Karatina University partners with Standard Chartered Bank to mentor students
Karatina University Vice Chancellor Mucai Muchiri (right), his deputy (in-charge of academics) Peninah Aloo-Obudho, Standard Chartered Bank CEO Kariuki Ngari and Board Chairperson Kellen Kariuki follow proceedings during a mentorship forum at the university in Nyeri County on November 2, 2022.
The Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with Karatina University to train students on employability skills to prepare them for the job market.
The financial institution is rolling out programmes dubbed ‘Future Makers’ and ‘Job Ready’ to equip the students with skills to be ‘useful’ after graduating from the university.
The bank’s chief executive officer for Kenya and East Africa, Kariuki Ngari and board chairperson Kellen Kariuki offered mentorship sessions to the students at the university’s main campus for the better part of Wednesday.
Speaking to Nation.Africa, the bank’s head of corporate affairs Victoria Kaigai said the programmes target mentoring youths.
“We are coaching and offering mentorship sessions to the students so as to prepare them for the job market. This is an employability programme where we provide them with entrepreneurship skills so that they can be ready and useful in the workplace,” Ms Kaigai said.
The bank also offered an opportunity for the students to enroll into its recruitment programme.
Karatina University students during a mentorship forum that was organized by the Standard Chartered Bank at the university in Nyeri County on November 2, 2022.
“We have an international graduate programme where we recruit graduates from all over the world. We hope that students from this university will apply and get a chance through the skills they have acquired today,” Ms Kaigai said.
“We believe that the graduates of this university will be able to not only get an opportunity to work at Standard Chartered but also other companies,” she added.
She said the bank has partnered with six other universities in Kenya to ensure the youths compete fairly in the job market.
The bank is also partnering with Karatina University to mitigate the effects of climate change through tree planting initiatives.
Karatina University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mucai Muchiri, who hosted the financial institution, noted that the event “was so crucial for the youth.”
“This event is, therefore, important as it focuses on re-invigorating the minds of these young ones to learn, re-learn and adjust themselves to be future-ready for this changing face of work,” Prof Muchiri said.
“The (Covid-1) pandemic, despite its negative effects, has provided an opportunity to introspect on the future of work. What employability skills, for example, are essential for the new world of work? How do we develop these skills in our employees and, in this particular instance, our students?” he posed.
