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How to Be a Successful National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Member: How to Be a Professional Corper

The NYSC scheme is an avenue for corps members to acquire useful skills, knowledge and abilities. These skills are acquired through seminar, training, workshops, symposia, colloquium, etc. organized by the NYSC in conjunction with other organizations. These life-changing activities are one of the most profitable aspects of the NYSC scheme.

From the orientation camp, every corper will be given opportunities to acquire skill and information that will be very profitable in life. Speakers, professionals and practitioners from various fields will be invited to educate corps members on how to maximize their service year. Life after service year will also be discussed. Some community development service groups like: Nigerian Road Safety, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Millennium Development Goal, Humanitarian/ Welfare Group, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Red Cross. Etc, will also be invited to give specialized lectures. Their operations, goals and objectives will be unveiled. Corpers will be persuaded to join any of the CDS groups. It is compulsory that you must be a member of at least one CDS group. At the end of the service year you will be given membership certificates, which are very useful after service.

Apart from the above benefits, there is another silent but celebrated privilege of the NYSC scheme that will make you self-dependent, self-employed or gain employment before the end or after your service year. The NYSC always partner with various professional bodies in the quest to make youth corps members self-reliant. These professional bodies train and equip corpers with necessary skills to make them successful. Through the process of lectures, seminar and examination corps members are fully empowered. These prestigious bodies are nationally and internationally recognized. The importance of these professional trainings and certificates are innumerable.

Although these professional bodies offer world-class services, their fees are very affordable. You may not believe the cost of acquiring these training and certificates. The reason for the reduced fees is that these professional bodies are aware of the allowance of corpers, and they know the importance of corps members to national development. A typical example is the Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria. This Institute is one of the brains behind my successful writing and speaking career. Its courses on entrepreneurship opened my eyes to profitable business opportunities in the Nigerian environment. They offer comprehensive services, and I can testify that their lectures and reading materials are of good standards. The fee was very affordable. Non NYSC members pay a very high fee to acquire this professional certificate.

So many professional bodies exist, take advantage of the reduced, priced and acquire professional skills and certificates. You might never have the opportunity again.

Most uninformed corps members perceive these professional trainings and certificates as waste of time and resources. They believe it is irrelevant. A wise man said that” no knowledge is a waste.” As an engineer you need managerial and administrative skills, even a doctor needs it, in fact, everyone that dreams to be a self-employed must acquire these skills. A social scientist or a management graduate needs technical knowledge because diversification is necessary in the business or employment market. Let’s briefly discuss some of the benefits of becoming a professional corper.

Self-Employment

One of the cardinal goals of these professional bodies is to raise professionals who will take the world economy to the next phase through the establishment of profitable small and medium-scale businesses. Their entrepreneurial and managerial lectures equip corpers to face the challenges of small and medium-scale enterprises and emerge successful. You will learn how to identify business opportunities and how to cheaply tap and execute them. The various means of capital generation and the practical steps to access these funds is one of the lectures I will never forget. These professional bodies offer vibrant and interesting lectures that will lead a young entrepreneur to the top.

Statistics have shown that only 50% of small businesses are still trading after their first three years from the initial set up. Most failure is attributed to lack of administrative, marketing and managerial skills. These skills can be acquired cheaply through professional training. I sold close to seven hundred copies of my books within one month through personal sales. It was possible because I acquired profitable management skills from various professional bodies. They offer practical courses that you can never acquire from any higher institution.

Majority of both national and international organization when recruiting make membership of professional bodies a criterion for employment. In most recruitment forms, there are always provisions to fill the professional bodies you belong to. In some cases, the vacancies are limited to only applicants who possess a certain professional certificate.

Don’t deprive yourself of a lucrative employment opportunity only because you fail to utilize an opportunity to acquire a professional training. Nigeria has millions of unemployed graduates, with just few jobs available. Only graduate with a niche can grab these limited employment opportunities. ‘Go the extra mile’, empower yourself and employers will beg for your service. Your curriculum vitae will even speak for you when you have acquired various training and certificates, they will send for you immediately you possess the skill they want. Professional training gives you an advantage over other applicants.

