The Dora Edu-Buandoh (DEB) Foundation has held a capacity building seminar for levels 300 and 400 students of University of Cape Coast (UCC) to equip them to make the right career choice.
Dubbed: "2023 Young People's Seminar, the event was on the theme, “Build Your Today for Your Future.”
A Senior Lecturer at GIMPA, Ms. Grace Abban-Ampiah, who spoke on the topic, "Building Ourselves to Volunteer: Giving Back to Society" encouraged students to embrace volunteerism as a way of contributing to national development.
According to her, people shy away from volunteerism because "they lack courage to take initiative, lack of time, the attitude of ungratefulness and resistance to give opportunities to others."
Citing reasons why it was important for students to engage in volunteerism, Ms Abban-Ampiah mentioned personal, social, career, health and economic benefits as some of the importance of volunteerism.
She urged students to see voluntary work as a necessary part of skills development and also advised them to have a balanced life and not only focus on academics.
"Be part of other activities and volunteer" she added.
The Group Head of Strategic Business Process Solutions Limited (SBP AFRICA), Mr. Akuguri Atoni Lamisi, for his part, said volunteerism exposed students to special skills needed in the corporate world.
He backed the call for students to engage in volunteerism to help discharge humanitarian services for the better course of humanity, national development and societal progress.
Addressing the students on "Time Management", a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Statistics-UCC, Dr. Irene Kafui Vorsah Amponsah, stressed that students must be time-conscious in all their endeavours.
She observed that most students wasted too much of their time on unnecessary issues that did not add value to their lives and, therefore, grew up without achieving their goals.
Dr. Amponsah counseled the students to acquire soft skills such as interpersonal and good communication skills in addition to their chosen careers. She pointed out that it was not enough to have the hard skills because soft skills provided an added advantage in developing one's career.
The Senior Lecturer admonished the students to ensure cordial working relationships wherever they found themselves and to live in harmony with their colleagues at the workplace.
On stress management, she noted that stress was a normal part of life and urged the students to reduce activities that would increase their stress level. Dr. Amponsah mentioned music, exercise and therapy as some of the solutions to stress management.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Prof. Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, the immediate past Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast, in her remarks, stated that students needed a holistic approach to their development to make an impact in life. The seminar was, therefore, to prepare them to occupy enviable positions in society.
She urged the students to build their social skills to make their careers successful.
The Executive Director admonished the students to acquire the required set of skills in order to live meaningful lives in every sphere of their lives.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC