Airtel Ghana, the Smartphone Network, played host to 40 Senior High School students from selected schools in Accra on May 24th for a full day job shadowing experience as part of the African Union Day celebrations and the company’s commitment to empowering young people to fully realise their potentials.

The Job shadowing programme, championed by Junior Achievement Ghana and the African Internship Academy and supported by Airtel Ghana is part of initiatives to provide students with practical experience and exposure whilst they are in school to help them make informed choices on future career paths.

The initiative was also to commemorate the African Union Day Celebrations this year under the theme; “harnessing the demographic dividend through investment in youth”

Job shadow programmes aim to address some of the gaps students face when transitioning from school to the world of work. They expose young people to available options to shape their thinking and help them make informed decisions about career paths and appropriate courses to pursue in line with their preferred career options.

Consequently, host companies such as Airtel Ghana, strengthen and promote businesses’ involvement in education, shapes the future workforce and offers participating youngsters a rare look into the future of work and an opportunity to experience, at firsthand, the world of work.

The 40 students from two Senior High Schools – St. Thomas Aquinas and Holy Trinity were exposed to a typical work day in the offices of Airtel Ghana. They were first hosted by Airtel Ghana’s CEO, Lucy Quist who inspired them to believe in their dreams and to passionately pursue them.

The students spent the rest of the day with Airtel employees in different departments – from Networks and IT to Marketing, HR, Corporate Communications and Customer Experience.

From reviewing plans for network optimisation to enrich customers’ experience on Airtel to responding to customer queries, the students were immersed in Airtel Ghana’s energizing workplace and culture for an entire day.

Airtel Ghana recently launched a groundbreaking initiative – Hello World Series – to help bridge the gap between academia and the workplace for Tertiary students. Under the initiative, employees of the company spend time to empower tertiary students and prepare them for the world of work. Supporting the Job Shadowing initiative of Junior Achievement Ghana and the African Internship Academy speaks to the company’s commitment to invest in young people and to empower them to fully realise their potential.

Airtel Ghana is also providing internship opportunities for the next batch of 20 graduates from tertiary institutions in the country starting June this year.