School Of Distance And Lifelong Learning Starts To Link Students To Employers

The School organized a training workshop where students on the Bachelor of Commerce External and Bachelor of Adult and Community Education were introduced to the Ready to Work program of Barclays Bank. The event took place from Thursday 9th to Friday 10th November 2017. It was organised and coordinated by Mr. Richard Kajumbula from Institute of Open, Distance and e-Learning. The event was also graced by the participation and co-ordination efforts of Mr. Ahimbisibwe Karembe, Chair, Department of Adult and Community Education, Ms. Diana Nampijja and Mr. Joseph Watuleke, both from the Department of Adult and Community Education. The workshop presenters/facilitators were from Barclays Bank Uganda and a recruitment agency called NFT Consults Uganda Limited. They included Mr. James Walusimbi and Ms. Sandra Kyeyune.

The blended programme is intended for students in the final year, and aims at giving students skills they need to make a smooth transition into the world of work, and improve their employability or self-employability prospects. The presenters were able to show students how to join or register for the programme online. The Ready to Work curriculum involves four modules/skills: Work Skills, People Skills, Money Skills and Entrepreneurial Skills. It is a blended learning programme and mainly self-taught where the pace of completion is determined by the learner. The online platform allows learners to save their sessions as they move through the curriculum. The online learning system tracks their rate of completion and issues four certificates upon completion of each module.

Mr. Richard Kajumbula said that although the two-day session was intended for students in the School of Distance and Lifelong Learning, any other students from other schools of Makerere University were welcome to attend the Barclays Bank Ready to Work workshop. He also said that some of the students from the school who had completed the modules last semester were offered jobs. This program is one of the ways through which the school links students to potential employers. There is still room for other workshops in case requested.

Barclays Bank Ready-to-Work programme offers practical skills. The blended course helps youth discover everything they need to know, from preparing CVs, preparing for the world of work and nailing an interview, to working their way up the hierarchy into the corner office; from impressing colleagues and customers and, managing their hard-earned cash to discovering the entrepreneur in them.

By Richard Kajumbula, 

Assistant Lecturer, Institute of Open Distance and e-Learning, College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University

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