UMEME LIMITED As many teenagers enter young adulthood (20-plus), it begins registering that their parents will not always be their meal ticket.
While as adolescents it was about figuring out what they want in life, from their 20s onwards it is about self-reliance and, for some, starting families. They must find jobs to wean themselves off the
As
Still on employment,
Under this programme, which the
Through the programme, the fresh, young graduates gain experience, establish themselves in their careers and become financially stable. The hiring by power utilities is commendable, taking into consideration that there are youths with requisite educational qualifications, micro credentials and soft skills experiencing challenges finding jobs.
According to the
A sizeable proportion - 21 per cent - got employed within one to three months of job hunting whereas 16 per cent said it took them between six and 12 months. The report says 1.3 million persons (12 per cent) of
Granted, the electricity sector cannot absorb all. Still, it certainly has opportunities in internal (house) wiring, too, because only premises that were wired by electricians certified by the
Also, as more developers look for new renewable power projects to finance, there will be need for environmentalists, social workers, lawyers and engineers. Expansion of the transmission grid means the transmission and distribution utilities decentralising some operations such as substation maintenance to improve response time to power supply challenges.
It is in the interest of the state that businesses create jobs because the companies and employees pay taxes, some of which are used to finance public services such as health and education as well as infrastructure projects.
Employed citizens are also unlikely to engage in violent demonstrations or insurrections because they would have something to lose. Besides, at the end of the day, the workers are in the last gasp of exhaustion either from cerebral or physical work to have time for anything other than a break to recharge their batteries.
As yours truly has opined elsewhere before, since it is that time of the year when many tertiary institutions' students must do internship, a requirement for students to make it to graduation lists, the students or fresh graduates should make the best of the Internet.
Many organisations are posting job openings and internship notices on their websites or social media spaces. So, students in their last year of study or fresh graduates should once in a while visit the prospective employers' websites, Twitter handles, Facebook pages and LinkedIn.
These social media platforms are not only used for entertainment but are also important channels of communication. Therefore, those who make it a habit to visit them stand a better chance of finding opportunities.
According to UBOS, only four per cent of the population with access to mobile phones use the Internet to search for jobs, as many still rely on word of mouth or friends to find jobs.
The majority - 36 per cent - use the Internet for social networking, 18 per cent for entertainment, 10.4 per cent for academic work while 6.3 per cent use it for business. That needs to change, given that the sector is growing.
The author works at
Copyright The Observer. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source
