Why business organisations need skilled and talented workers

There was news that the Nigeria House of Representatives in March 2022, urged the Federal Ministry of Education to interface with other relevant government agencies to give automatic employment to first-class graduates from Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. The resolution came as a result of a motion sponsored by Honourable Chinedu Martins. Presenting the motion, Honourable Martins said the tertiary institutions in the country produced hundreds of first class graduates annually, with most of them roaming the streets without jobs. Some universities award their first-class graduates with automatic employment as assistant lecturers or graduate assistants in their specific courses. It was alleged that the growing rate at which employable first-class graduates in Nigeria are unable to secure jobs, thus forcing them to leave the country and become assets to other countries that offer them employment, is alarming.

According to findings, Nigeria has continued to unwittingly give away its best brains and intellectuals to other countries which, by virtue of their robust policies on human capacity value system, reward diligence and excellence as can be seen in the exodus of medical professionals from Nigeria to other countries. Automatic employment for first-class graduates in Nigeria will not only serve as a source of motivation for students to work harder in their studies but will also maximize their potentials in preparation for different economic roles, future leadership positions and ultimately reduce unemployment while helping the country to achieve her economic development targets. Honourable Martins saluted the efforts of University of Lagos which recently gave employment to about 100 first class graduates. The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, also in recent past, announced the automatic employment of 15 first-class graduating students at the Edo State University.

Microsoft is one of the biggest technology companies in the United States next to Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon and IBM. Microsoft success story is a case study for other manufacturing and marketing organisations. The American technology company employs approximately 221,000 people in full-time positions worldwide with median workforce age of 25 years. These workers are talented people rigorously selected for their jobs. Around 60 percent of Microsoft’s employees are located in the company’s home country in the United States. The employees are spread out over four business units: operations (manufacturing, distribution, product support, and consulting services), research and development, sales and marketing, and general administration. The technology company had a revenue standing at around $168 billion in fiscal year 2021.

Microsoft’s market capitalization has consistently grown to over $1 trillion from 2014 to 2020 courtesy of the contributions of its talented workers. Today, Microsoft is one of the most valuable brands worldwide with a brand value close to $1.5 billion, with only Apple having a higher brand value. Microsoft, headquartered in Washington, was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. To get selected in such a big company is like a one step towards a successful career. As per the eligibility criteria, the candidate must be a graduate in computer science, computer technology, sciences, administration or marketing, etc. Prospective employees are expected to have scored minimum of 60 percent on graduation. The selection process will include three phases – Written Examination, Technical Interview and Human Resource (HR) Interview. The written examination will include three sections – Aptitude, Technical and Essay Writing. The company employs the best among the super-talented.

Guinness is a company which has built its success story on talented employees. Guinness claims on its website that “We are proud to have a diverse workforce made up of thousands of talented people, each with their own story to tell”. Why would companies prefer talented people to ordinary people? Why are first class graduates assumed to be better than second class graduates when some universities drop-out have been successful in their chosen career? What is the relationship between school examination performance and business development? Are first-class graduates in Mathematics better than third class graduates in Banking and Finance for a banking job? Can a first-class graduate of Biochemistry do better in marketing than a third-class graduate of Marketing or Business Administration? Udi Dorner, a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of SetSchedule, in “Why Talent Development Matters In Business”, stated that organisations will prefer talented people instead of ordinary people for employment because business sustainability depends on talents.

Talented and best brains are easily trained and resilient. It is not easy to be on top of your peers in a class. Human resources experts believe that a graduate who was able to score good grades in colleges and universities and passed talent-search tests will do well at work, ceteris paribus. Talented graduates are easily trained. If one needs to trust any employee to deliver, it is better to trust those who have excelled in the past. Superior talent is up to eight times more productive. It is remarkable how much of a productivity lift an organization gets from top-range talents. A recent study of more than 600,000 researchers, entertainers, politicians, and athletes found that high performers are 400 percent more productive than average ones. Young talents and first-class graduates have fresh ideas and are highly innovative. Your organisation will always need new ideas and ways of thinking; this and many more are what young talents can do for a company. Organisations which refuse to regularly engage young talented minds will eventually die!

Young talents always tend to be more open-minded, creative, and enthusiastic. They bring new viewpoints and ambitious energy to workplaces and improve productivity. Superlative graduates have confidence and high morale. It is difficult for anybody to look down on them and intimidate them. They challenge other superlative employees and impact the performance of their organisations. There is no corporate asset as good as “age diversity”. Age diversity helps to ease succession and prevent ageism in the workplace. The problem in the wholesome employment of all first-class graduates into lecturing jobs is that some of them are not cut out for teaching. Some will be better as business tycoon, while some will be successful as boardroom gurus. Apprenticeship scheme in corporate organisations under federal government sponsorship will go a long way. In a country acclaimed to be poverty capital of the world, it will be fruitful for the government to have a business development hub for her young talented graduates. Given the necessary support, some of them will do well as employers of labour while some need to go abroad on government scholarship, for further studies.

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