September 30 – October 2, 2024, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – The Education Collaborative has hosted its second Career Strategy Workshop, bringing together participants from seven institutions across Eastern Africa. The workshop created a peer learning platform to showcase successful models of running career services from leading institutions on the continent.
Designed specifically for faculty and administrators responsible for career services and student placement, the workshop offers a dynamic platform for networking, collaboration, and sharing best practices. Participants engaged in practical sessions that addressed common challenges and institution-specific needs, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of the career development programs of the participating institutions.
The inaugural Career Strategy Workshop took place in November 2023, featuring eight institutions across Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ghana. Since its inception, the initiative has benefited 26,668 students. The learnings from the first workshop enabled the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) in Ghana to establish a dedicated center for entrepreneurship and career services for its students. Additionally, AAMUSTED secured a microgrant from The Education Collaborative to organize career service programs, which included mentorship from the University of Cape Coast, aiming to reach over 5,000 students.
Ho Technical University, another participant in the first workshop, has transitioned all its internship programming to an online format to enhance program efficiency.
As part of the efforts of The Education Collaborative to enhance capacity and expand the pool of mentors and facilitators for future workshops, six additional facilitators joined this second workshop. Their role is to support the lead facilitator while also gaining hands-on experience that will enable them to mentor other institutions in future sessions. These facilitators have been selected from member institutions from Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, and Kenya.
Speaking at the workshop, the lead facilitator, Colleta Macharia, highlighted that
“Whether individual or institutional, career development is a process, and it needs to be intentional.”
The three-day workshop featured a variety of activities, discussions, and networking opportunities, such that participants are able to draft a 1-year career strategy plan for their institutions.
“ For engagement, we have implemented strategies that work for students. In addition to email messaging, we now have WhatsApp groups for each class and employ more graphics in communicating career tips and information”, shared Nkiru Uwachukwu, the career services director of Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria. Phatsimo Mosimanegape, the Principal Officer of Employability & Entrepreneurship Development at Botho University, Botswana, shared that Botho University had gone a step further in their career services strategy and implementation to secure remote internships for students, which a now fully funded by corporate partnerships.
Contributing to the discussion at the workshop, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Strategic Planning and Administration at the University of Rwanda, Mr Raymond Ndikumana, highlighted that Career Services goes beyond CV writing and LinkedIn. “Are students aware of the employment market and what is required to succeed?” he quizzed.
One of the learning facilitators for the workshop, Mary Kiguru, director of partnerships and business development at Education for All Children (EFAC), Kenya, explained that the E-portfolio that each student is expected to create allows EFAC to measure the competencies of students by the end of graduation. Our goal is to ensure that 99% have met the graduate profile.
To sum up the learning experiences of participants in the workshop, Grace Amponsah, the programs coordinator at The Education Collaborative, shared the potential impact of the Career Strategy Workshop. She highlighted that 11,500 students will be impacted by this second edition. She added that The Education Collaborative is committed to organizing the workshops twice every year so that more institutions on the continent are able to serve their students better in the areas of career development and employment placements.
