NYSC urges employers in Benue to be parents to corps members

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has urged corps employers to be parents and mentors to corps members posted to their organisations.

The NYSC in Benue made the appeal in a paper presentation by Mr Emmanuel Adah during a one-day Corps Employers’ Workshop organised by the corps on Thursday in Makurdi.

The workshop, which drew participants from the 23 local government areas (LGAs) of Benue, had as theme: “Partners In Progress: Corps Employers’ Role In Enhancing Corps Members’ Well-being and Productivity”.

In the presentation; “Managing and Preparing a Young Employee for Productivity,” Adah said parenting support in the workplace was crucial for employee well-being and productivity.

“Workplace parenting through education, flexible work arrangements, and mental health support can reduce stress, absenteeism, and improve overall job satisfaction, benefiting both employees and the organisation,” he said.

According to him also, mentoring in the workplace facilitates knowledge transfer, accelerates employee development, enhances performance, and strengthens the overall organisational culture.

“By fostering a supportive environment for growth, mentoring helps retain talent, increase employee engagement, and ultimately contributes to the long-term success of the company,’ he stated.

Adah, who is also a corps employer, urged all corps employers to be more like parents and mentors to corps members posted to them than being bosses, saying that treating like family would make them feel at home to put in their best in their assignments.

In her remarks, the Benue NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Veronica Garba, appreciated the corps employers in the state for their roles in mentoring, engaging, and supporting corps members.
According to Garba, they were not just employers, but nation-building mentors and catalysts for change.

She noted that corps members represented the hope and future of Nigeria, saying that if placed in the right environment, nurtured and allowed to grow, they would contribute immensely to national development.

Garba, therefore, urged corps employers to maximise the opportunity given to contribute to national development by accepting corps members posted to them and ensuring that they were well mentored and cared for.

Also speaking, the NYSC North Central Director II, Mrs Grace Ogebe, noted that corps employers played vital roles in the performance of corps members during their service year by providing the platforms for them to apply their skills.

Ogebe, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Operations, Mr Abdulrazaq Wahab, decried the increasing cases of rejection of corps members posted to organisations.
She alleged that some organisations also connived with corps members to get self-induced rejection.

Ogebe appealed to corps employers to stop rejecting corps members and provide a supportive work environment that would enhance their wellbeing and productivity.