Feature

JIPL Corporate Grooming Workshop
Plan All the Way

Star Campus Desk

JOBS-ICT Private Limited (JIPL) is an International Human Resources (HR) consultancy firm focusing on the development of the ICT sector of Bangladesh. The organization works closely with different public and private universities in the country to identify and place aspiring young professionals in the ICT sector of Bangladesh. In order to facilitate this goal, JIPL provides services aimed at developing the 'soft skills' of students, which includes training on professionalism, career development, and CV writing.

Keeping an alignment with the objective, JIPL organized a 2-day interactive and activity based workshop at the Gulshan club on the 13th and 14th of March 2009, with a total of 28 students from various universities in Dhaka. Titled as “JIPL Corporate Grooming Competition 2009: Plan All the Way” the workshop high-lighted on different activities and projects that assessed the participants' ability to communicate effectively through project management skills, team playing capability, time management and other soft skills.

The two day program focused first on promoting the importance of verbal and written communication, appearance, and introductions through a series of activities and theoretical sessions. On the second day trainers guided participants in applying lessons learned on Day 1 to the challenge of event planning. Each group created their own scripts, choreographed and staged their own fashion show to showcase what they have learned in Day 1. Creativity, entertainment and fun paired with serious project management skills went hand in hand as the participants took to the task of staging their individual performances.

The first day started from 9:30 am at the Patio Hall in Gulshan Club with the division of groups and ice-breaking activities. Each group consisted of students participating from North South University, BRAC University, State University, Dhaka University and London School of Commerce. All the three groups represented one particular sector from the economy and formed their own virtual company. Starting from the name and logo of the company, they described their company's mission, vision, the services, the marketing strategies and all the competitive edges that make their company the best.

On the second day, participants started to pour in from 12 noon to run their practice sessions. The enthusiasm in all the participants was really impressive. The show started from 6 pm as the judges arrived to provide and assess each team's performances and individual scores. As soon as the show ended, each group was waiting patiently for their scores to arrive. After a fifteen minute break, the winning group was announced by the CEO of JIPL, Ms. Elli Takagaki. North South University was selected as the best team in terms of their performance and creativity. There were three grand prizes sponsored by SAMSUNG for the three best scorers in the competition. Ms. Amani Faiza Mulk, participant from LSC won the grand prize, a 22 inch LCD monitor. Ms. Tarannum Ali, participant from NSU got the second place and won 17 inch LCD monitor. Mr. Awranga Jeb from Dhaka University was the third best scorer winning a Samsung digital photo-frame.

Bibi Russell represented the fashion industry and provided tips to each participant after they cat-walked and showcased their respective companies through presentations. Among other eminent personalities present during the grand event, Mr. Asheq Ul Islam represented from SAMSUNG, Ms. Tamina Mahmud Chowdhury from bdnews24.com, Ms. Erika Hoffman-Kiess from JOBS, Mr. Faisal R. Ferdous from APEX Pharma, Mr. Riaz ur Rahman and Ms. Nahar Abed Gullo from Gulshan Club and Ms. Shirin Jahangeer from World Bank were the judges.

All in all, it was a grand event. JIPL plans to hold more events like this and at a wider scale to promote the importance of soft skills development and build up the workforce capacity of Bangladesh.