Education
Nexford University Launches “Global Grid” Initiative to Connect Nigerian Learners to Promising Careers Through Mentorship
Nexford University, the Washington D.C.-based next generation university platform, announces the Nigerian launch of its global mentorship program – the “Global Grid”, aimed at developing talent and promoting the personal, professional, and social success of its learners in the country.
The Global Grid is a global mentorship program launched by Nexford University to enable talent across the world to prepare for remote jobs. The program aims to increase awareness around the millions of jobs that are moving online, and the skills learners need to have to qualify for these jobs.
The Global Grid program stems from Nexford’s belief that when equipped with the right education talent should be able to access jobs regardless of location, gender, race or social status. The program will deep dive into the specific skills employers are looking for and how talent across the world can join this virtual, global grid.
The initiative comprises a diverse pool of thought leaders and industry experts from the healthcare, finance, education, human resources, and insurance sectors – involving publicly available webinars and personal mentoring of select learners who successfully apply to participate.
Nexford has carefully chosen well-known thought leaders in their fields to provide guidance and share business skills via a structured online mentorship program.
In Nigeria, mentors include:
· Dr. Ola Brown, founder of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company – Africa’s leading healthcare and wellness sector investment firm – with previous leadership roles at the British National Health Service;
· Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, Managing Director of The Education Partnership Centre – Nigeria’s pioneer education partnership organization specializing in research, design, implementation, support and evaluation of education programs and initiatives across various sectors of the economy. Dr Modupe is also an Asia Global Fellow at the University of Hong Kong, and Executive Board Member for Human Capital Africa;
· Yemi Faseun, Chief Talent Officer of YF Talent Partners – HR consulting, leadership, and culture transformation firm. Yemi’s previous experience includes HR leadership positions at multinational telecoms services provider Etisalat, and at Globacom, the fastest growing telecommunication company in sub-Saharan Africa; and
· Gbenga Totoyi, Partner at Alan&Grant – the Lagos-based consultancy firm creating innovative HR & Enterprise solutions – and Group Head of Human Resources of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc – a Nigerian Stock Exchange listed insurance company.
· Mobola Akingbala – Chief Marketing Officer at Hirefoster – a company that acquires, trains, and connects talented marketing professionals to companies who need their skills worldwide.
Fadl Al Tarzi, CEO of Nexford University, commented:
“Since day one we’ve had the vision that the world is evolving into a virtual grid, where qualified talent should have access to career opportunities regardless of their physical location. COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation by at least 5-10 years, today’s adoption of online education and remote working are making the virtual grid a reality. If you have connectivity and the right education you will have access to job opportunities regardless of your location.
In Nigeria, Nexford has pioneered programs connecting learners to employers with its successful cooperation with Sterling Bank. With 87% of global employers are facing skills gaps,over the coming decade the majority of global employers will have remote teams. These shifts are going to transform career prospects of learners in Nigeria and across the world. Mentorship through the ‘Global Grid’ initiative is going to help Nexford’s Nigerian learners get on this global grid and prepare them for future careers.”
Jennifer Bangoura, Director of Career Innovation at Nexford University, commented:
“We have been meticulous in selecting suitable mentors and inspiring thought leaders to drive the program and share their leadership experience and knowledge. It is a perfect complement to our existing offering, and we are delighted to announce it as we celebrate our third anniversary.”
The program coincides with the celebration of Nexford’s third anniversary. Co-founded in 2019 by CEO Fadl Al Tarzi, the online university has grown into a global platform connecting learners, regardless of age, gender or social class with global employers.
Nexford is committed to solving the world’s biggest employer challenge – skills – and bridging the gap between learners and employers. The Global Grid initiative complements Nexford’s continued global expansion, and its provision of US degree programs to global learners for social and economic mobility.
The newly launched initiative will add value to Nexford’s already strong community in Nigeria, where the university has been in successful cooperation with Sterling Bank, Nigeria’s largest commercial bank as part of its Nexford for Talent (N4T) program.
As part of the agreement, Sterling Bank underwrites students loans and provides learning scholarships and internships during studies, while in turn benefitting from access to graduates with skills specifically tailored to its corporate needs.
Since the program’s start, 209 of Sterling Bank’s employees have enrolled in Nexford degree programs, with 61 Sterling Bank MBA graduates as of January 2022.
The company’s strong Nigerian presence was recently strengthened by Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekswesili, respected former World Bank Vice President and Nigerian Minister of Education, joining Nexford’s board of directors.
The first webinar of the global program taking place on 18th February will be offered by Filippino mentor Raymond Victorino – an HR Professional with previous leadership roles with Accenture, Samsung Electronics and Jollibee, and well-known speaker and leader in human resources management and employee experience. Raymon will speak on “Positioning Yourself for the Next Job Promotion”, during which he will offer insightful tips from an HR insider perspective, which can help learners take the lead in developing their professional careers.
Nexford will continue to grow its Global Grid initiative and expand its network of mentors throughout 2022.