By Saheed Ibrahim
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As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) extended its industrial strike by additional two months, university students have been advised to engage in volunteering and skill acquisition pending the time the strike will be over.
Educational and career coaches, who spoke with The Hope, said the students should spend the free time to improve themselves and be relevant in modern day labour sphere.
A professional in learning and development, Mr Samson Bolarinwa said the students could first use the free period to discover who they are and what they could do in order to know which skills to acquire.
” They should use this period to do self evaluation and discovery. This will motivate them to go into the relevant profession or entrepreneurship engagement.
“Everyone does not need to tech. It is when you discover yourself that you can discover your capacity and know the right skills to acquire”, he said.
Mr Bolarinwa harped on the need for the students to use the period to acquire the needed skills in the labour market through volunteering and internship.
“Experience is very important. It does not necessarily need to be post-NYSC. You can gain experience through volunteering in organisations that will add to their knowledge.
“Parents should not force their children to learn just any skill. The skills to learn should be relevant to their career”, he stated.
Also, the Ondo state Lead, Strategic Development Goals (SDG), Alfred Akerele stressed that public universities students must not waste the strike period by doing nothing at home.
According to him, the students could acquire skills in data science, artificial intelligence and other modern day skills that would cost them little or nothing to acquire.
Akerele Further stated that advised the students to volunteer with organisations that offer relevant skills.
In his contribution, a career and business consultant, Mr Adeniyi Adeleye decried that the incessant ASUU strike in the country only affected the students by halting their academic and career progress.
His words, “Students need to maximise this period to develop themselves. I will advise them to go out and seek opportunities that will make them better pending when FG and ASUU will resolve.
Mr Adeleye identified that the students could pick up vocational studies, acquire new skills or go into entrepreneurship.
While advising those who love books to pick up new ones, he advised the general students to seek short term internship programmes to engage in.
