Career Imagination Program

The blog is long overdue. Considering the event I am describing took place almost three weeks ago. Most of my Sunday mornings are spent attending and church (via TV) and watching NBS TV, which has an exciting new show called the MixUp. 

It features two gorgeous hosts who tackle a wide range of issues but with a focus on young people. 

It is this same show that was talking about rather interesting event that was talking place that week that was going to be about technology, design and animation. The event was designed to take place right at the start of holiday season. It was slated for about tree days of that week. What got my interest was the animation part as well as the climax of the week which would be a training session for those who want to learn how to operate simple drones. 

The ride to w venue was just as interesting. I had the privileges of sharing a good part of the public transport system with some bubbling yuan people who filled the Taxi with a language only decipherable by Computer Scientists. And yes a healthy mix of expletives. 

I still find it very hard committing to events before hand and so it was easier to just wait until the opportunity came. That week a window opened up and I chose to take it. The event was held at Kitante Primary School.

I was not there long enough to attend but managed to speak to one of the representatives with whom I was also able to trade contacts. 

From that I saw, the event had a reasonable attendance with plenty of advertising from additional partners. They deal with robotics, animation, coding, graphics and video editing. They focus on school and teenage centers helping young people to begin to think about future careers in these specific areas. 

A simple online search will lead you to a well designed website that will supply you with a host of valuable information. (WWW.cipafrica.org)

The Coe values of this groups are:

Integrity, honesty and excellence as well as a very strong belief in young people. 

The objectives of this group are:

1. To create a critical mass of skilled young people

2. To advocate for a more skilled based education 

3. To provide training opportunities for young people

4. To become a hub of Information for youth regarding employment opportunities

To achieve these goals the program focuses on four major areas:

A) Hands on skills with very practical small business projects that can be started at low manageable costs. 

B) ICT knowledge 

C) Environmental awareness 

D) Personal development with specifics like leadership, management, communication and much more. 

Partnership with international groups (above).

Additionally there are opportunities for those who have made some headway to volunteer and take part in a transfer of skills. You will also find a refreshing link with Barklays Bank (readytowork.barklays.com) Ready to Work. Their program enhances this one by identifying four areas of interest. Work, Entrepreneurship, Money and People skills. 

The program was co-started by Kato Jonan a few years back and had continued to invest in young people as well as create partners with other international groups. 

YouTube Video with co-founder (above).