The
latest winners (Flexxterns) were inaugurated and presented with certificates at
an event on October 31 in Lagos. Each of them will get a 3-month paid
internship and career building experience with either FCMB or one of the
organisations partnering with the bank on this capacity building initiative.
The thirty beneficiaries also stand a chance of being retained for full
employment at the end of their respective internships.
The
inauguration provided an opportunity to meet the Flexxterns and introduce them
to the organisations they would respectively work with. In attendance were
representatives of the partner organisations such as Insight Publicis, Terragon
Group, Digiengage and TISV Digital. Other partners were 618 Bees, Lumenave,
Sagerock& Associates, Vas2Net, School Kits Limited, Dmastermind as well as
Wetherheads.
The 2019
#FCMBFlexxtern contest, which began on September 13 and ended on October 5, was
held at Flexxzone, the exclusive microsite built around FCMB’s Flexx
proposition and which also provides relevant content to the Flexx target
audience on a wide range of areas, including fashion, lifestyle,
entrepreneurship. To qualify, interested youths were advised to upload a
45-second video to YouTube with the hashtag #FCMBFlexxtern, explaining why they
were the best for the job and invite their friends to vote for them. At the end
of the public voting stage, the 60 entries with the highest number of votes
were shortlisted, after which a panel of judges carried out an independent
rating of the contestants. This led to the emergence of winners.
Speaking
at the event, FCMB’s Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Mr. Diran Olojo, expressed
delight at the quality of entries received from contestants and the passion
that Nigerian youths demonstrate when given the right opportunity to positively
express themselves.
According
to him, "it is very fulfilling to see a lot of young Nigerians embrace
and heartily participate in the #FCMBFlexxtern initiative. This is
important because it gives students and young graduates the opportunity to gain
hands-on workplace and business experience. We realize that many youths have
all it takes to succeed, but without the required mentoring, training and
insights, it can be a challenge to achieve results. We are excited that the
#FCMBFlexxtern initiative has become a catalyst to fast-track the development
of a new generation of professionals’’.
Also
commenting, the Group Head, Consumer Liability and Segment Management of FCMB,
Mr. Shamsideen Fashola, said the Bank recognises the role of youths in
building, shaping and driving economic growth.
He added
that, ‘’at FCMB, we are passionate about creating opportunities not just for
our customers, but all segments of the society. The #FCMBFlexxtern initiative
is a value-added offering of our Flexx product for youths. Indeed, this
programme is one of the ways we recognise and celebrate the youth as the
central force for socio-economic development, and the hope for the future. As a
business, we do not take this segment for granted. This informed the
development of our Flexx product and proposition four years ago. Certainly,
there is more to come from Flexx and FCMB’’.
The new
Flexxterns commended FCMB for giving them the opportunity to showcase their
skills and setting them on the right path towards the development of their
careers through placement in top corporate organisations.
Derin
Adeosun, a graduate of Economics from University of Lagos, said, "I am
really excited to be part of this initiative. With the high rate of
unemployment in Nigeria, it’s difficult for a young graduate like myself not to
be anxious about obtaining gainful employment after leaving school. But FCMB
has just given me the opportunity of a lifetime to start my career on very
strong grounds and I couldn’t be more grateful. This is a Bank that truly
understands the plight of the Nigerian youths’’.
Another
Flexxtern and graduate of Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Oyebowale
Rebecca, stated that, "since my third year in school, I’ve always had my
eyes set on participating in this remarkable initiative. This is because, I
know without a single atom of doubt that kicking off my professional career
with FCMB or any of the partner firms would definitely ensure that I am made
fully equipped with the necessary skill sets and knowledge base required to
make waves in the modern work place. And today, I can say with all the joy in my
heart, that I am an FCMB Flexxtern, and for that, I want to say a big thank you
to FCMB for providing me with a path that would lead me to achieving my life
goals’’.
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