The third phase of the Blazing Trails project ended last December after 1534 successfulparticipants benefited from the programme.
Participants were taken through life planning processes for career success which included introducing the objective of the programme to participants and also laying the foundation for them to appreciate the main concepts (planning for success, mapping out your career and alternative career paths) informing the structure and delivery of the entire 3-day training programme. Day 2 of the Graduate module focuses on skills required for securing dream jobs. Participants are also trained on the fundamentals of career/life planning in relation to career interests. Day 3 of the training focuses on alternative career routes for participants to increase their chances of personal life success. Participants during the session are led to identify difficult career choices that complement or in some extreme cases be divergent from their identified career paths. These sessions required participants to deeply reflect on their personal vision and the actions required of them to achieve those goals.
The training sessions have thus provided participants an opportunity to understand job placement and employment dynamics, and the ability to prepare themselves physically, mentally and emotionally for employment. The training has also helped graduates to have a shift in thinking and to explore alternative means of employment.
The training modules progressed from successful self-planning which includes personal branding and setting a vision, to developing and writing a good CV which involves undergoing mock interviews, performing in the work place, team work, efficient communication, job place performance and identifying career opportunities. In all 3,290 Graduates benefitted from the three year programme.
Feedback from participants indicated that the training was timely, precise and concise with the relevant content needed to guide and direct their unforeseen future.
Survey conducted on the impact of the programme revealed that out of 1771 graduate beneficiaries who responded to the survey, 79.8% of graduates were unemployed when they attended the training. Post evaluation data received indicated that 31.04% of the total unemployed Graduate beneficiaries representing 438 participants are currently employed or running their own businesses.
The report also suggested that 68.6% of beneficiaries who were graduates have been successful in putting in job applications that resulted in interview opportunities.
Lilian Naa Odaatso Tetteh, a 24 year old graduate from the University of Cape Coast with a Bachelor of Education in Science degree, described the Blazing Trails training as a life-changing experience for her
“Thanks to Blazing Trails, I have secured employment with a private investment company in Accra. I have developed the confidence as well as the skills to perform my best at interviews. These skills have helped me beyond the working field to effectively communicate and do better in any given situation when I am interviewed. I am an aspiring musician and I can say I do better these days when questions are thrown to me during one-on-one interviews and I have improved in my interaction with my audience. I will definitely say that I know what I am doing now,” she said.
Another participant, Ernest Kisseh Osabutey, a 26 year old Computer Science graduate from the University of Development Studies, said his involvement in the programme has increased his motivation and raised his levels of achievements.
“Blazing Trails training has been an integral part of my professional life. It has helped me to identify opportunities and improve my strengths. It has also equipped me with presentation skills through working in groups. I have been a shy person. Now I can present my ideas to people with ease.
“With Blazing Trails, I have now started to write my own life story and I know I will always be a great testimony of great things that could come from such training,” Ernest said
The Entrepreneurship module is designed to shape participants entrepreneurial ambition and also to develop key skills in entrepreneurship and business development that will improve their business practices resulting in the setting up or expansion of their existing businesses. In all a total of 1774 entrepreneurs benefitted from this program.
See what Miriam- a beneficiary of the entrepreneurs had to share:
“For Miriam Adenusi, who has successfully set up her own Events Company known as PrettyUpGh after attending the programme, the training has opened a new chapter in her life. If I had not attended the programme, I will not be where I am today. It made me map out what I wanted to do. After my national service, several people decided to stay on in the hope they were going to be employed but I rather decided to work on my project. I worked on setting up my company, getting a brand name and mapping out the other segments”
If you are interested in your stories being published in our monthly report kindly send your impact stories to Blazing.Trails@gh.britishcouncil.org and also take 3 minutes to complete the following surveys.