From childhood, we are told to go to school, learn hard, pass, and then we will land a high-paying stable job and become rich. But it’s that true and does it even work in this 21st-century world we live in?
With the introduction of technology and other means of making life easier, there are several old methods that are no longer working due to the presence of available mediums to get them done. For example, in the olden days, one could only get a degree if they attend university or college for three or four years but now, people are getting up to Ph.D. without leaving their houses.
As a result, there is a need for people especially Ghanaian students to stay updated on the latest trends and how to meet the demand on the job market. Each year, thousands of students graduate from the various tertiary institutions in Ghana, and out of these about only ten percent (10%) can get a job within the first few years.
This leaves most of them frustrated to the point that they consider making money through illegal means. The most common phrase people (graduates) in Ghana use is “there are no jobs in Ghana.” Erm, that is a big lie each day several jobs are posted on the various job dashboards but the people with the right skills are not many.
In this guide, however, I am going to walk you through some of the best ways you can increase your chances of getting a job after school in Ghana.
How To Increase Your Chances of Getting a Job After School in Ghana
1. Acquire a skill while in school
For most people, from the first day they go to school to the last day, the only thing they do is go to lectures and learn for examinations. Although this is not bad, this is just going to add you to the tall list of people with university degrees in Ghana.
What you can do instead is to use your free period to learn some skills. The skills I am referring to here are not necessarily hard skills, you can also acquire some soft skills. If you are in the social sciences department then you are more likely to do some presentations at least once. If you happen to be in the physical and mathematical sciences, you can also find other means of learning this.
I will talk more about the hard skills in the subsequent paragraphs. I will also share more about some of the soft skills you need to help you get a job in a separate article so make sure to keep checking our page.
2. Take some online courses (if possible, with certificates)
The world is moving at a faster rate and the best way to stay updated is by taking online courses. There are several websites that offer both free and paid courses with certificates. Some of them include Coursera, Future Learn, edX, Udemy, Udacity, LinkedIn Learning, Alison, Skillshare, etc.
What these platforms provide you is information on some of the skills you need to get a job in Ghana. When you have the certificate, in addition, it acts as proof for the recruiter to see that you have really learned the skill you are talking about.
3. Do free/paid internships to gain experience and build your portfolio
As a Ghanaian student, I know that every student needs some money to go about their daily lives and so the thought of working for someone for free sometimes sounds strange. But as young or old as you are without experience, who do you want to pay you for your zero years of experience?
Therefore, whenever you hear of a free internship opportunity, make sure to apply if you meet the criteria or not. From my experience, the jobs that teach students a lot are the once that are unpaid because the company values your time and in return, they provide you with the experience you need.
One other thing you need apart from experience is a portfolio. Although this does not apply to every role, most tech roles can give you a portfolio. For example, if I am applying for a Content Writing job, I can use all the content I have written as proof of my expertise and that is what we call a portfolio.
Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to getting a job after school in Ghana but what this article seeks to achieve is to give you some context of how you can prepare yourself. In case you have any concerns feel free to put it in the comments section below and I will make sure to get back to you ASAP.
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