The Rector of the Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma, Prof. Kanayo Stephen Chukwuka, has charged career coaches and academic advisers of the institution to equip themselves with the skills, knowledge, strategies, tools, and expertise necessary to better serve the students, and support their career and education so as to become job creators and not job seekers after graduation; and through this way, contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the polytechnic and the nation.
Prof. Chukwuka gave the charge while declaring open a one-day training workshop for Imo Poly Career Coaches and Academic Advisers which took place at the Polytechnic Auditorium last week. He noted that the aims of the workshop, amongst others, included: to enhance the capacity of career coaches and academic advisers to support students and provide them with a conducive learning environment that prepares them for the challenges of a dynamic global contest; to foster collaboration and innovation in career services; to develop strategies to improving students and their abilities and career outcomes; and to strengthen the institution’s position in the global higher education landscape.
The Polytechnic helmsman further urged the participants to serve the students better, and bridge the gap between the academia and the labour market, adding that academic work alone “is not enough to groom the students for employment”. According to the Rector, “Our Career Services Centre was established to provide students with valuable information on choices in the job market, opportunities, and requisite skills. It is a bridge between our students and the employment industries including our esteemed alumni. This is to prepare them to enter the workforce”.
He thanked TETFund for making ImoPoly a beneficiary of TETFund Career Services Centre Intervention Line, and advised the staff to leverage on the grant opportunities that exist in the government and the Tetfund, and collaborate with them to ensure proper development of the polytechnic. He equally commended
the organisers of the event led by Dr Besta Okey Onyegbuchulam, director of Imo Poly Career Services Centre, for ensuring the success of the workshop.
The Imo Poly boss disclosed that the state government has mapped out plans to upgrade the polytechnic to university, stating that the new status will attract more courses with land surveying being one of the courses to be introduced into the institution’s curricula.
In his speech, the facilitator of the workshop, Dr. Obichi Obiajunwa, TETFund Research and Resource person, identified lecturers as windows of change who occupy a very important space in the polytechnic. He stressed that lecturers should drum into the ears of their students immediately they stepped into the Polytechnic that “life is beyond what they are going to see outside school. “We are in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), a student can come out with a good result and still becomes a failure outside because he or she has no career tools and resources”, Dr. Obiajunwa stated. He enjoined lecturers to help the students rediscover themselves, the world outside and what they can contribute to the society: “If you are graduating students , you must graduate them with tools such as hard and soft skills. If we are to get our society right, we must be able to prepare students for job creation”, he said.
He also called on career coaches and academic advisers to help students focus on what is relevant in today’s world, adding that “nobody is willing to pay for what is not desirable”.
He noted that classrooms are as dirty as the world outside and appealed to lecturers to ensure that their students leave the school better than when they entered the school.
The guest lecturer hinged the decision guardrails behind career choices on factors such as desirables that are relevant to the society, desirables that are feasible, desirables that are viable in present time, and desirables that can attract optimal decisions that can contribute something meaningful to the society by solving a problem in the society.
In his vote of thanks, the Coordinator of the workshop and director of Imo Poly Career Services Centre, Dr. Besta Okey Onyegbuchulem, on behalf of the Rector and Management of the Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma, thanked TETFund and Dr. Obiajunwa for making the workshop a reality.
He described the workshop as very “impactful”, noting that the programme has changed the reasoning and mindset of the participants. He assured Tetfund that the message of Dr Obichi will be transmitted accordingly, especially with a similar workshop planned for students of the Polytechnic to hold on 17th to 18th September, 2025, with two themes: “Developing a Successful Career Path after School”; and “Resume and CV: Knowing the Key Differences for a Successful Job Application”.
