The College of Health Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is exploring avenues to prepare final year students for alternative livelihoods and self-employment.

This is in response to the shrinking job availability for health professionals, as many graduates find themselves unemployed despite completing rigorous academic and professional training.

Through the “Ready for Life” workshop, the College is equipping students with entrepreneurial skills beyond traditional healthcare roles.

The College of Health Sciences at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has made a transformative move to make students pursuing core health professional programs versatile to survive the vigorous job market.

The two-day “Ready for Life” training was in collaboration with Lead It Africa, an organization focused on personal growth programmes.

Participants were equipped with skills and character tricks that will allow them to navigate their careers, life, and world of employment with precision.

Provost of the College, Professor Christian Agyare, noted the training has been necessitated by the changing trends of health professionals’ employment, and demands for self-employment.

He indicated that the training from its early success stories proves that it's impactful on health professionals seeking additional skills to refine themselves.

“Previously, there were vacancies that students who graduate from our professional programmes filled. But the availability rate is closing now, so many health care professionals are getting stuck at home.

“Ready for Life will train and nurture entrepreneurs, which is not so common in the health care landscape. This will reduce the burden of employment on the government. We have received testimonies and transformative stories that signal that the program is having the intended impact,” he said.

Participants were taken through mindset development, leadership qualities, personal effectiveness tools, and strategies.

Chief Executive Officer of Lead-it-Africa, Herman Yobo Addae, emphasized the need to adopt strategies and time-relevant skills to meet the revolving work landscape.

“We will be looking at character traits. Explore entrepreneurial opportunities so they can build a mindset of such. We looked at self-leadership, growth mindset, personal effectiveness, the tools and strategies to help them get more work done in a short period, and effective ways of guaranteeing mindset. These are up-to-date characteristics of successful people. And I believe that this training is the right path to inculcate such characteristics that will provide an alternative success route for these young health professionals,” he said.

The participants were selected from various departments, including PharmD, herbal medicine allied health, public health, nursing and midwifery, medicine and dentistry students, and veterinary medicine students.

They noted the training has sparked their interest to seek character and career versatility.

“One thing that struck my mind is that we may all have pre-informed ideation about life and experiences, but we should be open and open-minded to others. So, I believe I am not approaching life with an open mind and exploring,” said Eunice Anima Kyeremanteng, a 3rd-year human biology student.

“I believe we have to distinguish ourselves in whatever field we are. That comes with positive exposure about our brand and telling our stories in a special way,” 5th year PharmD, George Oduro Owusu shared.