Tag Archives: Recommended

[RECOMMENDED] New York Times: A New Kind of Tech Job Emphasizes Skills, Not a College Degree

The New York Times article linked at the bottom of this post reflects new ideas confirming the need for more emphasis on market relevant skills development, to make kids more “employable” when they leave school.

Most developed societies are increasingly accepting that TODAY, real world relevant SKILLS acquisition can help to eliminate youth unemployment – better than the “college-degree-acquisition-only” approach.

Sadly, in Nigeria/Africa, majority with ego investment in traditional education systems remain in denial!

Thankfully, a few thought leading experts – like University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT)’s Prof. Olufemi Martins Adesope – have been demonstrating how tertiary education can be made more entrepreneurial/industry relevant, through practical vocational skills training events they periodically organize for their students.

An example is his workshop on Cassava Enterprise Development – watch video trailer below:

[Intro] How to Make Snacks (Doughnuts, Pies and Chin-Chin) From High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF)

Click here to watch it on Prof. Adesope’s website: www.omadesope.com

oma-hqcf-shot

Hopefully more parents and educators in Nigeria/Africa will pay attention and begin to provide the badly needed balanced mix of education for kIds!

Get latest updates about Prof. Adesope’s Making Extension Services Work™ projects online at www.omadesope,com

Read the full New York Times Article
=========

Title: A New Kind of Tech Job Emphasizes Skills, Not a College Degree By STEVE LOHR JUNE 28, 2017 | The New York Times

URL: http://nytimes.com/2017/06/28/technology/tech-jobs-skills-college-degree.html?referer

nyt-shot

Related Articles

  1. PII 070: Will Your Child’s Certificates and Degrees be Enough to Succeed in Life?

  2. Vocationally Skilled Population – Key to African Development!

[RECOMMENDED] Lagos Opens Website To Register Undergraduates For Internship Scheme

[RECOMMENDED] Lagos Opens Website To Register Undergraduates For Internship Scheme

I continue to shake my head at the irony of the situation in which supposed graduates from Nigerian institutions keep “NEEDING” brushing up and polishing to make them more “employable” AFTER they exit tertiary institutions they spent YEARS preparing in!

My argument remains that MANY of our kids are being made to pass through these institutions learning courses in fields they are VERY unlikely to easily find jobs in, or qualify for by way of employability.

It is my considered opinion that we NEED to get real and guide our kids to acquire real world relevant education based on their identified geniuses/talents.

That way, ALL this wasteful spending of money on pseudo-tertiary-education, that ends up needing the graduates to the “retrained”(!) to be able to ADD value to the real world, would not be necessary!!!

The news report previewed/linked below is heartwarming to the extent that it announces efforts by the Lagos State government to go beyond just giving jobs and training to graduates.

 

I say this especially because of the extra steps being taken  – as highlighted below – to develop a sustainable model that is built into the existing schooling system.

In a forthcoming article, I will publish transcript excerpts I’ve typed out from a video in which the Vocational Skills based education system of a European country with the highest Youth unemployment rate in the world, is compared with the College tuition based education system of a North American nation whose youth unemployment rates keep climbing.

The differences between results being obtained in both economies are stunning in their implications – and offer the rest of us valuable lessons on changes we need to make!

This is happening via what Lagos State Government calls the:

“Ready.Set.Work (RSW) scheme which is an entrepreneurship and employability initiative designed to equip final year students of tertiary institutions in the State with the right skills to add value to the society.”

Lagos is choosing to go a step further to (quote):

“…integrate the RSW into the education curriculum of the State, and also expand the modules as well as the benefiting institutions.”

Lagos Opens Website To Register Undergraduates For Internship Scheme

The Lagos State Government on Thursday announced the opening of its website to register intending applicants for the 2017 edition of Ready.Set.Work (RSW) scheme which is an entrepreneurship and employability initiative designed to equip final year students of tertiary institutions in the State with the right skills to add value to the society.

Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, who disclosed this at a news conference in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, said interested applicants would be able to access the website – www.readysetwork.com.ng from June 16, while the training would run from July 1 to September 16, 2017.

Continue reading…

[RECOMMENDED] Why Our Most Educated Generation is Struggling Financially – by Robert Kiyosaki

By many reports, the millennial generation is the most educated generation in US history—and by some stretch. Take a look at this graph from Pew Research.

