ICOBA and Kreateng Africa liaise to cut down the scourge of unemployment in Nigeria

In a bid to mitigate the overbearing effect of unemployment in Nigeria which has now reached a staggering height of 33.3%, the Igbobi College Old Boys’ Association (ICOBA) on 22nd October, 2022, in partnership with kreateng Africa took the initiative of creating a job fair in celebration of their 90th anniversary. The focus for the maiden edition of the ICOBA Job fair is to create an interaction between young job seekers and reputable organizations in need of their expertise. The edition was themed: Career Building: Bridging the gap between Education, Employment and Employability. 

Mr. Adedayo Okunfolami, CEO of Kreateng Africa while giving the opening remark stated that the event is among the critical statements that the Old Boys’ Association has decided to make to celebrate the 90th anniversary in line with the association’s commitment to empowering young old Igbobians. 

During the event, panel speakers from different sectors of the economy charged participants on the need for self upskilling. The panel session was led by Mr. Gbenga Johnson, CGO at Kreateng Africa. 

One of the speakers, Mr. Oladele Dada, Chief Marketing Officer at Awacash noted that any field in tech is open to any one who is willing to put in the work. 

Co-chair job-fair and MD, Nitro121 Mr. Lampe Omoleye spoke on the 5ps of a Marketing career which includes; Painting a picture of your desired job, preparing for the job, putting in one’s best, publicizing one’s self and pray. 

While speaking at the closing of the ceremony, after awards and certificates were presented to the Tech bootcamp participants, Mr. Yomi Badejo Okunsanya, the 1st vice-president of ICOBA pointed out that the initiative championed by Kreateng Africa will now be an annual event in an effort to contribute to solving the unemployment debacles of young Nigerians. Mr. Femi Olubanwo, the chairman of the 90th anniversary planning committee also commended the efforts put at the planning. 

In the same vein, the first ICOBA Bootcamp focused on tech skills in the first edition produced five overall best students in the different courses; Oyediran Elizabeth Omolara (project management), Adeola Ismail Oguntope (digital marketing), Lawrence Udoh (data science), Odebode Gbemileke (graphic design), Omotade Micheal Semilore ( web development). 

One of the participants, Lawrence Udoh stated that active listening, hard work, and constant participation led to his success at the bootcamp. He appreciated ICOBA for making such effort at organizing the training and empowering them with requisite knowledge to navigate the competitive labour landscape. 

Mr. Folusho Phillips, MD/CEO of Phillips Consulting Limited, while giving a closing remark urged the participants at the ICOBA job fair not to give up on their dreams and to make every effort at staying above the competition by adding value to themselves. 

The event ended on a high note with participants given the opportunity to meet with partner organizations for networking and interview sessions. The participating organizations include; Phillips Consulting Limited, Tusen Consulting, Touch and Pay Technologies, AO & FA Consulting, BAAY projects, Awacash, Denukan Networks, Extramile Africa, CMC Connect and Kreateng Africa.