The Director, Centre of Entrepreneurial Studies (CENTS), Professor Babatunde Adewunmi has admonished the graduating set of different Colleges in the University to package themselves well for profitable employment.
Professor Adewunmi who disclosed this, at the CENTS programme titled, “Branding FUNAAB Graduates for Employment and Marketability”, he noted that the programme was special as it would prepare the graduates for employability so that they would continue to portray the good image of the University. According to him, the programme would enlighten the students on how to prepare a good Curriculum Vitae and comportment at interview sessions which would spur employers to take positive actions on such applicants.
He stressed that branding oneself was essential for lucrative employment, charging the students to package themselves well for employability and marketability. The Director noted that striving to be the best in whatever one does should be paramount.
In his Welcome Address, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kolawole Salako encouraged the students to take advantage of the internet to access information on what was relevant to their disciplines, while he cautioned them on spending too much time on the social media.
Professor Salako stated that part of the strength of the University lies in the graduates it produced, advising the students to be of good character as they have become FUNAAB ambassadors. He, however, counselled the graduates to pay more attention to little details so as to become successful in their chosen endeavours.
While giving the first Lecture titled, “Branding and Marketing Yourself for Employability”, the Director, Entrepreneurial Centre, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Dr. Ayo Ajayi described employability as the possession of relevant knowledge, skills and other attributes that facilitate the gaining and maintaining of worthwhile employment.
Dr. Ajayi who is also an Alexander Von Humboldt Scholar, admonished the students to chart a course for their self-development today so as to become successful persons in life, noting that they should desist from troubling themselves with other people’s sudden successes.
In the second slide presentation titled, “Preparation of CV for Job Interviews”, the Head, Directorate of Public Relations (DPR), Dr. (Mrs.) Linda Onwuka distinguished the Curriculum Vitae (CV) from Resumes saying that CVs have more detailed information than Resumes.
The immediate past Acting Registrar of the University charged the graduates to market their skills and experience in a way that would get the employers’ attention, adding that they should make their CV stand-out from the crowd by structuring it properly.
She advised the students to be honest and resist all urge to falsify information in their CVs, noting that the prepared CV must look good visually and be easy to follow. According to her, “Triple check your CV for errors, proof read it very well as mistakes in the CV could seriously damage your job hunting chances”. She, therefore, charged them not to forget to sign the CV when they have been convinced it is error-free.
In a separate lecture titled, “Employability Indices: Employers’ Expectations”, a former Director, Technological Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, Engr. Oluwafemi Oduwole stated that capacity in addition to character are both needed to attain success, noting that one needs capacity but character is needed to move forward.
Engr. Oduwole, however, admonished the students to believe in themselves as that was the key to being successful.
The Dean, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), Professor Adewale Dipeolu in his lecture titled, “Mannerisms at Job Interviews”, took the students on the type of dress to wear to an interview session which should be strictly official for both men and ladies, adding that their sitting posture must be upright.
Professor Dipeolu who was the immediate past Director of the Centre, noted the simple mistakes interviewees make at interview sessions by taking one’s seat before being asked to do so. According to him, “Allow the interviewers to ask you to sit before you sit”.
In a related development, the pioneer Director of the Centre, Professor Olufemi Onifade, while delivering the lecture titled, “Entrepreneurial Skills for Profitable Employment”, encouraged the students to acquire relevant skills in their quest for gainful employment.
The Head of Department, Business Administration, Babcock University, Ilishan, Ogun State, Professor Olalekan Asikhia who is also a foremost Theatre Arts Practitioner in Nigeria delivered a lecture on Intellectual Property and Employability.
The Highpoint of the evnw the interactive sessions whereby the students asked mind-boggling questions from the facilitators.
Present at the Programme were the Dean, College of Engineering (COLENG), Professor Johnson Adewunmi; Dean, Student Affairs, Professor Babatunde Idowu and the Director, Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Developent and Sustainable Environment (CEADESE), Professor Olukayode Akinyemi.
Others were Professor Emmanuel Ajisegiri; the immediate Past Director, FUNAAB Conservices Limited (FUCONS); Professor Adeyemi Bamgbose and Dr. (Mrs.) Olajumoke Adewunmi as well as several graduating FUNAAB students.
