Jobberman to host the largest-ever virtual career fair this September

Jobberman, Nigeria's leading online training and job placement website, recently announced it's plans to host the country's first largest ever career fair on the 30th of September, 2020

The career fair tagged "Be a Champion" was announced on the 9th of September, 2020 in an online press conference in conjunction with partners, Mastercard Foundation. Through the fair, the organizers hope to host and connect 10,000 job seekers with 250 employers.

In June 2020, Jobberman and Mastercard Foundation announced their partnership on the #Champions campaign which sought to place 3 million Nigerians in dignified employment by 2025.

The campaign is also a part of Mastercard Foundation's commitment to getting 30 million Africans employed in 2030 under their Young Africa Works Program. Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head Mastercard Foundation, mentioned during the interview that the partnership with Jobberman was aimed at training Nigerians in critical employability skills.

Jobberman, a well-known online platform in Nigeria that provides training and placement for job seekers, has been actively involved in creating democratic access to jobs for young people. The company also uses their platform to execute training programs aimed at improving the soft skills of Nigerian job seekers.

The current online training program  equips young people (18-35) with critical tools including business etiquette, emotional intelligence and more, to help them transition into their new roles and increase workplace productivity. According to Hilda Kragha, Jobberman CEO, the company had trained over 40,000 job seekers and placed 20,000 in roles during the pandemic.

The one-day career fair looks to teach young Nigerians how to navigate the increasingly crowded job space and provide one on one interviews between candidates and employers.

Speaking at the press conference on Tuesday, Hilda Kragha said, "The Virtual Career Fair perfectly encapsulates Jobberman’s commitment to alleviating the strains of unemployment and employability, by connecting thousands of qualified candidates to reputable employers, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an innovative and technologically driven company, I am delighted that we were able to find a solution to this immediate and challenging issue, by creating this first ever virtual space of opportunity for both employer and candidate. We strongly encourage signing-up."

To be a part of the September edition of the virtual career fair, interested participants will have to register, and complete, the online training. Employers who also want to be beneficiaries of the trade fair can have their candidates pre-assessed for a flat fee of ₦50,000.

In response to a question on what Jobberman was doing to help equip Nigerians with hard skills required for the current work climate, Precious Ajoonu, Head, Youth Engagement and Learning at Jobberman, replied that although the company's area of competence was soft skills, they were working on bringing on partners that specialize in hard skills.

The fair will be held virtually, using Hubilo - an online virtual event platform. Although it will primarily target participants in Lagos, Kano and Kaduna, job seekers from all over the country are welcome to apply. Although the event will be completely held online, it will also feature seminars, sponsored contests and a networking lounge where employers can meet with, and get to know job seekers.