrial revolution by preparing the 21st-century African talents for a more digitalized technologically advanced future,” she said.
The Career Fair was organized by the Career Services Centre, one of the only fully functional career services centres in any university in Nigeria.
