In
this WETi (What Expert Tells Infoprations), Olasupo Abideen, Chief Executive
Officer Opabgas speaks on his company’s student work scheme in Northern Nigeria
and the essence in solving work experience problem among Nigerian graduates.
What
is the significance of your Student Work Scheme in the life of the students
while on campus?
They
get to learn about the clean energy supply chain, business development and client building relationship. It is a six-month internship-like experience
renewable upon performance.
Why North Central alone? What about
other regions in the country?
We
have our company situated in the region for now. We look forward to some
funding that will give us access to expand.
Are you only accepting students who
are studying energy and sciences related courses?
No,
we are recruiting any student with passion for the energy industry regardless
of discipline. We train them for three weeks. Deploy them to any of our nearest
offices. They open on Sundays only. We give them a target of selling at least
200Kg within four weekends. If they meet up, we give them stipends. We are
signing an agreement with them to get this done for free. Our Gaspreneur
training ordinarily costs N200, 000. While money is important for meal and
transport.
What is your definition of passion
in this context?
We
are not looking for those who wants to turn millionaire in a day. If they are
not passionate about what we do (Domestic Gas Supply), we don't need them.
Really. It means the business is
capital intensive?
They
need to love the business and have an interest in it. Well, it depends on the
individual perspective. We train people for N200,000 and consult for starts up
for N300,000.
So, are you seeing OPABGas as an example
for other businesses around the university environment to emulate?
Well,
may be because of my own crazy thinking. Emulating a business is ambiguous. If
any upcoming start up feel it is cool for them to emulate, fine. The door
is wide open to understudy our corporate culture and ethics. We start business
for different reasons. Ours is to solve problem, revolutionalise supply of
cooking gas, enhance clean energy, reduce unemployment and give back to the
society.
Do you subscribe to the idea that
closing the work experience gap should be done through the Student Work Scheme
within course curriculum? For instance, each course should allow students to
have a six-month work before ending their programmes
If
it won't be bastardised and politicised again. It will go a long way in solving
the problem of lack of experience or unemployability. But if you ask him, I
will say we are having it already. Engineering student in my school goes on
compulsory SIWES and INTERNSHIP but they prefer where they will get the big pay
and not where they will learn. So, it hovers on student to determine what he or
she wants. As a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate, I would have preferred
internship at a road side mechanic workshop. I bet you, I may be better than
most of my lecturers after six months. I would have burier my humble pride to
achieve that.
Agree that student work scheme
exists, But, we have not had it from businesses’ perspective. We only have compulsory
Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)
Well business owners who aren’t crazy with thoughts
won't give room to students. The fear of running away with your training
or the fear of them coming in under the pretence of student work scheme to get
knowledge and run away can make most businesses not to adopt the idea. The fear
of spending a whole lot training and getting them used to your company culture
is also very high. We are glad to pilot this in the energy industry as a
part of our Corporate Social Responsibility.
Comments
Post a Comment