Washington DC, May 5, 2022 – Nexford University (@nexford), the Washington DC-based next-generation university platform, announces the launch of its “Career Coalition” in partnership with leading employers. The coalition aims to bridge the gaps between employers and Nexford University for the benefit of talent from around the world.
Coalition program members are forward-thinking employers committed to leveraging education to drive business performance. These employers recognize the value of developing and reskilling their team members, in addition to the value of partnering with universities to recruit qualified entry-level talent.
In 2021, Nexford announced the launch of its Learn to Earn (LTE) pathway programs, aimed at connecting budding talent to businesses and facilitating the recruitment of graduates, with already confirmed partners from several major employers across the Africa.
Early members of this “career coalition” include a wide range of leading employers such as Allianz, Sterling Bank, Venture for Africa, Eva Pharma, Hassan Allam Holding and open financial technology company Mono.
Employers participating in the program will share data about their workforce and skills gaps with Nexford, which the university will use to design bespoke pathway programs that provide learners with the ideal skills that match the better meet the needs of partner employers.
Learners from select career coalition partners will be able to apply for partial and full scholarships when enrolling in one of the employer-driven pathway programs to earn specific certificates or degrees. Current employees of Career Coalition partner companies will have the opportunity to be reimbursed for the completion of selected degrees with Nexford University upon completion of their studies.
Nexford is committed to solving the world’s biggest employer challenge – skills – and closing the gap between learners and employers. The Career Coalition complements Nexford’s continued global expansion and commitment to enabling social and economic mobility through high-quality yet affordable American education, 100% online.
Fadl Al-Tarzi, CEO of Nexford University, commented:
“The Career Coalition program is designed to seamlessly integrate employer needs into Nexford programs, creating more meaningful connections between employers and talent. This will benefit learners and employers, while reducing the degree of subjectivity that currently exists in the recruitment process, as well as the traditional learning and development process. Through purposefully designed programs and data-rich tools, employers and talent should be empowered to make more meaningful decisions. »
Jennifer Bangoura, Director of Career Innovation, University of Nexford, commented:
“Whether it’s attracting skilled talent or maintaining employee motivation and retention, we constantly hear from employers, eEmployees and job seekers struggle to find credentials that match workforce needs and struggle to keep pace with rapidly changing technology.
“Through the Career Coalition, Nexford will act as a gateway for innovative and progressive companies to shortlist graduate talent to fill positions. We look forward to working with all new and prospective members to increase opportunities for graduate talent around the world.
The newly launched initiative will add value to Nexford’s already strong employer community, particularly on the African continent, where hundreds of employees are already enrolled in the university’s recently launched Nexford for Talent (N4T) program. .
Complementing Nexford’s existing employee development offering through the N4T program, as well as the recently launched The Global Grid mentoring initiative aimed at connecting talent to remote employment opportunities around the world, the program Career Coalition is another element of Nexford’s approach to rethinking the future of higher education. .
Gideon Ataraire, CEO of Allianz for Ghana added:
“Learning, unlearning and relearning is essential to employee development and that is why we do everything possible to ensure that our employees are trained and developed at every stage of their professional journey. Assessing talent, honing and developing skills should be an intentional strategy for every business, hence our determination to partner with institutions such as Nexford to make this strategic goal possible.
Tobi Lafinhan, co-founder of Venture for Africa said:
“Our vision at Venture for Africa is to contribute to the growth of African tech ecosystems by filling talent gaps and creating a strong pipeline of future talent. We are excited to continue to expand our impact with partners like Nexford University who are committed to finding new ways to address the growing challenges of talent density in our ecosystem.
“We look forward to forging a stronger bond between high-growth start-ups in Africa and skilled people around the world looking for the right opportunity to dedicate their passion, skills and time.”
