Lagos: Career experts have urged young Nigerians to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI), continuous learning, and integrity to remain competitive in an evolving workplace. The experts gave the advice on Saturday at the New Estate Baptist Church (NEBC) Foresight Ministry Career Fair 2.0 in Lagos. The fair had the theme: ‘Future Ready: Workplace Alignment.’
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Chief Executive Officer of Lawbreed Ltd., Mr. Layi Babatunde (SAN), stated that AI would increasingly automate routine digital tasks such as data entry, transcription, basic customer support, and low-complexity bookkeeping. However, he emphasized that careers requiring human judgment, creativity, accountability, trust, and physical presence would remain relevant. ‘The currency of the future is integrity. Technology will continue to change the way we work, but human values and sound judgment will remain indispensable,’ he said. Babatunde urged young people to continually upgrade their skills, remain globally competitive, and combine faith with knowledge, accountability, and excellence.
People Operations Expert, Mrs. Omosigho Ozor, advised young professionals to prioritize competence over immediate financial rewards in the early stages of their careers. She encouraged volunteering, continuous learning, and relationship building to improve career prospects. According to her, professionals aspiring to leadership roles must complement technical competence with strategic thinking, financial literacy, organizational awareness, and people management skills. ‘Leadership is a different profession. It is no longer about doing the work yourself, but enabling others to succeed,’ she said. Ozor added that professionals who effectively combined AI tools with human judgment would remain valuable despite rapid technological changes.
An AI specialist, Mr. Justice Anaba, urged professionals to deploy AI responsibly to improve productivity and accelerate career growth. He identified learning faster, increasing professional visibility, improving employability, and enhancing workplace performance as key benefits of AI. Anaba advised job seekers to tailor their CVs with relevant skills and keywords to improve visibility in AI-assisted recruitment processes. He cautioned against relying solely on AI-generated content without verification or exposing confidential information on public AI platforms. ‘AI should serve as an assistant to enhance productivity rather than replace human judgment and ethical responsibility,’ he said.
Earlier, the Senior Pastor of NEBC, Rev. Amos Kuntat, said the career fair was organized to inspire young people to discover purpose and contribute to tackling unemployment through entrepreneurship and job creation. ‘Our desire is to stir something in young people that will make them become productive and impact generations to come,’ he said. The church’s Youth and Education Minister, Rev. Solomon Ajibade, said the initiative was designed to equip young people with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing workplace. He added that the church planned to expand the program beyond its congregation.
Youth President of the NEBC, Mrs. Omotayo Okewunmi, said the fair featured CV reviews, mock interviews, career mentoring sessions, networking opportunities, and a business pitch competition. She added that the ministry planned to establish a business hub to connect entrepreneurs within the church and promote collaboration. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mary Obadan, founder of Ryad’s Genesis, won the competition’s N1 million business grant. Obadan’s business pitch on the production and sale of personal care products, home care products, and resin art pieces emerged the most outstanding among seven entries.