Students Encouraged to Find Mentors

Students have been urged to develop interest in seeking mentors to guide them as they work towards their desired careers. This was said by Mrs Tenemba Anna Samake, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mobile Business Clinic (MBC), Africa.

She noted that mentors are a great resource to have, due to career experiences and knowledge they are willing to share. She advised students to identify strategic mentors to guide them in their chosen fields.
Mrs Samake made these remarks in her presentation at the 2018 edition of ‘Management and Professional Day’, organised by the Faculty of Management Studies of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

The event was on the theme: “Becoming the Star: The Role of Strategic Mentorship”. This was aimed at enlightening graduating students about the challenges, prospects and expectations of the corporate world.
Mrs Samake said students should not be scared to fail, but rather embrace failure as another opportunity to be confident and correct their mistakes.
“If things are not working, this is where to take a step further to find out, so that you will not repeat the same mistakes again,” she said.

She said becoming a star had its own journey and students must first find out their passion and find a committed mentor to guide them during this crucial stage.
“The mentor is somebody that has to be open, a good listener, a good observer, good problem-solver, share life experience as well as technical expertise; these are the type of mentors you should find in all areas of your lives, personal, business and even in workplace,” she added.

Mr Kwesi Livingstone, Chief Executive Servant, Nickel Keynesbury Limited, in his presentation on ‘Preparing for the job market and maintaining your job’, noted that there are job avenues available but graduates lack the skills needed to be hired. He said voluntarism and internship programmes were points to prepare undergraduates and give them exposure to be able to meet some requirements, particularly work experience.
He added that: “They also need to work on leadership and entrepreneurial skills as there was skills shortage”.

Mr Livingstone said that in terms of retaining a job, there is no job security guarantee in modern times.
He further explained that it is all about attitude and results; yearning for excellence and solving of employers’ problems.
He therefore tasked students to be ahead of their time and have a game plan as the future is in the hands of this generation.

He advised them to be more innovative, more open minded, Information Communication Technology (ICT) savvy and have new ways of thinking.
Professor Abednego Okoe Amartey, Vice Chancellor, UPSA, described the University as an institution focused on raising professionals with integrity.
He said as such students must always be guided by such principles and should have the right attitude towards life.
“You can obtain a first-class degree, but if you have bad attitude you cannot succeed,” he added.

Credit: GNA