I secured my first job immediately after service without undergoing any aptitude test or formal interview. The owner of the firm was a Fellow of a professional body in which I am an associate. When I discovered that, I told his assistant that I wanted to see his boss. When I introduced myself the only question he asked was; can you do the job? And I said yes, that was all. I was given the job while other applicants continued the employment process just for formalities.

Knowledge

The training, lectures, seminars and reading materials offered by these professional institutions are sources of uncommon knowledge. As an entrepreneur you need knowledge to outshine your competitors, and a worker must possess special knowledge to attract promotion and increase in earnings.

In addition, acquired knowledge can lead to the establishment of a profitable business enterprise. You can become a consultant with your professional skills and certificate. Immediately, you are inducted and certified, you are permitted to start practicing. You can establish a professional firm where businesses will come to seek professional advice, and you can make good money from consultation.

Currently, I am a management consultant, entrepreneurship expert and professional debt collector. I am qualified to carry out these skilled tasks because I am a member of Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria and the Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria.

Information

Information is the only tool for development. Anyone who doesn’t value information will become obsolete. The world is moving, and things are changing every day. Your skills and professional knowledge must be updated constantly to enable you to compete favourably in the business environment and in the corporate circle. Membership of a professional body is a sure means to modernize your skills and knowledge.

Professional bodies always engage in diverse research. This leads to innovative discoveries and mind-blowing inventions. Members also engage in brainstorming sections that always produce solutions to challenges facing their profession. The only means of accessing this information is to be a member. They also organize seminars, workshops, exhibitions, meeting, etc., to acquaint members with the current trend in the profession. You can never be outdated as an active member of a professional body. They also give professional advice to members to enable them to overcome business or corporate challenges.

Association

All you need to succeed in life is meeting the right people at the right time. Your professional body can link you to people that can lead to your advancement in business and other endeavors. During professional body meetings, you will meet successful business executives and professionals. Most of them are very influential in the society; they can connect you to a job, contract, business opportunities and even a political appointment. Nobody is an island, so you must interact with the right minds to succeed.

It is very important to state that the more you associate with successful people, the greater your chance of becoming successful. You can stand on the shoulder of some senior colleague and make giant strides. All you might need to become successful might be a call or a recommendation letter from a prominent citizen.

It is possible to enroll and grab as much as three professional certificates within the one-year service period. Just choose any professional body of your choice regardless of your course of study, because no knowledge is a waste.

Please grab this opportunity now, lest, it may be difficult and expensive to acquire such certificates at the expiration of your service year.

Horse Riding Holiday in Zambia’s Kafue National Park

There is just one place you can experience the African safari on horseback in Zambia and that is in the Kafue National Park which is the largest and oldest national park in Zambia covering an incredible 14,000 square miles. And what better way can you think of to explore this vast and varying terrain, wildlife and birds than on an African riding holiday?

Rides could include the banks of the Kafue River and its many tributaries, lake shores, swamps or through thick and mysterious forests. The main base for the Zambian horse safaris is near the man-made Lake Itezhi-Tezhi which covers an area of 230 square miles. Naturally, exploring the varied shore line of the lake is a must. You will ride along its grassy banks and take in the view that is dotted with hippos, miniature islands and submerged trees – natural and irresistible perches for exotic birds.

Seated on your naturally high perch, from horseback you’ll be able to see far out across the landscape, easily able to spot many of the 500 plus species of birds that have been documented here. Horses are also perfectly suited to riding amongst some of the twenty-three species of herbivores that can be found in Kafue National Park. Unlike zebra, some of the larger herbivores like the dense elephant populations and buffalo will need to be approached more carefully as will the eleven species of carnivores!

