As part of measures to make young people industry-ready, Absa Bank has collaborated with the Young Investors Network (YIN) – a non-governmental group dedicated to promoting savings and investment culture among people – to help students possess the needed skillsets.
The collaboration allowed the Absa Bank to enlighten students on its ‘Ready to Work’ initiative and took students through some of the features of emotional intelligence, preparing for an interview, and creating a good Curriculum Vitae (CV).
In an interview with the Head of Citizenship at Absa Bank, Ms Priscilla Yeboah, she said some things could be done in the school environment but could not be done in the work environment.
She noted that most times, students are tempted to carry along attitude in the academic setting into the work environment and it does not help them, noting that the ‘Ready to Work’ platform helps in developing the right attitude to work.
She said in the years of providing help in society, one of the key areas that have been neglected is skills development for young people entering the corporate world.
This gap necessitated the development of the proprietary toolkit to train the youth towards equipping them for a smooth transition from academia into industry.
Ms Yeboah said the Ready to Work platform from Absa helps the students to identify a clear career path and is designed to assist them in excelling in their future careers through careful planning.
Four components of Ready to Work teach students different skills
She explained that the Ready to Work portal and application have four components, which teach students different skillsets needed to grow.
The module on work skills
These components include; work skills, which teach learners how to prepare CVs, prepare for an interview, how to look for a job and where to go looking for a job.
The module on people skills
The next module focuses on people skills, which teaches the learner how to interact at the workplace, work as a team member, connect with co-workers, develop emotional intelligence, and communicate effectively as an individual and as a team.
The module on money skills
The third module touches on money skills, which trains the learners on financial management skills through understanding budgeting, differentiating between wants and needs, and all the needed titbits on managing their financial resources as students become adult workers.
The module on developing entrepreneurial skills
The final module touches on entrepreneurship, which teaches the students to have an entrepreneurial mindset – how to start a business, develop products and understand the people, the price, and promotion of the products.
The Founder and Executive Director of the YIN, Mr Joshua Mensah, said that collaborating with the Bank is pivotal because of the toolkit, which aligns with YIN’s aim of helping students transition from academia to industry.
He noted that the partnership would enable students to develop employability skills and competencies, understand the nature of work, and work towards having a portfolio of skills and competencies.
The student learnt various lessons during an initial in-person training with the Ready to Work toolkit
A Level 200 political science student of the UG, Catherine Awojaba Tailor, sharing her lesson after the training said, “I learnt that I should not keep my money idle in a Bank account. We can use that money to start an investment”
A Level 200 Administration student Elliot Lamptey, said there are four key abilities needed to work effectively as a professional – work skills, people skills, emotional intelligence, and teamwork.
A Level 100 Administration student Kelvin Bannerman-Williams, said he had learnt to keep an eye on his expenses and expenditure, ensuring that balance between the inflow and outflow.
A Level 300 Accounting and Chinese Hannah Odei-Kissi, student said, “I learnt that when asked to introduce yourself in an interview, it meant that you should mention key achievement done but not only give a generic answer.
This achievement should be linked to my abilities to help my potential employer know what I can bring to the table, “she added.
By Julius Kofi Satsi, Head of Communications
