Nigeria faces a deepening unemployment disaster with the youth jobless charge climbing sooner. Joel Moses Babatunde, founding father of the African Workforce Summit (AWS), highlighted methods the summit helps younger folks achieve employment and enhancing their private branding to match the Twenty first-century work calls for. Excerpts by BusinessDay’s Wasiu Alli.
Nigeria’s unemployment disaster continues to deepen, particularly amongst youth. What particular hole was the African Workforce Summit created to deal with, and the way is it totally different from different interventions?
One of many main ache factors in our hearts was as a result of we all know that by 2050, Africa may have the youngest inhabitants on this planet.
Having the youngest inhabitants implies that we ought to be making ready to return to the times when Africa was once the delight of the world. Days the place actually everybody wished to get right into a partnership with us. But when we don’t seize the long run from now, if we don’t begin making deliberate strikes from now, we’re undoubtedly going to lose it. And that’s why we’re placing up an occasion like this that’s going to even outlive us on the finish of the day.
And why are we doing this? We’re attempting as a lot as doable to deal with three main issues — topmost for us, upskilling them; re-skilling them; and in addition taking note of their private improvement. In order that’s like the inspiration of what our occasion is about.
On the occasion we strive as a lot as doable to get individuals who have actual reposition.
By reposition, I imply individuals who have actual vacancies of their corporations, of their consulting shops and issues like that. They arrive to our occasion on day one to buy abilities. So that you come to the occasion; there’s a risk that some folks will come to the occasion and return dwelling with a job.
And we’re arranging all this on SDG 8. In order that’s principally what’s retaining our personal occasion a bit bit totally different from each different job honest that occurs in Lagos and in Nigeria by extension.
This second version’s theme is “The Fuse”. What does it symbolize, and why is it chosen for this specific 12 months?
We’re bringing folks from all walks of life, and that’s why it’s known as the African Workforce Summit. What’s that one factor that will function a melting pot for each single particular person inside the workforce aside from The Fuse? So now, aside from “The Fuse” representing a spark, it additionally represents a melting pot the place all professionals, whether or not from tech or freelancers, whether or not they’re in HR or institutes. It’s a convergence of various folks from all walks of life coming collectively, media or no matter you wish to consider, coming collectively in a melting pot to create that fuse.
What sensible steps does AWS supply to bridge the hole between expertise and alternative?
We’ve got a whole lot of graduates, however what number of of them are employable? So employability is a significant theme, and that’s one of many focuses of day one. Other than simply placing folks in entrance of alternatives, we even have employability workshops. Three of them shall be taking place on day one.
These employability workshops will educate you issues just like the artwork of wage negotiation and the artwork of networking, as a result of on this age and time, it’s not simply sufficient so that you can ship your CVs.
There are occasions when folks shut jobs simply by networking. Lots of jobs usually are not even revealed. It’s simply inside networks. So that you get them from correct galvanised networking and issues like that. We’re going to be educating folks the best way to be employable, actually. How will we now bridge that hole? We’ll do employability courses. We’ll additionally assist folks with their LinkedIn optimisation. As a result of private branding can also be a significant theme. It’s additionally the best way to place your self for this chance.
You’ve constructed a novel model as “Oga HR”, mixing HR experience with storytelling, tradition, and even meals. How has that helped you join with a youthful era and shift how they give thought to work?
The title is catchy; it’s lovely, however then it comes with a whole lot of duty. It implies that I don’t have a selection however to be an business chief, somebody who will certainly give a whole lot of publications, whether or not spoken or written, issues like that.
And in addition, due to that title, I’ve tried as a lot as doable to discover a area of interest for myself. And simply to place it into perspective and provide you with an instance. The African Workforce Summit is a type of initiatives that was born out of attempting to stay as much as the expectation of OgaHR. I’m so passionate in regards to the African workforce, employability, after which younger folks.
Once you carry these three issues collectively, it simply makes up for what you see on the African Workforce Summit. To not additionally point out different mixers, , and small digital occasions that I’ve achieved. I’ve achieved that for 5 years. It’s been on for 5 years. I’ve skilled not less than over a thousand HR professionals, particularly folks, , entry-level, mid-level, and in addition seniors.
You talked about the opposite time that one of many core takeaways from this occasion could be alternatives to community and even get employed. Are there different specifics or different perks that this occasion portends to offer to the attendees?
Oh, sure. I’ve mentioned it so many instances that this occasion stands on three pillars — serving to folks get alternatives, job alternatives; serving to folks upskill, reskill, and develop personally by the conversations that they are going to hear and in addition networking; ushering first-time employers into the workforce.
And what do I imply by that? We’ve got a pitch contest that may also be taking place inside the two days. The winner takes dwelling $1,000.
In order that one who has been pitching for therefore a few years or has not even gotten a possibility to return and pitch pitches for the primary time after which goes dwelling with $1,000.
Final 12 months’s summit produced robust outcomes. Are you able to share any standout tales or outcomes that illustrate AWS’s tangible worth?
After we had been achieved doing the occasion, I used to be actually, actually exhausting on myself. I used to be knocking my head and all that as a result of I used to be simply not so happy with the truth that no one acquired a job. Folks didn’t get a job on this spot, however there was a course of.
We began the method that day. There have been a whole lot of testimonials later. I believe it was round July final 12 months, as a result of we did it on the eighth of June final 12 months. I went to an occasion to talk, after which about three folks got here to me, and so they’d be like, Nicely, “I acquired a job”.
So, for me, to be trustworthy, as a result of, , each version, I wish to outline what success is to me. So, success for me was for folks to get jobs. Folks acquired jobs, and I used to be extremely comfortable.
You’ve hinted at increasing the African Workforce Summit to Kigali and Nairobi, that are, by far, two vibrant cities in Africa. So, what’s the broader imaginative and prescient, and the way do you see this platform evolving throughout the continent?
I’m actually captivated with Africa. I can spend 10 hours speaking about my ardour for Africa and younger
folks inside Africa, proper? And that’s why we’re going to some selection locations.
If I wish to have time, simply go and luxuriate in myself. I’ll be going to a spot like possibly South Africa. However Kigali, although bedevilled by unemployment, is opening up proper now as a result of a whole lot of Nigerians are going there to do a whole lot of tech occasions. Identical for Kenya. And I’m simply following that development.
The broader imaginative and prescient, such as you requested, the African Workforce Summit goes to be taking place twice yearly. What it means is it is going to occur in Lagos and some other African international locations. We couldn’t do it final 12 months as a result of it was our first time. We didn’t have the content material. However now, we’re doing it in Lagos, on the twenty seventh and twenty eighth of June.
For us, we wish to see what number of Africans, what number of younger folks inside the workforce in Africa, can get employed. And assist their complete private improvement. That’s the objective. We would even get funding as a result of we wish to see a time the place we might companion with organisations and establishments just like the African Union.
