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Fifty students of the SOS Children's Villages across the country who were sponsored by the organisation to pursue programmes at the university level have been taken through skill training in various employable areas.
The five-day training session, which was organised by the SOS with financial support from DHL Express, had the beneficiaries coming from SOS Children's Villages such as Asiakwa, Tamale, Kumasi and Tema.
The event was on the theme; "Helping young people develop the right skills for their career path".
The students, who were taken by the SOS Children's Villages in their infancy, were sponsored by the organisation from the primary, junior high, senior high schools, as well as the tertiary level.
Some of the universities they are pursuing various programmes of study are the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and other technical universities such as the Kumasi Technical University,the Accra Technical University, the Koforidua Technical University, the Tamale Technical University among others.
Students at the boot camp
At the boot camp, which was held at Akyem Tafo in the Eastern Region, the beneficiaries were taken through skills such as "curriculum vitae (CV) writing, covering letter, motivational letter writing; networking, branding, communication skills, financial management, interview skills, public speaking and presentation skills".
Other topics treated were career opportunities, career skills and competence development, interviewing skills for level 300 and 400 students, networking and branding, personal management, identification of business opportunities and branding and marketing for level 100 and 200 learners.
Addressing the beneficiaries, the National Director of the SOS Children's Villages in Ghana, Alexander Mar Kekula said the initiative was to prepare them with the needed skills for the job market.
He told the students that they would be able to take over their own lives in the future to take good care of themselves and dependants after securing jobs or creating their own jobs.
"We have to help them with the necessary skills for jobs because they will soon be leaving the universities and be establishing their families in the near future", Mr Kekula indicated.
Mr Kekula said apart from generating income to cater for themselves and families, they would as well be contributing to the development of their communities and the country as a whole.
He said they would become future leaders as such they must have the training and skills to lead society.
According to the SOS national director, it would be good for the beneficiaries to come out with their own projects to be guided for implementation instead of being imposed on them.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DHL Global Forwarding, Serigne Mbaye said it was not only academic knowledge that was needed for job acquisition but rather practical knowledge in terms of skill training.
"Knowledge is in the head but skills can be acquired and this is what we are taking them through to fit the job market or create their own jobs", Mr Mbaye stated.
The National Youth Development Advisor of SOS Children's Villages, Godknows Kporha said the organisation's youth development programme starts from age 14 and existing at 24.
Diana Segbedzi and Frank Sam Obuobi, all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Bernice Bonny from the University of Ghana, Legon, all beneficiaries said the boot camp had improved their chances of getting jobs after completing their courses.
