ACCA partners First Bank, others on  employment, financial inclusion

By Chioma Obinagwam

As part of its resolve to tackle the mounting unemployment in the country, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) has said it has partnered with  stakeholders like First Bank Plc, Kimberly Ryan, among others to stem the tide.

This was achieved through an ACCA summit held in lagos recently on the theme:’Opportunities in finance summit 2016.’

Speaking during an interview with the press, the Country Head, ACCA Nigeria, Toyin Ademola noted that the rationale behind the summit is embedded in its resolve to promote employability in the country.

Apart from promoting employability, she added that the Association is using the summit to foster financial literacy in the country.

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She said: “Statistics have shown that about 43 per cent of Nigerians are not financially literate. Financial illiteracy impacts the economy negatively. The understanding of finance and the ability to apply it is lacking. We know that the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) is in the forefront of financial literacy. For us we are giving back not for ACCA alone but for the end users.”

Ademola further stated that her association has involved partner employers, tuition providers and members at the summit to achieve the feat.

“The last summit saw hundreds of applicants interviewed by our partner employers at three locations and dozens were hired. We are partnering with them to see that unemployment is reduced  to the barest minimum. This year, we have involved more of our employers, tuition providers and members to make this year bigger than the past,” she said.

Corroborating, Gbenga Anjola, Business Support Consultant in Human Capital Management and Development at First Bank, noted that the summit avails the bank of the opportunity of broadening its pull of resources to bridge its skills gap.

“ACCA has been business partners with the bank. It is an opportunity to look at various and divers people with skills, competencies and capabilities to drive today’s banking. The best way to bridge the gap is to get people from this programme,” he stated.

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Mr. Anjola disclosed that though a lot of organisations are downsizing owing to the current macro-economic challenges facing the country, however, First Bank is looking at business expansions, particularly in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) space and sees the summit as an opportunity to source for skills that will drive that sector.

Shalewa Adebiyi, a Human Resource Analyst at Kimberly Ryan(a human resource development company) added that their involvement in the summit was to source for applicants, mostly accountants and marketers for upcoming roles in the next one to two months.

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“In the past, we’ve not heard a lot of zero to junior level positions but now, we’ve had SMEs demand for junior positions and semi-skilled applicants to do their jobs and that is what we stand to gain in this programme,” Adebiyi said.

One of the participants who accepted to speak under condition of anonymity said: “I am here for job opportunities. I work at an audit firm. ACCA is a global body and something that is recognised worldwide. Since, I started I have enjoyed every part of it and their process is a smooth one.”

The Summit will also hold in Abuja on the 9th of March and in Porthacourt on the 11th of March, 2016.