Yet, they have a problem. Despite all this higher education, they have the highest levels of unemployment of any work demographic and they make 20 percent less than their parents did at the same stage of life.

rk-jobs

Continue reading…

[RECOMMENDED] Tackling the Rise of Fake Qualifications in Nigeria By Linus Unah on June 6, 2017

The truths stated in THIS report is why I INSIST on empowering my kids with real world relevant income earning VOCATIONAL SKILLS as a MAJOR priority – a strategy I advocate for adoption by other parents.

Tackling the Rise of Fake Qualifications in Nigeria By Linus Unah on June 6, 2017

The disease of forging education certificates has infected every sphere of public life in Nigeria, including politics. In fact, several politicians have been embroiled in scandals involving fake certificates.

“Certificates are a big deal in Nigeria. From parents to corporates and the civil service, people attach as much value to educational certificates as to the skills, experience and attributes one has to offer.

This obsession with certificates has created a culture in which most school-goers are much more concerned with getting good grades than they are with acquiring the actual skills and competencies that would stand them in good stead after graduation.

And this – the overwhelming desire to rack up excellent grades – has stolen the joy that comes from studying to acquire a firm grasp on an academic discipline. It has also led many people to falsify their academic records for personal gain.”

Continue reading…

https://thisisafrica.me/tackling-rise-fake-qualifications-nigeria/

[RECOMMENDED] “You will never find white people wearing our hair” says Marah Louw, Former South African actress and singer

On Aug 1, 2014, I wrote my article titled: “Bleaching” Your Skin Insults Your Creator, and Makes You Lose Dignity (Message from Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Lupita Nyong’o to Black/African Parents & their Children)” – click here to read it.

Back then I had not really come across any notable African celebrity who has spoken out against skin bleaching and other ills like Lupita Nyong’O had been doing.

So, when last month I came across this news report about an interview in which Marah Louw has done just that, I knew I would need to republish it on this blog.

black-pride-hair2

I am SO tired of seeing phony looking African females trying to  dress, look and sound like (what they consider) classy white women.

And I am equally tired of watching many silly and misguided African males showing illogical preference for lighter skinned females in defining beauty and choosing their partners.

To protect my sons and daughters from these warped values, I will continue to write about them and actively discourage their perpetuation. Recommending this report is one of several ways I do that.

Read the full interview with Marah Louw below:

[RECOMMENDED] “You will never find white people wearing our hair” says Marah Louw, Former South African actress and singer,

Marah Louw a South African singer and actress was this week a guest on the DJ Sbu Breakfast show where she shared her thoughts on the “bleaching phenomenon” and “black self-loathing”. She feels that weaves and bleaching go against people “insulting” what God has created.

She said that she has always been against it because it boils down to “low self-esteem and self-loathe”.

“You will never find white people wearing our hair the way we [wear] other people’s hair; going all out like that. You will never find white people wearing afro wigs, black afro wigs to go out and stuff, unless it’s a [themed] party or the circus,” she added.

“Low self-esteem made us black people hate the colour of their skin, it made us feel like we were [cheated] because we are black. Even in my time people used things like “Ambi cream” so that they became lighter, but I don’t understand why we are insulting the way God created us,” she said.

Source 1: http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/2017/05/03/Youll-never-see-white-people-in-black-afro-wigs-unless-its-for-a-party-or-the-circus-says-Marah-Louw

Source 2: https://thisisafrica.me/will-never-find-white-people-wearing-hair-says-marah-louw/

black-pride-hair

[RECOMMENDED] REIC 026: Do You Need These Amazing Benefits of Government Reserved Areas? [Get Your Piece of Lagos’ Abijo GRA – TODAY!] – by Lanre Karim, Real Estate Investment Advocate

[RECOMMENDED] BBC NEWS: Could subjects soon be a thing of the past in Finland?

I believe the rest of the world, if they are smart, should pay CLOSE and SERIOUS attention to what Finland is doing with its Education System.

My instincts with regard to the homeschooling I’ve been doing with my kids have been along this line – and that’s why this news from Finland resonates so much with me.

They are just starting out, so teething problems are likely inevitable.

BUT I strongly believe THAT is the way to go in the 21st century for best results!

Below is a preview of the article, ending with a link to the full piece:

BBC NEWS: Could subjects soon be a thing of the past in Finland?

