Valuing Vocation

 

Through the decades [and probably centuries], we [and that includes our forefathers] were taught that education is the way that paves us towards our goals and successes in the future.  No wonder, the educational business has been burgeoning everywhere.  And YES, it's an envy to hear one being admitted to one of the Ivy League's very exclusive list of top-tier universities.  BUT hold on.  Should we carry on that approach with regard VALUING VOCATION📗📙📘

Folorunso Alakija, one of Africa's richest women enrolled in secretarial studies diploma that landed her a job as an assistant to executives and bankers before she shifted gears to study fashion design and started her own brand.  She then branched out into real estate and oil exploration and ended up amassing a net worth of $ 1.8 billion as per 2024 data.  Many billionaires WHO succeed would make large donations to big universities WHEREAS Alakija donated at a technology college in Lagos, Nigeria to teach fashion design, welding, pedicure and manicure, hairdressing, makeup artistry and even shoe-making❗❗❗

WHAT's the rationale for that?  Alakija posited that we all can't be in an airconditioned office having all white-collar jobs.  Instead, she espoused that "YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN BOSS AND BUILD MORE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF AND PUT FOOD ON THE TABLES OF MANY MORE FAMILIES".  This success story of Alakija debunks the old school's mindset that for one to succeed, you got to equip yourself with a university degree.  Alakija's trajectory shows HOW a university degree is NOT mandatory❎❎❎

Absorbing more Alakija's insights, we can indeed realize that the field of vocational training is particularly relevant for developing economies WHERE university degrees obtained are realistically OUT OF REACH for many across their populations.  Taking a leaf from Alakija's successes, across Africa, particularly in Uganda, Mali and Burundi, the number of secondary technical and vocational education students more than quadrupled the past decade and that trajectory continues till to date✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  Across cultures, studies show that many labor markets see a mismatch between the types of jobs that college graduates have prepared for and expect the job types that are actually hiring.  BUT to qualify, studies confirmed that vocational training programs that are well targeted toward in-demand sectors ideally can bridge the gap and provide a more viable alternative to a well-paying job than a pricey university degree.  Your choice, your take dude💚💛💜