By Matthew Kanu
The University of Makeni Faculty of Commerce and Management organized a one day seminar on Saturday 24th September 2016 in order to prepare final year students of the faculty for the job market.
In an interview, a final year student of the faculty Isha Mariam Kabba said she has learned a lot from the experience of faculty lecturers and guest speakers from business institutions in Makeni City : ”I have learned that there are lot of jobs there but there is no job waiting for us until we apply some amount of creativity as job creators and not job seekers” .
She emphasized that there are lot of issues in their communities on health, agriculture, education , business and many more. “We should look around our communities for issues that are very important . We should come together as students and establish organizations that will address these issues” she noted . Miss Kabba stressed that there are many things she learned during the seminar that are really relevant to her survival after leaving the university.
Like Miss Kabba, Henrietta Kargbo said as an out going student of the university the seminar is very useful for her because she is going to face the world and find a way of contributing to nation building . “To meaningfully contribute to nation building we need to network, or partner with individuals and institutions after graduation” she mentioned.
Miss Kargbo noted that integrity, honesty, respect ,courtesy and a strong resume are key factors that will enable them to attract the job market or be job creators.
“We should be bold and believe in ourselves . We can do it with hands together no matter the challenges that lies ahead . We should not relent” she emphasized
Victoria Iheanacho, Dean of Commerce and Management
This is the first time the faculty of commerce and management has organized a seminar for out going students since the establishment of the university in 2005. The faculty is graduating many students more than other faculties of the university every year and many more are admitted at the beginning of each academic year
Addressing students during the seminar faculty Dean Victoria Iheanacho said the faculty is preparing outgoing students to be useful citizens of Sierra Leone after graduation next February . “ We want to see our students contributing to nation building when they leave the doors of the university . We are preparing them not just as job seekers but as job creators, to be marketable and be competitive in the outside world” she said.
In his address to faculty students Seminar Guest speaker and Managing Director of NADECO Abdul Karim Manasaray said one of the things the students have to hold strongly after graduation is networking not parading with academic qualifications.
This implies that after graduation the students should be able to network with various people and organizations and initially volunteering for jobs without pay will help in securing jobs from public or the private sector .
Mr. Mansaray further said that in applying for a job the students have to develop a cover letter with good grammar and the letter must be sent to the right designation of a company or institution .
“Research well about the institution you are applying to , present a very good cover letter. The cover letter must be very attractive with specific qualities , and make sure you talk about your interest and academic qualifications “ he noted
However ,the faculty has set the pace for other faculties of the university to do the same and empower their students for the job market .
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