At the event which came off at the UCC Business School at Auditorium 900 of the C. A. Ackah Lecture Theatre Complex, 83 of the beneficiaries were in Level 400.

The awards showed a 61 per cent increase in the number of students on the list.

The UCC Dean’s Award ceremony is held annually to celebrate students who have obtained a CGPA of 3.6 and above at Levels 200 to 400.

Speaking as the Guest Speaker at the ceremony, the Honorary Consul of Trinidad and Tobago to Ghana and the Chief Executive Officer of Jonmoore International Limited, Hilton John Mitchel, said the dearth of quality human resource had been identified as one of the biggest headaches facing employers in Ghana today.

“It is, therefore, important for persons seeking employment to build their capacity that suit today’s job market instead of relying on their enthusiasm and academic qualification to secure jobs,” he said.

He said while qualification was critical, it had to be complemented with quality output as “beyond the academic qualification, job seekers should also prove their quality and competence”.

Mr Mitchel said in addition to qualification, thinking out of the box, daring to be different, using one’s initiative as well as recognising one’s targets and patience, were integral tenets of the road to success.

He stressed that there was no easy way to success and advised the students to always strive to work hard and manage their time responsibly.

Mr Mitchel stressed that there were no shortcuts to real success and that anything outside of hard work and deep and sincere commitment was merely a mirage.

“Please no matter what you do, do not ever think you can run before you learn how to walk.

“Do not allow your academic prowess and over confidence to blind you into thinking speed is the essence of success,” the Guest Speaker stated.

Time-tested qualities

He said most employees failed to take honesty seriously and were eager to become wealthy within the shortest possible time by siphoning funds to feed their selfish desires.

“There is nothing like achieving success on a silver platter. It is imperative that you ensure that you use your man hours responsibly and with a mind to achieve results and also be loyal.

“Loyalty is appreciating the ideals, objectives and targets of the institution and always striving to protect such ideals by committing yourself to the success of the institution.

“A loyal person is dependable and ready to defend and stand up for the institution with pride and confidence. He or she is an asset and most institutions will endeavour to elevate such a personality while others look on thinking that is the boss’ favourite,” he emphasised.

Fit for purpose graduates

The Dean of the UCC School of Business, Professor John Gatsi, assured the business community and prospective students that the management of the school was aware of the task of training to produce globally fit-for-purpose graduates who could work in multicultural environments with good interpersonal skills, innovation and data skills.

“We are doing our best to integrate foundational and higher level data skills in our programmes.

“We have introduced a two-credit course called professional development skill at Level 400 to consolidate various skills needed in the industry and the world of work, including skills for writing psychometric tests,” he stated.

Prof. Gatsi told the gathering that the School of Business had created an environment where its programmes were developed in close collaboration with professional bodies and constant engagement with industry and as a result, students passed professional examinations in great numbers just after graduation.