Graduates honoured for their hard work |29 January 2018

The hard work of graduates who have studied both locally and overseas were celebrated and recognised through a gathering held on Friday at the Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa.

The Agency for National Human Resource Development (ANHRD) has recorded a total of 155 students who have graduated in various fields from October 2016 to October 2017; of which 64 pursued their studies at the University of Seychelles (UniSey) and 91 overseas.

In 2017, a total of R182 million were allocated by the government for training at tertiary education level and R171 million has been allocated for this year, which will cater for the training of existing university students and around 300 others who will commence their university level studies this year.

Present during the ceremony was President Danny Faure, designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, ministers, leader of government business Charles de Comarmond, members of the diplomatic corps, ANHRD board members

In his speech the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development Joel Morgan said that to respond to the human resource needs of the economy and to ensure continuous development of Seychellois, the government will continue to  invest heavily in the funding of scholarships to both pre and in-service students.

“Looking back over the past five years, the government has funded the training of a total of 714 graduates, of which 78% graduated at Bachelor’s degree level, 21% at Masters level and 1% at doctorate level, amounting to over R700 million,” he said.

He acknowledged that UniSey, being a young university, cannot meet the diverse training needs of all the prospective students.

“To this end, the government will continue to invest in overseas training in order to address the country’s human resource needs,” he said.

He pointed out that they plan to announce new initiatives to further encourage our students at school to work hard and excel and have a clear pathway to an excellent university education.

Minister Morgan expressed his gratitude to the private companies and international partners who sponsor scholarships to the students, to the staff of local training institutions and the partner universities abroad as well as the management and staff of ANHRD and the ministry responsible for employment who help facilitate the students and graduates.

He called upon all employing organisations to continue creating a conducive working environment for the graduates while urging the graduates to be diligent, innovative, devoted and ethical in their future vocations.

“Dear graduates, my hearty congratulations go to you all. You have persevered and achieved success. My advice to you is: work with humility, dignity and integrity for the benefit of our country. We rely on you to contribute to the advancement of our country... Please remember that learning never ends,” he said.

The ANHRD chief executive officer (CEO) Nadia Lauricourt said ANHRD’s mission is to ensure that human resource matches the evolving needs of the country and their obligation is to implement schemes and mechanisms to facilitate the studies of university students of and to retain graduates in the country.

She reassured the graduates that ANHRD is still committed to supporting them on their developmental path.

“In order to facilitate this process, we would appeal to you to keep us informed of changes in your profession life. The fact that you have received your degrees last year does not indicate that you have reached an end but rather the beginning of a long journey. It is how you decide to travel on this journey that will determine your success in life,” she said.

A graduate with a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Wiakato, Marc Arissol gave a testimony of his two years spent in New Zealand and how he managed to pull through with a First Class Honours after his degree.

“No matter how hard your situation may seem, no matter how high the mountains in your life may be, there’s always a way to tunnel through. No matter what life throws at you, there’s always a way to deal with it. If life throws lemons at you, be resilient enough to turn them into lemonade. Press on, never give up,” he said.

Elaine Lafortune, a graduate who completed a Master’s degree in T.E.S.O.L Teacher Education at the University of Leeds in the UK in 2015-2016, read her poem entitled ‘University life’ while Octavia Rose who completed her Master’s degree in Education Leadership Management at Flinders University in Australia in 2016, delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of all graduates.

“The privilege to further our education have surely brought us numerous experiences, our lives will forever be influenced by the knowledge we have acquired and by the people we have encountered throughout our scholarly journey,” she said.

Samantha Servina, who studied at the Middlesex University in Mauritius for her bachelor degree in psychology with counselling, described her university experience as ‘one of a kind’.

“It was really tough but at the same time really exciting as it was the first time being away on my own. It was growth inducing in ways where I had to be more independent and take on responsibilities while having a busy schedule, have a social life and 8 hours of sleep,” she said.

Sabrina Henriette who attained her ACCA level 3 which is equivalent to a Masters in Accounting completed her studies at the Guy Morel Institute, UniSey.

“I did not undertake my studies abroad as the course was being offered at the university here. It was tough in the beginning especially as I did not have any accounting knowledge whatsoever but through devotion in my studies and from the help of my colleagues and lecturers I made it,” she said.

She encourages students that are serious about their studies to take on ACCA as it is a prestigious qualification and internationally recognised so it opens many doors for a graduate.