The Career Services Center, in partnership with the Alumni Relations Office, organised a networking evening for Ashesi alumni and employers at the Coconut Grove Hotel on Friday 29th June 2012. The programme, sponsored by General Electric (GE) and Unilever Ghana Limited, was one of several being organised this year that are aimed at providing alumni with more avenues to explore career growth opportunities and build stronger networks. It was an engaging evening, with lots of frank exchange between employers and alumni.
Organised around panel sessions, employers present spoke about career trends in the industries they operated in, and shared insights about which areas had the most potential for growth. Many also shared some of the challenges and pitfalls in each of their industries, and gave tips and ideas on how to overcome and work through them. Human Resource Manager at Ashesi, Mr. Alex Baah-Inkoom, moderated the panel discussions. It was a highly interactive session, with alumni indicating some of their misgivings and getting strong feedback from their peers and the employers present. In turn, employers gave candid feedback on Ashesi alumni they had worked with, highlighting both their strengths and weaknesses.
“I think Ashesi should have more of these events for alumni,” said Debbie Adjei-Godson ’06. “It is good to be able to have such engagement, and we are able to reconnect with peers in the alumni community and build new relationships.” Assistant Director of Career Services, Abigail Lartey, also explained that “there was a lot of feedback from organisations present on areas that Ashesi alumni and students needed to improve on. It is information that helps us prepare our students for their careers, and gives us insights on which discussions we need to be having with both them and our alumni.”
Four industries, Energy/Oil and Gas, ICT, Media & Advertising and Manufacturing, were represented at the event. Organisations that attended included General Electric (GE), Unilever Ghana, Tullow Oil, Arkon Marketing Services, AI Energy Group, Axis Human Capital, International Business Machines (IBM), Kosmos Energy, Ogilvy Ghana, PZ Cussons, Rancard Solutions and Vodafone. General Electric and Unilever Ghana Limited sponsored the event.
