Adelle Onyango launches job shadowing initiative for youth

Social activist and radio personality Adelle Onyango has launched an initiative that will equip the youth and prepare them for the job market.

Together with an online talent management platform, Fuzu, Adelle has unveiled a job apprenticeship initiative that will take successful applicants through a two-week shadowing process with executives in over 30 companies.

“It’s about giving young people a one on one opportunity and access to insight from different professionals in a variety of industries and organizations.

“Our education system is largely theoretical and as a result a majority of people get to know what their jobs entail and require practically, once they are already in the job, this initiative with Fuzu and its partners seeks to provide insight for the youth so that they may be able to have some understanding of what their dream careers entail and require from a practical perspective.”

“It could be the head of an organization or business. It is an opportunity for the young people to get practical experience and learn outside of the lecture theatres. We are trying to provide young people with an opportunity to understand better the industries they are interested in; one could apply for a position in what they want to do, what they studied or what they are passionate about,” Adelle explained.

The job shadowing is free for TeamADELLE members and anyone else interested; they can get the application forms from Adelle’s social media platforms (Facebook: Adelle Onyango, Twitter: @AdelleOnyango, Instagram: Adelle Onyango).

“The apprenticeship will be spread across ten days and will be carried out in a variety of companies. Each apprenticeship will be different and tailored to suit the needs and requirements of the business/organization and the apprentice,” Adelle said.

Apllicants can apply starting September 10th to 16th.

Adelle mused, “We have employers complaining about young people, saying that they don’t know how to conduct themselves during interviews and that their CVs’ are not well done. I thought where should they get this information? There is no emphasis placed on it in our education system? Our initiative is trying to help fix this and prepare young people for the job market.”

She continued: “This is the first step that we want to take together with, Fuzu who are experts in the job market and their partners…”

Arnold Muoki, Head of Human Resource, Turnkey Africa, one of the companies that have graciously accepted to be part of the job shadowing initiative said: “Knowledge is a combination of a strong theoretical background and work experience creates a market-ready talent. The turnaround time of our graduates into being effective talent pieces in the world of work has a direct impact on the pace at which our economy grows which affects our quality of life.”

Echoing him is Chandni Shah, the Business Growth Specialist at Express Automation, who added, “They need to understand how corporate works, they need to find their ground and understand where they can fit in instead of settling for any job. Job satisfaction is key for today’s generation. It’s always a pleasure to show someone the way, mentor them for a short while and handhold them through the first days of corporate world.”