HR Column with Hector Moyo: Meeting the future leaders half way

Are things any easier for you columnist, you ask? There lies my thesis, dear reader, if it ain’t easy for you and me with our lead age of, say 50 years, how on earth do we expect a child of, say 15 years of age, to even think of making it without us adults helping out on several fronts?
There are two areas where I think we can make an impact on the life of youths, as responsible adults. Today’s topic is indeed in the HR domain, we are here talking about future leaders, economically and politically. Let us try and dissect these areas, one at a time.

EDUCATION
Education is as important today as it was in yesteryear, the only difference being that there is more need today than ever before, to make it relevant to the nation’s needs. What do you mean, columnist?
We ought to make our education practical and relevant to the needs of the country lest we continue importing cheap products from outside. Let us go back to the days when an artisan was a “fixer” and not a “fitter”, where a supervisor/ manager was a problem solver not just a conduit, etc.
Solutions can only emerge when those meant to proffer them realise the need for there to be solutions.

CAREER
That our children are in dire need of career guidance, cannot be overemphasised. We need to make this career guidance real by taking these school children out to industry and commerce — let them see conveyor belts, assembly lines, dozers, excavators, all of these being in the production lines.
Let them see accountants at work, HR personnel doing what they are best at — organising, etc. The list is endless. These children will benefit tremendously from seeing things in action as opposed to only reading about them in books and newspapers.
Industry

I know of an organisation which now conducts an annual careers day event for schools in the Matabeleland South Province. This careers day event has since been code-named “Operation bringing Schools Nearer Industry” — a practical way of meeting our youth halfway, via their needs. If I were in policy formulation bodies for the nation, I would certainly dock off part of the taxes levied on such organisations on account of such positive efforts towards the training of youths and making them relevant to the needs of the nation. This event certainly talks to the development of a national resource, the youth.
curriculum

Still on education — is our curriculum in schools and colleges adequate — I mean wholesome? Who will announce that this point has been reached, when we get there? It is our duty as nationals to contribute to the debate on the adequacy or not of the school/college curriculum, I believe.

I have come to realise that we fare better as a nation where there is something for us, in whatever we do.
Look at the phenomenon of queues. Just move somewhere near a building (even a prison) and pretend there is something good happening inside and see how a queue suddenly develops. Within minutes there will be several people lining behind you — queuing for what? Those are the beginnings of a queue mentality!
skills

Let us continue with the subject of life skills. Not even our tertiary education teaches children skills in interviews, for instance. In industry and commerce we see graduates sweating in interviews on account of lack of interview techniques. You laugh dear reader?
I wish you could have attended an interview in an organisation I once worked for, where you would have been assured of sweating after my engineering colleagues had had a go at you!
techniques

It is with the above in mind that I applaud the work done by two professional ladies from the Brethren In Christ Church (Mrs L Moyo and Mrs S Masiye), who together with the youth leaders in their circuit, invited me a week ago, to run a session on interview techniques, with a group of 25 youths. It started off as a light session but before long, the youth realised it was going to be serious business.

We moved from theory to role plays. Eventually each youth had to act the role of interviewer and interviewee. Oh yes youth love practical things, things with a future, things that identify with their needs, etc.
I saw in the youth group mean managers, managers who asked searching questions and also managers who were very understanding of the interviewee’s plight. Oh how it reminded me of real life situations!

I recall the one youth asking his colleague ‘what makes you think you are better than all the other candidates, to which the interviewee could only respond by saying “a-wena”.
guidance

Mannerisms commonly displayed by both interviewees and interviewers, were discussed and ways of mitigating against these proffered. A wide variety of issues were discussed within the time allocated for this session on life skills. I really felt that I had ploughed back to an institution into which I was born and raised for part of my life — Brethren inChrist Church.
Take home? Where some youths search for and do not find guidance, others have it brought to their door steps but do not make maximum use of it. Not with this group, though — on this day I saw youths who were appreciative of the work done by these two ladies who organised this session on life skills.
Youths took the available opportunity to ask all possible manner of questions, in an effort to untangle the intricacies of interviews. I even found myself wishing one or two of the youths an early journey to an interview session. They were focused and raring to go.

To all the youth of today, I say some of the adults will indeed meet you halfway, but you have to make the first step, by moving towards them Never ever give up the quest for knowledge and practical life skills. Victory is certain if you search in the right places.
I rest my youth inspired case, dear reader.