THE TRAINING AFFECTED BOTH MY WORK AND PRIVATE LIFE- ALUMNA BOLANLE OLANIYAN

When Bolanle finished secondary school in 2014, she immediately started working as an assistant in her Aunt's salon and she continued to work there even as she transitioned from one contract job to another till January in 2019 when she heard about our training program.

A friend who is also an alumnus overheard Bolanle’s conversation with her aunt about the many disappointments, she was facing in trying to land a job told her about the platform to upskill herself that we provide. This piqued her interest in WAVE and she decided to register for the training.

Bolanle recounted her training with us as one that pulled her completely out of her comfort zone because most of the trainees were much older than her and it was a struggle relating with them. Also, being a shy person didn’t help matters either.

One memorable experience for Bolanle was when they had their debate class, “I was chosen by Andre, our facilitator, to represent my group in a debate. In my head, I wasn’t even going to attend on the day of the presentation but my Aunt forced me to go, encouraging me to say whatever comes out of my mouth. Despite my fears, I did well in the debate, and from that day forward, I started contributing in class, and this has helped my interactions with friends and also co-workers.”

After the in-class training, Bolanle had her job shadow at the WAVE office in Yaba as a support assistant. It was a prime opportunity to establish an in-depth understanding of soft skills and practice it daily.

A month after her job shadow, she got a job through WAVE at Traffic Bar and Restaurant, Ikoyi Lagos as an Assistant Chef, and she is working there up to date. She is grateful to WAVE for the skills she learned as it helps her communicate properly, solve problems creatively, be emotionally intelligent and this plays into all aspects of her life.

Bolanle dreams of being a full-time Chef and starting her own kitchen. She stated that financial constraints are the only reason she hasn’t enrolled in a culinary school but she still is working towards her dream.

Her advice to job seekers is to be patient, learn skills, and if they can take the opportunity that WAVE provides as a starting point to grow their career.