The topography is as varied as the range of wildlife. Large teak forests (like the Ngoma Forest), sandy expanses, areas of swamp, never-ending open plains, lake beaches and even regal palm trees are on offer. Horseback is perfect to take in the surroundings of the Kafue National Park through all five senses. You’ll hear the grunts, growls and unique sounds of big game as well melodious birdsong. You’ll see brightly coloured feathers, amazing animals and beautiful plants, trees and shrubs. You’ll smell the wildness of Africa and the fresh breeze it offers. By touch you’ll lead your horse across wild Africa and at the end of an adventurous day you’ll be able to experience the taste of good food amongst great company.

Zambia is often referred to as ‘the real Africa’ for the simple reason that as it still has immense portions of wilderness. It is pristine. Untouched. Unspoiled. Areas like this deserve to be explored with respect and horseback safaris are quiet and non-intrusive, lending themselves marvelously to true adventurers, real game enthusiasts and seekers of Africa’s real charm.

Farm Safety – National Government Resources Part 2

The federal government in the United States has a special place in being able to provide both federal and local advice and help with specific focus on the agricultural industry. This applies both to advice and guidance in a theoretical sense about all business activities, and in a specific sense to dedicated areas of the agricultural and farming industry.

Agricultural safety and health centres, come under the brief of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Health and safety on farms is a major issue, and this government agency focuses on research and policies regarding the prevention of all workplace injuries on a national level, including agriculture.

Agricultural safety and health centers take this work one stage further, providing help at a more local level, albeit still in a very wide geographical area. Some of the centres based in Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, New York and Ohio.

There are a few other centres as well and their work may even be subcontracted further down the line if necessary. The intent is to be able to provide more localised information and help on a geographical basis, and each center may decide on specific ways of doing this.

Their main role is to provide safety education programs, that take into account the broad locality of where they are based, and can thereby focus on specific issues that have a local bearing.

They are an excellent resource because they can combine both federal and local experience and policies, targeted much more specifically around the locality of an area.

The National Children’s Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety is a dedicated centre, which as its name implies focuses on providing farm safety in relation to children.

Unlike a lot of other industries, the use of children and young people in agricultural work is still seen as a really good thing, providing valuable experience for young people in a safe environment, providing holiday jobs, and often lifestyle and community experience.

Many young people who work on farms also live there, either as part of the family who own the farm, or as part of a family who work there.

In any event, it is acknowledged there needs to be a special focus on how best to protect children and young people in terms of workplace safety, in ways that do not necessarily apply to other businesses.

This agency oversees that, and try to develop a framework that allows children and young people to grow up and be involved in the nature of the work in a safe and appropriate manner.

The United States Consumer Production Safety Commission is a regulatory agency whose focus is on setting standards for consumers to have confidence in, in terms of the safety of all products within the industry.

This agency tries to work closely with farmers and producers of agricultural products in order to achieve this. It is in everyone’s interests that consumers feel safe in the products they are buying, and this can be an ongoing challenge for the farming and agricultural industry.

The other main government agency worth mentioning is the Environmental Protection Agency. This agency has a broad remit to protect all areas of the environment, most notably the air, water and natural resources of the United States.

This agency has responsibility for overseeing and implementing laws and regulations that apply to pesticides and air and water pollution.

There can be heavy financial penalties if these regulations are not adhered to, and it can be a major challenge for many farms and agricultural businesses to make sure that all their business practices conform to current legislation.

The EPA should not be thought of as purely being a policeman enforcing government law.

It can also be a very effective resource for providing help and advice on what laws and regulations apply particular environment or area, and advising farmers on how best to meet their responsibilities.

Dealing with all types of pollution, either airborne or waterborne it is a responsibility that everyone working in the industry has, and in an ideal world would want to adhere to.

Business pressures can often lead to people taking shortcuts in the hope of getting away with it. This sadly does happen, although hopefully infrequently. It is important that all these government agencies work in a collective and collaborative manner in order to both support and regulate all farms and agricultural practices throughout the country.