In the past month, I have run a few polls on LinkedIn to gauge opinion on key issues within the HR space and beyond. I feel it is fair to share the outcomes as feedback for all those who participated and for those who observed at a distance. Who knows? They may provide some insights and interesting perspectives.
It is important to note the following however:
- Based on the available metrics, the polls were limited to just 4 options in terms of responses. This implies that the responses in this regard were not exhaustive but limited to the availability of just 4 options.
- The polls were opinion driven. Opinion is typically different from facts. Opinion may be subjective or objective and can be dependent on circumstances, backgrounds, experiences or other criteria. What works for one person may not be another person's realities.
That said, we can have a deep dive into the key issues and results. Key summaries from the poll results are detailed below:
- 41% of respondents claim that in Nigeria, we buy books but do not read and 24% claim we read books but do not practice their contents.
- 60% of respondents claim that learning on the job was the major contributor to their careers. Only 18% referenced mentorship and help from supervisors.
- 76% of respondents stated that self help and learning were the major approach taken to guide their choice of careers.
Possible pathways: With these results, the following could prove useful:
- Addressing the reading culture:
- There is a need to drive awareness across the value chain of training experts, educationists and policy makers about other learning channels such as interactive sessions, visual aid, learning games and audio books that can be explored. Incentives can also be introduced to drive reading culture.
- This is a renewed call to revise the educational curriculum to be more practical, functional and societally relevant. In Nigeria, we seem to have a very theoretical approach to education. Students typically read to pass examinations rather than read to learn. There is also a gap between what is taught in schools (the gown) and what is required in the workplace (the town). This gap has caused companies billions in learning budgets having to retrain graduates via Graduate Trainee and Management Trainee Programmes.
2. Navigating career choices
- More work can be done in terms of establishing career centres and introducing Guidance and Counseling as essential subjects or interventions in seconary and tertiary institutions. We could face a gap in human productivity if this is not proactively addressed.
- More tools, materials and resources can be provided or produced to help individuals navigate career choices. It must happen as a proactive and preventive measure rather than a reactionary one. That was one major motivation for the Choosing a Career E-Book. You can read about that on the links provided below:
These insights are poll and data driven and have dependencies based on participation. They are not cast in stone. The links to the polls are captured below for easy reference. Let us know what you think!
Feedback and Links on the Choosing a Career E-Book
Feedback: "Your book is fantastic!", "The book is loaded"
Audit | Assurance| Risk and Compliance |Internal Control over Financial Reporting| Financial Accounting| Tax filing and resolution| Internal control and compliance
2 年Its an insightful piece Mr Kehinde there are so many non-educational and practical subjects that should be introduced in secondary as well as primary schools. Subjects like: History, Life-studies, Entrepreneurship, Civic Studies etc. Life studies incorporates case studies about career, workplace, emotional intelligence as well as IQ. History recalls about Nigeria's formation and events that surround the creation of Nigeria, Entrepreneurship should be practical based which would focus on all forms of skill acquisition and talent utilisation, Civic studies would teach us the constitution and our rights as citizens. You can add more.
Forensics | Internal Audit | Fraud Investigations | Anti-Bribery & Corruption | Fraud Risks Assessments | Digital Forensics/e-Discovery | IT Audits | Internal Controls & Compliance | Technology Risks | ex-Deloitte
2 年Thank you so much for this insightful piece. More than ever before, now is the time to address the gap between what is being taught in school curriculum and what is relevant to the workplace. A collaboration between the Ministry of Education and organization representatives would go a long way in addressing this issue