The Nation Newspaper

Tag: job

  • Oronsaye allays fear of job loss

    Former head of Service Mr Stephen Oronsaye has allayed civil servants’ fear of job loss over the planned merger or scrapping of some government parastatals.

    Oronsaye said the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, recommended the “Traffic Light Model” to address such challenge.

    “The merger of some agencies and parastatals with similar mandates will not lead to unemployment as insinuated. People should go and read the report,” he said.

    He explained that the model categorised workers into green, amber and red to ensure screening and that only redundant workers would be laid off.

    Oronsaye explained that green represents qualified and active workers, adding that such workers would be absorbed.

    He said amber represents workers who require adequate training while workers in the red category would be laid off for non-performance.

    “The model that is recommended in the report is the Traffic Light Model, green, amber and red.

    “If you are green you remain, if you are amber you will be trained and if you are red, it means stop, you are of no use,” he said.

  • Getting your dream job: Techniques, strategies

    Welcome to another Monday and another series in our self-made avowal to empower individuals to get their dream job in the shortest possible time. The inspiration came from Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and feedback from numerous readers of The Nation.

    You’ve got that great résumé in hand and you are rearing to get on and be on your mother of all searches: to find a job! But wait, it takes much more than having just a résumé and bristling energy to have a successful job search. You need a search game plan.

    The job hunter or career changer can find job hunting to be a frustrating experience. Fact is, it’s a job finding a job! There are no set of rules for job hunting; no magic formulas or solutions. However, by utilising all the options available to us, we can make the job search more efficient and be successful in the shortest possible time.

    A successful job search starts with thorough preparation and planning. This is true whether you are beginning your career, seeking re-employment or considering a more satisfying occupation. First assess your characteristics; take a good look at who you are and what you have done.

    This will require time and effort, but the time you invest will be worthwhile. Self-assessment can help you to decide on a realistic job objective. The information you discover will also be helpful when writing your resume, completing job applications and preparing for job interviews.

    In exploring career options the questions are:

     

    Do I want to remain in that field?

    • Would the strengths I have serve in a related field of work?

    • Would I consider returning to school to learn new job skills which are in demand?

    • As a recent college graduate, could I translate my strengths into a career?

    • Is self-employment a possibility?

    • In answering these questions, carefully consider personal circumstances, your lifestyle, health, family circumstances and financial needs. Keep these factors in mind when making career plans.

    • Considering everything you know about yourself, try to think of some career possibilities that you could do well arid would enjoy.

     

    Organisation is key

    Staying organised in the hunt is imperative. It is extremely important to be organised. Maintain a notebook with contact sheets for recording names and information relative to your efforts. Keep copies of all job leads or ads that you respond to. Maintain a calendar or weekly plan of action for your job hunt and record and review the number of contacts made each week.

    As stated earlier, it is job looking a job! If you are experiencing a career transition, staying in the routine of a job hunt is difficult. Remember, you are marketing yourself daily. Begin each day with the attitude that you are “open for business.’ Follow the plan you established for yourself and keep with it until you’ve reached your goal. Don’t unwittingly extend your job search time by limiting the techniques you use. There are several techniques and strategies for effective job fishing. We shall proceed to look at them.

     

    Networking

    Networking is a key process in job seeking, job keeping, and position advancement, in the future it will be necessary to give greater attention to this process as competition for good jobs becomes keener and advancement opportunities become fewer. More and more, individuals must learn to develop and use networks of contacts if they are to best achieve their goals and career potential.

    Networking in a nutshell, is nothing more than asking the people you already know to help you find out about the job market and meet the people who are actually doing the hiring.

    The hard facts “Informal contacts account for almost 75 per cent of all successful job searches. Agencies find about nine per cent of new jobs for professional and technical people, and ads yield another 10 per cent or so.

    Don’t hesitate to talk to friends, acquaintances, and neighbours about your job search in reality, you are asking for advice, not charity. Most of the people you contact will be willing to help you, if only you will tell them how. You probably know more people than you think. The key to making progress is to start asking the right people for the right kind of assistance.

    The ultimate object of your job search is to convince the person who has the power to hire you that you ought to be working for him or her. The one you want to talk to is not necessarily the president of a company; it is rather the one who heads the department that could use your expertise.

    Direct contact with the hiring authority is far and away the most effective job-hunting method. Your strategy and schedule should reflect that fact, and most of your energy should be devoted to direct contact. You may want to explore other methods of contacting potential employers, but that should take up no more than a quarter of your job – hunting time.

    How do you find the hiring authority? If you are lucky, someone you know periodically will tell you whom to see and introduce you. Otherwise, you will have to do some homework. If you cannot find out who heads the department that interests you, call the company and ask the operator.

    Do not assume you can get to the hiring authority through the personnel depart-ment. If at all possible, you will avoid filling out ally personnel forms until you have had a serious interview. The same goes for sending resumes. In general, resumes are better left behind after an interview than sent ahead to generate a meeting.