Finland has long been renowned for the quality of its education and always scores highly in international league tables.

Now it is rethinking how it teaches in the digital age – seeking to place skills, as much as subjects, at the heart of what it does. But not everyone is happy, and there are fears it could bring down standards.

….

How Finland has shaken up teaching for the 21st Century

“Its ability to produce high academic results in children who do not start formal schooling until the age of seven, have short school days, long holidays, relatively little homework and no exams, has long fascinated education experts around the world.

Despite this, Finland is shaking up the way it is doing things – a move that it says is vital in a digital age where children are no longer reliant on books and the classroom to gain knowledge.”

bbc-finland-education

Read the full report on the BBC Website here…

 

[RECOMMENDED] Lagos State Commissioner of Police Reads Bribe Taking Police Officers The Riot Act

If the CP (Fatai Owoseni) can back up his words with action, Lagos will become a HEAVEN on earth – and will become a model for other states in this country to emulate in this regard.

“I am tired of hearing about shooting or killing of innocent persons. No one has the right to take another man’s life. It is only God that has the right to take life.

“It is your responsibility as a DPO to know those who are collecting bribe under you. If you refuse to stop them, they will stop you from being a DPO.

“It is embarrassing to see policemen collecting bribes and chasing yahoo yahoo boys for a DPO. I would not cover any DPO. I will expose you. Just leave Lagos before I get to your station. I cannot share out of your misconduct. I will give your photographs and details to journalists to expose you.”

“I am shocked to hear that some Area Commanders and DPOs are on the pay rolls of fraudsters. I am investigating. Just pray that I don’t get you. Just know that you are causing pains for taxpayers if you are intimidating them and collecting bribe from criminals.

“It is a curse to build a house with the money. The building would collapse on your head. Some of you even take people to the bank to collect money. If you train your children with the money, they won’t be useful to you.

“If those who were in the force before us bastardized it, we would not have the opportunity to be enlisted in the police. I am tired of pleading with police victims because you are doing what you are not supposed to do. Remember, one day, you are going to die and give account to your creator.”

“Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) should take note. I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline. Learn a lesson from DPO Ijeshatedo, who shot dead a fashion designer. He is in our custody and we are compiling charges against him. He would soon be arraigned in court.

“All DPOs in Ikorodu should use all resources within their disposals to fish out Badoo cult group that has been causing havoc in the community. I am giving you all 48 hours to decongest your cells. Nobody should be detained more than 48 hours. I will conduct checks on the cells,”

Source: https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/05/24/bombshell-lagos-cp-says-area-commanders-dpos-payroll-fraudsters/ and http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/232120-angry-commissioner-curses-bribe-taking-police-officers-orders-them-out-of-lagos.html

 

cp-riot-act

[RECOMMENDED] VIDEO & TEXT TRANSCRIPT: Zimbabwean Pastor Tudor Bismarck preaches that Possessing an Understanding of How Things Work – and NOT Prayers – Is the Key to a Nation’s Economic Prosperity

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PDF - Are People Who Achieve Success Luckier Than Those Who Don't? [Featuring TEDx Talk: “5 Major Reasons Why Religion Is No. 1 Cause of Poverty In Africa”]Click here to download FREE PDF and start reading…

Zimbabwean Pastor Tudor Bismarck preaches that Possessing an Understanding of How Things Work – and NOT Prayers – Is the Key to a Nation’s Economic Prosperity

I referred to this message in a past issue of my newsletter linked below:

===Transcript starts===

The Zambian Government sold the copper mines in Northern Zambia to an outside consortium for $25m – the copper mines for $25m because they couldn’t manage to keep them

Click here to read the rest in a PDF I prepared using the transcript I typed from the video.

Watch the video here

This preacher’s message needs to be passed to ALL Christian believers and their pastors across Africa!

 

[RECOMMENDED] REIC 024: Make Real Estate Investments Intelligently – Not Blindly | By Lanre Karim

A real estate professional, while speaking at an industry review meeting with other stakeholders early in 2017, made an interesting observation that I find especially noteworthy.

According to him, due to erratic performance of the Naira and the associated economic recession, buyers in the real estate marketing…

…became a little selective, so developers who met their needs in terms of pricing and creativity actually did well. Quality and price became king because money moved intelligently in 2016,

Continue reading…