At Ashesi’s inception, a Career Services department was established to reflect the value the university places on graduate preparedness for career success. The Career services office provides a number of programs including access to a database of potential or possible employers, resources including career advisors in each year group, 1 on 1 tailored coaching and a career-based curriculum for the class. The Career Services team has developed a 4-year curriculum that runs parallel to the academic curriculum and liaises with employers to continually improve this program and ensure it stays beneficial to students. The Career Services team plays a key role in enhancing Ashesi’s mission to develop leaders for the continent.

In Year 1 of the curriculum, the career services team supports first-year students in understanding themselves more and connecting who they are to their prospective careers. Personality testing to guide students in understanding themselves are provided to students. In summary, identifying careers they can thrive in and guiding them to narrow down on the possible careers they want to explore is the main objective of phase 1 of the curriculum. Right before Year 2, as students are in the process of career identification, they are enrolled in a 1 – 2-week professional environment immersion program as part of their experiential learning to explore the work environment and the nuances / disciplines that come with it, e.g.: receiving feedback from supervisors, workplace etiquette, etc. This program does not necessarily connect to careers they are interested in but is aimed at building in the student the nuances they need to thrive in the workplace. This opportunity for students to pilot their skills efficiently is important to their career growth as they can test out their learnings gained and affirm some of their choices.

In Year 2 and 3, students are supported to build the skillsets they require to excel in the industries they have identified as careers they want, while improving their general professionalism. Students are also provided with experiential learning platforms, internships and/or job shadowing activities, as they ease into their chosen paths and continue skillset and experience building, concurrently. The Career Services team continues to train and provide workshops geared at building required soft skills including CV and cover letter writing, interview training skills, portfolio building, mock interviews, etc. An innovative program the team recently established was a Coach Pairing Program where students are paired with Ashesi alumni who graduated 10 years before them. These coaches provide students with some real-life experiences that allow them to leap-frog in their professional growth.

Two major SDGs Ashesi teaches its communities and alumni, include SDG 4 (Quality education) and SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth). Our lecturers, including Rebecca Awuah, and some Ashesi recent graduates, in the spirit of national service, model quality teaching to the teachers of our neighboring middle school, when they volunteer in the schools.

In the student’s final year, the Career Services team focuses on skillsets to build professional capital needed to transition out of university i.e., job search strategies, networking, etc. Each year, over 70 companies are invited to participate in a Career Fair on Ashesi’s campus where students and alumni engage with and secure internships and employment.

This 4-phase process is tweaked as and when needed, based on current trends as well as feedback from employers, for example, in the 2023/2024 academic year, the department learned that it needed to bolster its training in student communication skills, media presence such as building a professional brand online, upskilling and looking beyond the classroom for professional certificates, etc. Currently, 90% of Ashesi University students have either secured a job or are in graduate school at least 6 months after graduation. Thus, Ashesi University's commitment to a holistic education has proven benefits.