On Sunday April 8, 2017, Herbert Macaulay Library was a beehive of activities as it hosted the first ReadySetWork Faculty orientation and screening exercise for 2018.
The room was filled to capacity with seasoned professionals who had signed up to volunteer as facilitators in the ReadySetWork training programme. Present were HR managers of A-list Multi-National and local companies, HR consultants, bankers, Educators, IT solution providers, Media and Communication experts to mention a few who eager to join the largest volunteer Faculty in Nigeria.
“It’s very encouraging to see this number of professionals show up to volunteer for the RSW Faculty.” Those were the words of the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh standing in front of these highly passionate individuals who were ready to give up the comfort of their Saturdays to impact the lives of 5000 final year students in the ReadySetWork programme.
In his address, Mr. Bank-Olemoh said over 800 individuals have signed up to facilitate the RSW training programme and they do so completely free of charge. “When we started ReadySetWork in 2016, we were determined to drive the training faculty solely through the active engagement of private sector professionals. We were told we wouldn’t get as much people to volunteer for the programme but our experience have proved that wrong. In 2016, we had 52 volunteer facilitators and the number increased to 118 in 2017. This year we would have at least 750 volunteer facilitators in the programme. You have proven that if Nigerians are given the platform, they are willing to sacrifice your time, resources and more for the common good.”
“Though we appreciate the move by many to volunteer for RSW Faculty, we still have to screen the applicants to ensure that we have quality facilitators that will indeed impact on the students the ideals and values of the programme. At the end, we want to say that we RSW Faculty has the largest, brightest and the best volunteer faculty in Nigeria. That’s the reason for the Orientation and Screening session.” Mr Bank-Olemoh explained.
In the audience were individuals who were part of the Faculty in previous editions and were willing to do it again. They seized the opportunity to tell the new entries their experiences and motivation for coming again in 2018. Some of the new entries also shared the fact that their interaction with some of the participants of the programme last year made them look forward to joining the Faculty.
The ReadySetWork Faculty Orientation and Screening continues this weekend and will run till the end of April, 2018. The deadline for registration has been extended till April 22, 2018 so interested individuals can still register on www.readysetwork.com.ng/rsw-faculty/ .
