Promising students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) that currently undergoing the mandatory SIWES programme have shared the challenges encountered in getting placement at public and private organizations across the country.
The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), also called Industrial Training is a compulsory skills training programme intended to expose and prepare students of Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges.
The scheme also affords students the opportunity of familiarizing and exposing themselves to the needed experience in handling equipment and machinery that are usually not available in their institution. The establishment of the scheme was to solve the growing concern among industrialists, that graduates of institutions of higher learning lacked adequate practical background studies preparatory for employment in industries.
AAUA students share their ordeals
As the SIWES programme is a prerequisite for AAUA students to the degree programme, it is however challenging to get placements at governmental and non-governmental organizations to observe their six months mandatory programme. Some students shared their ordeals with AAUA INSIDER.
An auspicious student, Ojo Jolade said, “It was hard and not so hard in the sense that before I got a placement at the organization I work for now, I had move from one organization to another submitting my letter, which they eventually rejected me. The school can help by giving students recommendations, especially those that don’t have ‘connection’. The government can also create slots at governmental ministries for SIWES and IT students.”
Speaking with AAUA INSIDER, Adediwura Williams, a student of Animal and Environment Biology said, “It wasn’t really easy. Especially with the COVID-19 thing still hanging over the atmosphere. If the school partners with existing organizations to take in their students every year for the SIWES program. It would be a lot easier.”
Adesina Mubarak, a Geology undergraduate said, “Getting placement during the short period the school gave us isn’t easy. And for someone in my department, I can’t just go to any organization for my SIWES, which makes getting a placement hard. The school should help us collaborate with governmental and non-governmental organizations to create slots for upcoming SIWES students.”
Arguably, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world disrupted many sectors including the educational sector in the country. The lingering pandemic has a strong effect on private and public organizations, this also affected students in getting a placement to observe their mandatory SIWES programme.
However, the respondents opined that the University should collaborate with public and private organizations to create sections at their organizations for SIWES students.
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