The Centre Leader and Director, Institute of Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards (IPESS), Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM), Professor Lami Nnamonu, has charged 300-level undergraduates in the departments of Procurement Management, Environmental Sustainability, and Sustainable Social Development to maximally utilise the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) period to acquire practical knowledge that will elevate their employability levels.
The Centre Leader and Director, represented by the Deputy Director of the Institute, Dr Christopher Eche, stated this recently during an orientation event to commission the first set of undergraduates at the Institute to embark on the Students Industrial Work Experience programme in their respective fields of study.
Professor Nnamonu congratulated the prospective interns on the feat. The Centre Leader asserted that the 300-level undergraduates at the institute were privileged to have benefited from the scheme and urged them to be exemplary ambassadors of the institute by upholding the rules and policies of their host organisations for maximum impact.
The Centre Director noted that the exercise could present employment opportunities to exceptional and disciplined interns by their host organisations and further explained the levels of support designed by the project to assist them during and after the internship exercise. She added that organisations relevant to the students’ fields of study were already chosen by the institute to enable the students to gain the required skills.
Highlighting the objectives of the scheme, JOSTUM SIWES Coordinator Professor Bibiana Igbabul said the scheme was established to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge and enable the students to garner the required practical skills that would increase their chances of getting employment after graduation.
She added that the SIWES programme prepares the students for the real-life situations they would face in the career world, provides an opportunity for students to acquire industrial skills through experience during their course of study, and exposes students to work methods and techniques that may not be available during their course of study. According to the Director, other objectives of the scheme include enabling a smoother transition from school by equipping students with stronger contacts for future work placements and by introducing them to a real work environment. She charged the students to be good ambassadors for the institute by upholding discipline, dedication, and excellence throughout the internship.
