After I have moved on to face UK, Germany is now sending me embassy appointment. I applied for a Category B appointment since May 1 2021. Would I have paused all my plans and be waiting for Germany till now?

How much PTA did you get in pounds please?

EmeeNaka:
Please, collect your PTA in pounds. Don't go collect Dollar and start another exchange journey. I collected my PTA in pounds from UBA bank

Cooking

Firstbank debited me for Form A @ N558.26 today.
It took a while, but the wait is worth it

Focusmind:
Forget the degree and focus on your career. All those science courses in our universities are waste of time. Nigeria's economy is not productive and diversified to absorb those from natural sciences. I am not discouraging people, but studying natural science courses in Nigeria now is becoming waste of time.

I studied Engineering but couldn't make a breakthrough to secure a place in the oil industry. I got offer with an investment bank, with good starting salary as a trainee after passing the numerous aptitude tests and interviews. I enrolled for ICAN, starting from the foundation papers and qualified. Did masters abroad in finance and have since, became authority in finance and accounting. Currently, I am on my own as a chartered accountant and management consultant.

Science graduates have edge over their art counterparts. As an engineering graduate, we are better placed to pass the aptitude tests because of our strong background in mathematics. Many of my mates that scaled aptitude tests had background in engineering and sciences.

So, learn as much as you could. Go to YouTube and read about your functional area in the bank. You have to put extra efforts. A lot of Bankers majored in disciplines out side the finance and accounting courses.

Lucky you. Once you are able to secure a graduate position in the current Nigeria labor market, just thank your God, as a good career path has been created for you to follow. Those not lucky will be moving from one contract jobs to another; from one low position to another. Please, utilise this opportunity to the fullest. Don't waste it or take it for granted. Use it to build your capacity for the future as learning is a continuous thing.

I am grateful that such path came my way when it did. It is always difficult for people to find their footings in the corporate world once they miss that opportunity of being hired as a graduate trainee in reputable firms like banks or multinational.

Good luck to you!

He should just focus. Get higher qualification(s), learn soft skills like presentation skills/public speaking, Be very visible in his/her team and manage the boss "professionally". Also, have a mentor within or outside the bank.

I read Agric science and made Assistant Manager in less than 8 years of banking........

what would you advise those with more than 5 years work experience

efenurevic:
I spoke to an embassy staff today - sadly I must say that there is really no good news for most under Category B. It's better to spend the energy going to other countries. That is not to say that there are no Cat B getting ADs. Nonetheless, when you imagine the numbers getting to the numbers applying, a priori, you wonder what hope there is.

Even if you have paid '000s in fees it does not matter to them.

I would advise a graduate with no more than 5 years of experience to try schools in Austria or Belgium.

This is frustrating and sad - but it is what it is.

The only issue I have with these ministries is that most of them pass the ministry to their children. Hence, all the churches being built, the assets of the ministry and the control of resources automatically defaults to the children. The wealth of the church is kept within the family...... anyway, wetin be my own? Na to serve God and forget about how the funds are utilized. Everyone will answer to baba God someday.

Read my posts again. I didn't say anything that portrays you as a contract staff. Being one isn't a disease anyway, it is just a phase of Life. I feel their pain, that is why I invest so much time into training all those who work with me. I also grant them time off the job so they can further their education.

I am a proud Nigerian and I love the Nigerian way of doing things. It may be funny to you....but, who cares??

Emmerlee:


I had to chip that in so you don't think I'm a contract staff hence my defense of them. You Nigerians have a funny way of thinking.

You don't have to be in their shoes to feel their pain.

MASTERMIND04:

So he won't do any other good thing in life. Just feeding, transport and rent? You need koboko. Those demons in you must be flogged out.

Emmerlee:


I'm speaking from a position of pity for these people, the direct victims of a failed system. I can as well pretend and mind my business like most of you do but no, I prefer to bare my mind. Most likely I earn far more than you but that doesn't mean I don't feel their pain. That's the difference between both of us.

A few points though :

* Banks declare huge profits for their shareholders but does that mean they can not do better for their helpless contract staff? It's just greed and wickedness. They are taking advantage of a failed system. If proper laws are in place to protect workers and shore up minimum living wages to reasonable levels they will still work fine and declare huge profits for their shareholders.

* Some contract staff involved in marketing have been known to bring big businesses. In some cases these businesses are hijacked from them to meet the targets of main staff. Not all contract staff are involved in operations. They are however mostly treated as second class staff. The weak has to be protected. That is what makes us human.

* Cutting cost is normal in every organization, but this menace of contract staffing with graduates has to stop. It is demeaning and inhuman. Greedy slave labourers are taking advantage of the whole situation. Stuff that can't happen in saner climes - this is the point. There is a line that should not be crossed when it comes to humans. If you can't pay, don't hire.

I never countered any of these 3 points raised. Well paying banks retain the best talents and it is evident in their annual returns. Minimum wage setting is the duty of the govt (how much does govt pay its level 8 graduates?) and commercial banks pay all their staff above the recommended minimum wage.

