The Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anders Einarsson, has urged secondary school students to seek professional counsel before making career decisions in order to enhance their capacity to contribute to the future development of the society.

Einarsson made the call in Lagos while reviewing the success of Promasidor Harness Your Dream (PHYD), a career guidance workshop organised and sponsored by the company.

The workshop, which was launched in Lagos last year, has also been held in Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The chief executive, who described the programme as a catch-them-young initiative, said career guidance was essential for students at junior secondary school (JSS) class 3, just before they make decisions about the subjects of their career choices.

“PHYD is designed for JSS3 students. At that level, they have nothing to lose. They are at the threshold of making choices. What the career guidance does to participants is encouraging them to review their decisions based on their natural capacities and talents,” he explained.

Einarsson disclosed that PHYD was inspired by the company’s desire to continually support the economic development of the company, insisting that the older generations could not afford to the leave the all-important career choice to students alone. He urged professionals to take active interest in helping students through career selection.

He noted: “If we are truly interested in the future of our children, if we sincerely want them to succeed and we are committed to growing the economy, we must guide students at crucial stages of their education to make the right choices.”

Justifying Promasidor’s interest in career development, he noted: “By the nature of our products, we are children and family-oriented. We have always identified with catch-them-young initiative. We want to let them know that they should be liable to the society and themselves. This is the reason youths are central to our corporate social responsibilities, which cover education, empowerment and sports.”

Einarrson said the company would continue to review PHYD to ensure that it sustained its relevance. According to him, the workshop, which will move to Enugu later in the year, would be taken across the country.