Thousands of varsity students and hundreds of non-students alike from within Cameroon’s national territory took advantage of a widely publicized two-day Business and Employment Forum, oraginsied by the country’s lone Anglo-Saxon University of Buea(UB), to learn how to quickly secure a place in Cameroon’s rather difficult job market.
Picture:Cross section of Participants at UB Business and Employment forum
Unemployment rate in Cameroon, which is classified as a heavily indebted poor country, is high
“Upon graduation I think those of us who attended this forum will easily know how to go about looking for or creating jobs,” one UB student who sat through out the forum told this reporter as the forum wrapped up. “It has been an eye-opener event for us”
Claris Mbinkar, a graduate from UB who holds a Bachelor ‘s degree in curriculum studies but is yet to land a job added, “The forum was a learning opportunity. I will not waste any time to put into practice what I have learnt about getting employment”
The forum, organized under the patronage of Cameroon’s Minister of Higher education, Prof.Jacques Fame Ndongo, ran from 20-21 November. The forum, the first of its kind, was motivated by the new Bachelor’s-Master’s -PhD (BMP) system introduced in the 2007 academic year.
“ The BMP system takes its root from the Anglo-American System, which UB has been practicing since inception in 1993.It comes with the promise of increased relevance, professionalism and production-oriented training”, remarked Prof Vincent Titanji,UB Vice-Chancellor at the forum’s opening ceremony. “More than everything else, this forum is an occasion to create effective alliances to enable us tackle the problems that face us as a community, namely, ignorance, disease, hunger and poverty. This is how we can each of us contribute to this forward movement towards attainment of the MDG’s”
The forum brought together managers of companies, job promoters, students and varsity graduates who were either job seekers or would like to create jobs.
Experts made presentations on themes such as: Graduates/Youth and the Labor Market in Cameroon, How to Explore the Labor Market, Growing Businesses and Creating Jobs, Youth Engagement Support Programs and Opportunities, Securing Markets, Leadership and Motivational Tips for Youth Success; Management, Financing, Legal Issues and Insurance Policy
Other highlights of the two-day forum included: University of Buea signing partnership agreements with companies, a cultural night on November 20,musical concerts and a mini trade fair that enabled businesses to exhibit their products and sell their ideas to the public.
The Vice- Chancellor of University of Buea, Professor Vincent Titanji, particularly praised Prof Victor Julius Ngoh, UB Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Research, Cooperation and Relations with the Business World for working extra hard to make the forum a huge success
Several participants who spoke to this reporter admitted having learned much from the forum, wishing that it should henceforth become a regular event of the university
University of Buea as at now has a student population of 12000 and is rated Cameroon’s best-managed state university. It started in 1993
No comments:
Post a Comment