The Total Job Shadow 2017 was held at the Lubricant Blending Plant, Koko, Delta State on Thursday 29th June, 2017. The objective of the Total Job Shadow is to expose senior secondary school students from government schools across Nigeria to the work environment and provide the opportunity for them to learn about various career options open to them, whilst preparing them to become future leaders, have tall dreams and become positive change agents wherever they find themselves.
50 Senior Secondary School students were selected from Iwere College, Beach Secondary School and Omateye Secondary School, Ajagbodudu, all within the Koko community of Delta State to participate in the event.
Prior stakeholder engagements ahead of the Job shadow event was held with the pre-selected schools, the State Ministry of Education, as well as volunteer Total Nigeria employees who acted as mentors.
The Corporate Affairs Manager Mr. Albert Mabuyaku on behalf of the Managing Director Mr. Jean-Phillipe Torres, welcomed the students and introduced the topic of the day. The students got the pre-requisite safety brief which is a crucial part of Total’s core values and were kitted with the appropriate Personal Protective equipment.
The students had an all round presentation on the Company’s activities as well as another on ‘Leadership in the 21st Century’. This was meant to further enlighten them on the leadership qualities essential in today’s workplace as well as employability skills to prepare them as future leaders.
A key feature of the day’s activities is the pairing of students with volunteer employees to enable them experience first-hand, the employee’s work environment, employability and occupational skills in practice; as well as potential career options open to them. This will also provide students the opportunity to engage their ‘mentors’ during the session.
In addition to the event, students visited the Total Service Station in Koko to experience sales activities and operations. At the station, the volunteer employees educate the students about the daily operations and general safety precautions that must be observed around a Service Station.
The students also took a guided tour of the Total Lubricant Blending Plant.
Provisions are made for light breakfast for the students prior to the event take-off, as well as lunch for all participants. Students also receive souvenirs – branded bags containing motivational books, jotters, wristband and pens. Branded t-shirts are provided for all participants; both students and employees.
In a debriefing and networking segment, students engaged with the employees in a robust Question and Answer session. This enables them to share their experiences and learn more.
After the event, students are expected to individually write an essay about their experience at the Total Job Shadow where three first place winners will be selected from each school. They will be presented with gifts which include Internet ready Educational tablets pre-loaded with educational materials and past exam questions and answers at a later date when the scripts would have been scored and winners identified. Runners’ ups are also rewarded with other gifts. Beyond the experience at the plant, the essay will also include lessons learnt from books presented to the students during the job shadow activity.
It is worthy of note to mention that the prizes are awarded the students at each of the schools assembly ground. The motive behind this mode of reward is to serve as a motivation to other students as well as encourage them to emulate hard work and diligence. The winners also share their experiences which is a definite motivating factor to their peers.
The project which is fourth in the series, targets Senior Secondary School Students from Arts, Commercial, Social Sciences, and Science orientation. These are the group of students at the verge of making potential career choices in preparation for their tertiary education.
Some Articulated Feedback from Past Benenficiaries
‘This is my first time in a very large work environment such as this and it was fun and full of learning points.’ Amina Umar; Queen Amina College; Kaduna State.
“The way Ms. Patricia Young taught me was awesome, it triggered me to work harder towards my career goals” – Jennifer Agada, GSS Makera, Kaduna State.
“Total job shadow was a great experience; it gave me the opportunity to know how important school and education is regarding my future”-Hafsat Abubakar; GSS Makera, Kaduna State.
“The few hours I spent at Total Blending plant has taught me more things than I have learnt in school”. Hudu Abdulazeez; GSS Kakuri; Kaduna State.
“I feel this event should continue. It was really informative, it made me rethink and focus on making the best of my life” – Ogbonna Favour, Imoye Senior Secondary School, Amuwo Odofin- Lagos.
“I enjoyed having a practical experience of some of the things we learnt in school, watching the staff produce and package lubricants before distribution was interesting” – Kolade Opeyemi, Amuwo Odofin Senior High School.
“My experience today will remain unforgettable. I have been to other events which my school has introduced me to, but none of them compares with this. I’m really excited and thankful for the opportunity to learn so much. I enjoyed my interaction with my mentor, Mr Solarin”. – Paul Blessing, Victoria Island Senior Secondary School, Lagos.
“My mentor taught me so much about web designing. The entire experience was fantastic. I am very grateful to Total for this opportunity”. – Owoyemi Kehinde, Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island – Lagos.
“I learnt so much about Leadership. I also learnt new things about Total and its various fields of operation. The group work on Leadership was very educative. I am better equipped to make great decisions and choices in the future”. – Chigbu Emmanuel, Government Senior College Victoria Island, Lagos.
“It was a wonderful and inspirational event. It has helped me as a young student to learn more about various career options in order to make good choices in the future, after school”. – Babatunde Jimoh. Government Senior College Victoria Island, Lagos.