"We have learnt how we can promote ourselves in public and how to attract the interest of the masses," Second year student at the SSAT Degree College, Hassan Ahmed. PHOTO: FILE
While schools manage to efficiently impart knowledge to the students, they fail to build their character or groom them, concentrating more on results than on how they need to conduct themselves, said the lead trainer at Shaoor, Maddi Murtaza, while talking to The Express Tribune.
A two-day career counseling workshop for students of schools and colleges of Korangi, ‘Get Set Go!’, was organised at the SSAT Degree College by the Karachi Youth Initiative (KYI) and Shaoor on Saturday and Sunday.
The workshop started off with a public speaking session, in which the students were divided into teams of 10 and were asked to create ‘slogans’ to represent their teams. The speakers at the event then provided feedback to students on their slogans and also gave them tips regarding public speaking.
The session was a hit with the students, who appreciated its usefulness. “We have learnt how we can promote ourselves in public and how to attract the interest of the masses,” said a second year student at the SSAT Degree College, Hassan Ahmed.
In the next session, the students were asked to write about a famous person and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. The selected celebrities ranged from national heroes like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to pop singer Honey Singh. “The students have selected a unique range of personalities, which shows their creativity,” another trainer, Bilal Nazar Sibtain, told The Express Tribune.
Next came a session on writing curriculum vitaes (CV). Sibtain, who led the session, informed the students on what they should include in a CV and how to make it more effective. The students were then asked to make CVs for the celebrities that they had previously chosen. “The students have been asked to make the CVs of their chosen celebrities, rather than their own, because we wanted them to focus on the formatting rather than on the technicalities,” said Sibtain.
The speakers tried to provide a relaxing environment to the students, encouraging them to voice their opinion. “We try to localise the session and interact with the students in a better manner,” said Murtaza. “We use a casual format in order to encourage the students to engage with us.”
After the first day, the students were given the ‘homework’ to make their own CV, in which they were asked to focus on the technicalities. The CVs would be used during mock interviews that are to take place on the second day. “The students will be giving mock interviews and those who perform well in them will be offered a job at Shaoor,” said Sibtain. “They will also be taught interview etiquettes and we will give them tips on how to dress and act during interviews.”
A large number of students, ranging from those in grade nine to those about to graduate, were being trained on how to improve their chances of being offered a job after an interview. “We feel that students need career counseling at an early age as they need guidance on what career they want to chose,” said the project manager, Farooq Bashir. “A positive thing about the students here is that most of them know what they want to do. All we have to do is tell them how to go there and what they will face when they do.”
Sibtain also revealed that the initiative was started nearly two months ago and that nearly 500 students around the city have been trained under it.
He also claimed that most of the students have benefitted from the workshops and have been offered jobs after implementing what they had learnt.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2014.
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