Fully Baked For The Plate

Times have changed! The days of old in the University where students had jobs waiting for them before they graduate are long gone and over. Unfortunately, some University Students today still have that age old mentality that once they get a degree they are entitled to a well- paying job with all the accompanying gratuities. The population explosion in terms of the number of graduates churned out every year out of our tertiary institutions both public and private coupled with dwindling employment opportunities due to the world wide phenomena of economic stagnation has changed the dynamics of the job market which awaits the average University leaver who wants a job after school. This is why it is not startling today to find groups such as the Unemployed Graduates Association.

The trend of unemployment is global, looking at the statistics world over with the unemployment rate in the Eurozone rising from 7.2 % in February 2008 to an all- time high of 12.2% in April 2013.This should give us a bird eye’s view of the situation. Governments of countries in the world in recent times are showing some commitment to alleviating this disturbing trend with the government of Ghana coming up with initiatives such as the Graduate Business Scheme among others which helps young graduates with solid business plans and ideas by providing them with start-up capital and business advisory services. Despite all these, I am a firm believer and a proponent of taking charge of one’s circumstances and making things work for you. Every person who passes through the University in my opinion, has all the opportunities in the world to thoroughly prop up and equip him or herself to land his dream job after school or to set up a business of your own. Now this is my thesis for getting you there!!

A break up of the syllables in the word university gives you the two words- Universe and City. The inference here is that the university is a Univers -City to wit a microcosm of the world out there where one goes to after completion. What this means is that being in the university is one’s lifetime opportunity to build a solid foundation upon which to launch into life after school. How do I build these foundations one might ask? This question is what I want to use the next few paragraphs to answer. First, as I have stated earlier, the dynamics of the job market has changed in recent times and therefore apart from the degree that every graduate has, one’s trump card in the job market could be his or her soft skills. Soft Skills basically refers to qualities such as one’s ability to be a good team player, public speaking skills ,organizational abilities ,on- spur-of –the- moment thinking among others which helps to set apart extraordinary graduates from the average ones. Fortunately for us especially in the University of Ghana, there are thousand and one prospects for students to acquire these much needed soft skills. The many Student leadership avenues at the SRC, JCR and Departmental levels, the religious groupings, the civil society groupings on campus like UGPH, NCCE, Tertiary Advocates for the Rights Of Children (TARC), AISEC, SIFE etc… and even old school and ethnic associations provides good openings for individuals to take up positions of responsibility so as to boost their acquisition of soft skills which has the propensity to give them a head start on the job market.

Secondly, networking is key in our world today. The Oxford dictionary defines networking as interacting with others to exchange information and develop useful contacts. The key words here are developing useful contacts. Our world today is all about who you know or better still who knows you. The University is your sure bet to develop all the useful contacts for life. That is why you have to be friendly, sociable and mingle with others as much as possible because you don’t know whose help you will need in future in pursuit of your dreams. Networking is very key today and that is why many Human Resource practitioners today will tell you that it is only 20% of vacant jobs that are advertised. The remaining 80% is given out solely along the lines of who you know or who knows you that is why you have to start from your days at the University to build the necessary network of good friends who can help shoot up your personal value in the job market. Finally, be a well -read person with knowledge from various fields so that you don’t become a half –baked graduate armed with only knowledge from what you studied in school. A true scholar is the one who has all round knowledge and of course do not forget your God no matter your faith.

Being fully baked for the plate means being equipped with the all-round essentialities needed for breaking into the job market of today right after school and what I have presented to you is my own theory for getting there.

DON’T BE WHAT INDUSTRY CALLS A HALF BAKED GRADUATE BUT BE WHAT INDUSTRY WANTS- A FULLY BAKED GRADUATE. IT IS IN YOUR HANDS!! IT’S A CHOICE!!