     

    The informational interview

    The contacts you make during your preliminary informational interviewing will be the core of your network in your job hunt. You will also want to zero in on other contacts within your career area. Your goal is to get referred to the person who has the power to hire you.

     

  • Amao set to clinch U- 23 national team job

    Amao set to clinch U- 23 national team job

    • Ngodiga up for goalkeeper trainer
    • NFF favours Amodu as technical director
    • Laloko, Peters to assist

     

    Unless last-minute changes in their decisions occur, the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation may have settled for former Shooting Stars Coach Fatai Amoo as the Head Coach of the U- 23 national team while Former Super Eagles Chief Coach, Shaibu Amodu is highly favoured for the NFF Technical Director job.

    Amodu, sporting a milk colour caftan, dress came out smiling alongside Kashimawo Laloko in an all white caftan, while James Peters wearing a grey suit and left the NFF Zone 7, Abuja secretariat together in Amodu’s black SUV at 6.15 pm after spending four hours with the Barrister Christopher Green-led NFF Technical Committee.

    SportingLife confirmed from a top source at the NFF that while Amodu has been picked as the Technical Director, Laloko and Peters would assist him since there are many sections to oversee which include the youth department and the senior and female sections of the football departments in the NFF.

    “Unless last-minute changes occur, Fatai Amoo has clinched the U-23 job while David Ngodiga would be the goalkeeper coach. Also Shaibu Amodu has already gotten the nod of the big wigs in the NFF for the Technical Director post while Kashimawo Laloko and James Peters will assist him since there are many areas and sections that the Technical Director needs to supervise and work on”, the source told SportingLife.

    CAF Advisor and former Super Eagles handler Adegboye Onigbinde who was jostling for the technical director job was conspicuously missing.

    It is now expected that the identities of the successful candidates would be made public in less than two weeks.

  • Fed Govt urged on job creation

    Fed Govt urged on job creation

    The Coalition of Nigerian Youth Organisations has tasked the Federal

    Government and the National Assembly to address unemployment and provide jobs for the youth, to curtail the insecurity facing the nation.

    Addressing a news conference, the coalition, comprising youth organisations spread across ethnic groups, said government’s recent cancellation of the recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) was sad and painful.

    The group’s statement was signed by Comrade Etuk Bassey Williams, ex-President of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS); Wole Badmus, President of the Yoruba Youth Frontiers; Uche Casmier, President of the Ohaeneze Ndigbo Youth; Mr. Splendour Agbonkpolor,

    President of the Niger Delta Youth Alliance; and Mallam Musa Abubakar Yusuf, President of the Arewa Youth Forum.

    It said the cancellation was unwarranted, considering the high rate of unemployment in the country.

    The group appealed to the Federal Government and the National Assembly not to block the chances of Nigerian youths who wish to work with the NIS.

    It said: “We appeal to the Federal Government to rescind its decision on the

    cancellation of the recruitment into the NIS and to also expedite action on the recruitment to curb unemployment and meet the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.”

    The Coalition of Nigerian Youth Organisations hailed the Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mrs. Rose Uzoma, for carrying out the recruitment in accordance with the federal character principle.

    It said: “We believe in the competence and managerial ability of Mrs. Uzoma because her track record is a testimony of good leadership, which is in line with President Jonathan’sexpectation from public office holders.

    “The plot to rubbish her was orchestrated by some politicians who are mischief makers. They want to replace her with their stooge.

    “The recruitment began some months ago. Thousandsof Nigerians applied and due process was followed. Employment letters have not been issued to anyone as claimed by some people who want to blackmail the Comptroller-General.”

  • NDDC to partner varsities on job creation

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is to partner universities in the training of youths.

    This is part of efforts to develop human capital and create jobs for youths in the Niger Delta.

    The commission said the students would be trained to meet the needs of industries.

    Chairman, NDDC Governing Board, Dr. Tarilah Tebepah said this at the University of Ibadan (UI) while delivering a lecture entitled: “The last mile: the great opportunity for rapid development.”

    Tebepah, who was the guest lecturer at UI’s 2012 Alumni Lecture, said creating jobs for youths is a sure way to join the club of the 20 largest economies in the world within a few years.

    He said jobs would be created when trainees are stimulated to utilise opportunities that would come from the expansion of relevant industries or the creation of new ones.

    Tebepah said: “The agency must, therefore, cooperate with relevant universities to overcome this deficiency. Considering the number of challenges our dear country is facing, the universities can wipe out unemployment in five years or less.”

    He described service delivery as a big challenge, yet a huge opportunity in Nigeria, if well managed.

    Tebepah said: “Every service to be rendered must stipulate the skills and knowledge required to implement the measurable results of the service and the time frame for implementation. For instance, even though the amount of money NDDC receives is very important, the actual service that the money is able to achieve in a given period is more important.”