Contract staffs who bring good business usually get better offers or get poached by other organizations. Knowing how to project your self to the organisation and ensuring no one appropriates what you laboured for is part of being smart.

I always tell contract staffs to see the job as a bridge. Once you settle and start building your future and family on it, you are creating issues for yourself. I have recruited contract staffs and I have mentored many of them into becoming core staff through conversion exercises. Some have moved to other institutions. The last one who worked with me in in Canada and doing very well. We talk on weekly basis.

Protecting the weak is part if emotional intelligence. If you make your contract staff feel like second class staff, their productivity will dip. That people do it doesnt make it right. My institution has a whistle blowing policy. Jerk behavior has sacked many managers. I cannot increase their pay but I help them grow competencies required to excel.

That it is most likely that You are earning more than Me makes Me laugh. What do you know about me?? I wonder how you came up with that. Chest beating Moreover, how is that related to this discussion It is a faceless forum anyway.

I am not defending the bank chief. I am only saying every employer is out there to make money. They will surely pay you less than the full value you contribute. The profit banks declare is for their shareholders, not for the staff! Only few do profit sharing and bonus packages. As it is in Nigeria, so it is else where. Once the banks pay above the minimum wage....no problem. What is the minimum wage in Nigeria??

Contract staff are to open accounts, do tellering, pick calls in call centers, chase some deposits, perform support roles basically. The core of the bank's profit comes from loan creation, FX sales, trade services and ebusiness. Most of these are not directly handled by the contract staff.

Also the big accounts that generate the deposits and take the loans from which the money is made are not handled by the contract staff.

Contract staff basically handle non sensitive roles and all their activities are monitored by the core staff.

Businesses, banks, multinationals are cutting their costs because these are austere times. This is happening all over the world. If you cannot create your own business, then be ready to face same anywhere you are.

If you wanna work as a core staff, wait till the bank wants to recruit full staff, apply and run through the selection process. I know many contract staffs. Some earning above the regular guys because they are more of consultants and several others who are using the job as a bridge between today and tomorrow.

Well, there is dignity of Labour where I work.

Emmerlee:


So why are the banks not hiring the so called professionals to do contract work in Nigeria??

Keep defending them.. This is why there is zero dignity of labour here. For your information many of these contract staff do much more and produce more direct results than the regular staff. It is just Nigerians taking advantage of government docility as usual. Even multinational companies are now taking advantage of this same lack of governance, stuff they can never do in other African countries not to talk of other parts of the world.

Keep defending them, that is what you Nigerians do best. No wonder your government sh*t on you guys everyday. Such a docile group of people eating sh*t daily for breakfast.

Hi Dare, you did 10 years in FBN? Why didn't you upgrade your OND qualification during the 10 years?? I know tellers who completed their BSC and masters on the job. I know several who got converted and others who moved on to other jobs.
Bro, please try to work on increasing your qualification and improving your communication skills. What you typed up there doesn't show that you did 10 years in a corporate. Continous self improvement is key to success. I am sorry if I sounded rude. See you at the top

ojoduoludare:
it is better for you to save little and quit as soon as possible,because if you don't quit now bank will soon send you parking any time , I work will first bank as a teller for 10 years my pension is just 2500 a month , when bank quit us we stay for 3 years without job because they needed experience person,no organization will want to employ you cause they don't see you as an experience person.it take grace of God that I see this one , but you see those my friend who stopped every early and join business? some off them now a big boy , some are abroad , look at me here still struggle .... say no to contract job not when u are still single because when you start having children ,to quit na wahala , to start business na war, it will be waist of youth age ( God forbid

Those contract staff in other countries have skills, expertise and experiences that are above those of the regular staff. If you do not contribute something special, no one will be dolling out money because you are a contract staff.
When you start your business, you can pay all your profit to your staff as salary o.

Emmerlee:
Sh*t going on in this country with no government. I won't advise anyone to settle for contract employment especially in a Nigerian bank. It is such a waste of years.

Everywhere else contract staff are paid over x3 of what regular staff take home due to the nature of their contracts. But in Nigeria unless you are a foreigner your fellow Nigerians will oppress you with shitty pay and make sure you rot in poverty. I just don't understand the wickedness just because there are very few options out there in a country that is just not working.

I'll advise you to focus on your online business 100%. If you really know what you are doing you'd excell before long and thank your stars for not wasting away your life in some slave employment.

PS: At the end of each quarter the same banks will declare billions of naira profit after tax so what's up with the wickedness exactly?

From the experience I have had in dealing with contract staff in the bank, I know they start out as very enthusiastic people but quickly get disgruntled when
1. They realise how much core staff are earning
2. They realise they do not have a clear cut career plan.

If you are taking up a contract job in a bank, don't stop your job hunt!
Use the opportunity to network with your customers.
Look at value chains within your customer base and position yourself to explore them.
If possible, work on additional qualification

@OP, no job is bad. Your job isn't slavery. You knew your salary and JD before you took the job. It is what it is.

If you see it as slavery, then that negative thought will lead to negative actions which will produce negative results for you.
Grow your online business and network with your customers.

I wish you the very best