The NYSC scheme is an avenue for corps members to acquire useful skills, knowledge and abilities. These skills are acquired through seminar, training, workshops, symposia, colloquium, etc. organized by the NYSC in conjunction with other organizations. These life-changing activities are one of the most profitable aspects of the NYSC scheme.
From the orientation camp, every corper will be given opportunities to acquire skill and information that will be very profitable in life. Speakers, professionals and practitioners from various fields will be invited to educate corps members on how to maximize their service year. Life after service year will also be discussed. Some community development service groups like: Nigerian Road Safety, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Millennium Development Goal, Humanitarian/ Welfare Group, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Red Cross. Etc, will also be invited to give specialized lectures. Their operations, goals and objectives will be unveiled. Corpers will be persuaded to join any of the CDS groups. It is compulsory that you must be a member of at least one CDS group. At the end of the service year you will be given membership certificates, which are very useful after service.
Apart from the above benefits, there is another silent but celebrated privilege of the NYSC scheme that will make you self-dependent, self-employed or gain employment before the end or after your service year. The NYSC always partner with various professional bodies in the quest to make youth corps members self-reliant. These professional bodies train and equip corpers with necessary skills to make them successful. Through the process of lectures, seminar and examination corps members are fully empowered. These prestigious bodies are nationally and internationally recognized. The importance of these professional trainings and certificates are innumerable.
Although these professional bodies offer world-class services, their fees are very affordable. You may not believe the cost of acquiring these training and certificates. The reason for the reduced fees is that these professional bodies are aware of the allowance of corpers, and they know the importance of corps members to national development. A typical example is the Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria. This Institute is one of the brains behind my successful writing and speaking career. Its courses on entrepreneurship opened my eyes to profitable business opportunities in the Nigerian environment. They offer comprehensive services, and I can testify that their lectures and reading materials are of good standards. The fee was very affordable. Non NYSC members pay a very high fee to acquire this professional certificate.
So many professional bodies exist, take advantage of the reduced, priced and acquire professional skills and certificates. You might never have the opportunity again.
Most uninformed corps members perceive these professional trainings and certificates as waste of time and resources. They believe it is irrelevant. A wise man said that” no knowledge is a waste.” As an engineer you need managerial and administrative skills, even a doctor needs it, in fact, everyone that dreams to be a self-employed must acquire these skills. A social scientist or a management graduate needs technical knowledge because diversification is necessary in the business or employment market. Let’s briefly discuss some of the benefits of becoming a professional corper.
Self-Employment
One of the cardinal goals of these professional bodies is to raise professionals who will take the world economy to the next phase through the establishment of profitable small and medium-scale businesses. Their entrepreneurial and managerial lectures equip corpers to face the challenges of small and medium-scale enterprises and emerge successful. You will learn how to identify business opportunities and how to cheaply tap and execute them. The various means of capital generation and the practical steps to access these funds is one of the lectures I will never forget. These professional bodies offer vibrant and interesting lectures that will lead a young entrepreneur to the top.
Statistics have shown that only 50% of small businesses are still trading after their first three years from the initial set up. Most failure is attributed to lack of administrative, marketing and managerial skills. These skills can be acquired cheaply through professional training. I sold close to seven hundred copies of my books within one month through personal sales. It was possible because I acquired profitable management skills from various professional bodies. They offer practical courses that you can never acquire from any higher institution.
Majority of both national and international organization when recruiting make membership of professional bodies a criterion for employment. In most recruitment forms, there are always provisions to fill the professional bodies you belong to. In some cases, the vacancies are limited to only applicants who possess a certain professional certificate.
Don’t deprive yourself of a lucrative employment opportunity only because you fail to utilize an opportunity to acquire a professional training. Nigeria has millions of unemployed graduates, with just few jobs available. Only graduate with a niche can grab these limited employment opportunities. ‘Go the extra mile’, empower yourself and employers will beg for your service. Your curriculum vitae will even speak for you when you have acquired various training and certificates, they will send for you immediately you possess the skill they want. Professional training gives you an advantage over other applicants.
I secured my first job immediately after service without undergoing any aptitude test or formal interview. The owner of the firm was a Fellow of a professional body in which I am an associate. When I discovered that, I told his assistant that I wanted to see his boss. When I introduced myself the only question he asked was; can you do the job? And I said yes, that was all. I was given the job while other applicants continued the employment process just for formalities.
Knowledge
The training, lectures, seminars and reading materials offered by these professional institutions are sources of uncommon knowledge. As an entrepreneur you need knowledge to outshine your competitors, and a worker must possess special knowledge to attract promotion and increase in earnings.
In addition, acquired knowledge can lead to the establishment of a profitable business enterprise. You can become a consultant with your professional skills and certificate. Immediately, you are inducted and certified, you are permitted to start practicing. You can establish a professional firm where businesses will come to seek professional advice, and you can make good money from consultation.
Currently, I am a management consultant, entrepreneurship expert and professional debt collector. I am qualified to carry out these skilled tasks because I am a member of Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria and the Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria.
Information
Information is the only tool for development. Anyone who doesn’t value information will become obsolete. The world is moving, and things are changing every day. Your skills and professional knowledge must be updated constantly to enable you to compete favourably in the business environment and in the corporate circle. Membership of a professional body is a sure means to modernize your skills and knowledge.
Professional bodies always engage in diverse research. This leads to innovative discoveries and mind-blowing inventions. Members also engage in brainstorming sections that always produce solutions to challenges facing their profession. The only means of accessing this information is to be a member. They also organize seminars, workshops, exhibitions, meeting, etc., to acquaint members with the current trend in the profession. You can never be outdated as an active member of a professional body. They also give professional advice to members to enable them to overcome business or corporate challenges.
Association
All you need to succeed in life is meeting the right people at the right time. Your professional body can link you to people that can lead to your advancement in business and other endeavors. During professional body meetings, you will meet successful business executives and professionals. Most of them are very influential in the society; they can connect you to a job, contract, business opportunities and even a political appointment. Nobody is an island, so you must interact with the right minds to succeed.
It is very important to state that the more you associate with successful people, the greater your chance of becoming successful. You can stand on the shoulder of some senior colleague and make giant strides. All you might need to become successful might be a call or a recommendation letter from a prominent citizen.
It is possible to enroll and grab as much as three professional certificates within the one-year service period. Just choose any professional body of your choice regardless of your course of study, because no knowledge is a waste.
Please grab this opportunity now, lest, it may be difficult and expensive to acquire such certificates at the expiration of your service year.