  • Catch fun, get a job

    Catch fun, get a job

    Here is good news for job seekers. They can make a living in tourism. What is more, the work is easy and not too capital intensive. All they need is the drive to push things as tour operators, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

    Tourism has been with us for a long time, but we have not been able to tap its enormous potentials. Gradually, it is dawning on Nigerians that through tourism a lot of jobs can be created. You name it; there are jobs in tourism hot spots, such as beaches, waterfalls, hills, mountains cattle ranches, monuments and hotels.

    The tourism industry, according to experts, is worth over N100 billion. Statistic shows the industry employs many unskilled workers, who work in hotels and allied sector. There is a window of opportunities for job creation in tour packaging, under which a travel agent organises a tour, transportation, food and lodging at an inclusive price for those interested in visiting tourist centres. The organiser gets a bus and takes people to tourists’ beaches, museums, cinemas, art galleries and historical sites, among other places.

    Tour packaging has the capacity to create jobs for people in the tourism value chains. Experts believe that tour packaging can create about a million jobs, depending on the volume of traffic at tourists centres across the country. Each tour organiser can create five or six jobs, they said, such as driving, tour guiding/coaching.

    Managing Director of SJ Tours Limited Mrs Abiola Ogunbiyi said a tour organiser can create jobs for four or more individuals. She said Lagos alone could have more than 2,000 operators packaging tours, adding that each would get events to package.

    She divided tour packaging into special interest tours, adventure tours, city or regional tours, group tours and fully escorted tours. Special-interest tours are designed around a particular interest area which could include arts, food and wine, sports, cultural or agricultural; adventure tours allow tourists to participate in areas of interest for the duration of the tour. Examples include diving, rock or mountain climbing, horse riding, skiing or cycling.

    City/regional tours last for a day or less. Usually, the tours follow a fixed itinerary, visiting areas of interest.

    Group tours also follow a fixed and pre-arranged itinerary, and require a certain number of travellers. The tours require getting a 56-seater bus to accommodate more travellers. The fully-escorted tours are for solo tourists.

    Often times, the tours are somewhat educational because the travellers are exposed to local, historical and cultural knowledge by their guide.

    Mrs Ogunbiyi said each tour determines the number of jobs that would be created.

    She said: “Tour packaging among other concepts has opened a window of employment opportunities for people. Many people can go into tour packaging because of the huge tourism potentials in Nigeria. Considering the over 160 million population, and array of tourists’ sites in the country, there is a huge market for people that venture into tour packaging. I package tours for companies. The tours are meant for local and foreign tourists, and they are rewarding.

    “Recently, I packaged a tour that culminated in visiting places, such as Bar Beach, Eko Atlantic, Museum and Nike Art Gallery. This is not without fees and the participants found it interesting.”

    She said tour packaging provides avenues for drivers, food sellers, tour guides, among others, to earn a living as they do not need a university degree to become a tour guide. She added that a tour guide only needs integrity and knowledge of the areas to educate his clients properly.

    “You do not need certain educational certificates to become a tour guide. What you need is honesty among other attributes to get businesses. A tour guide must have the ability to convince people to buy his ideas. There are many who sit at home at weekends. They are not doing anything. Tour guides can encourage them to visit sites to catch fun.

    “We are talking of social miscreants in the society. They can serve as tour guides, after their orientation must have been changed.”

    According to her, more than 5,000 guides are needed to work for those packaging tours.

    She said tour packaging has a multiplier effect because it provides business for many, stressing that those selling drinks, foods, souvenirs and other mementoes benefit from the business.

    The Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-Governmental Relations in Lagos State, Mr Disun Holloway, said Lagos boasts of huge tourism potentials.

    Speaking at a programme organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Holloway said the population of the state is a boost to tourism because it can provide job opportunities for many.

    In its latest forecast, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said some 897,500 jobs, representing 1.4 per cent of the country’s total workforce can be generated by tourism.

    The body said the industry contributed about N1,232.2 billion (3.3 per cent) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year, adding that the figure would increase by 10.8 per cent this year. The figure, it said, would increase by 7.0 per cent yearly to hit N2,690.8 billion in 2022.

    “Travel and tourism directly generated 838,500 jobs (1.4 per cent of total employment) last year, and this is forecast to grow by 7.0 per cent in 2012 to 897,500 jobs. The jobs would be created by hotels, travel agents, airlines as well as activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists and other passenger services (excluding commuter services),” the report said.

    It noted that the country has witnessed a steady growth in its GDP and job creation over the last four years, stressing that the development favoured the tourism sector.

    The Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, said the agency is wooing investors in line with the corporation’s forecast.

    He said the investment would help in building tourism and hospitality infrastructure, manpower and drawing global attention to the hospitality, transportation, eco- tourism and sports sectors of the economy.