Social skills and decorum are some of the most cardinal attributes that get people far in both in corporate and private spheres life. Unfortunately, not everyone is born with these attributes. Whilst some people have them in abundance, the same can’t be said for others.
The good news, however, is that while these qualities are innate in some individuals, they are also learnable skills. Over the years, several authors and human relationships experts have shown compounding evidence that these skills are not just learnable but have been practised since antiquity. In Nigeria,
Poise Nigeria Limited, the first of its kind and a premier etiquette and personality school, is aiding individuals in acquiring these skills which were once thought to be exclusively found in naturals.
Realizing The Importance Of Soft Skills
Seeing how crucial social skills were in everyday life, Mavi Isibor, a Personality coach and alumnus of the Protocol School of Washington, USA, set up Poise Nigeria Limited in 2000 to provide professionals with valuable soft skills that would enhance their presence and social skills. She was no stranger to poise as she grew up in a family that valued it. As an adult, she saw its importance play out in the workforce especially the bank in which she worked as a Deputy Manager; she observed that that much attention was not given to the skills that help marketers interface better with customers but instead the focus was more on technical areas of marketing.
In a profound way, she realized that these skills were hardly taught anywhere so she resolved to learn them herself. She attended the Protocol School of Washington where she learned some of these soft skills and as a result, she noticed a change in her performance and work output when she returned to Nigeria. Realizing that there was a gap to be filled in a workforce abounding with professionals who only knew the technical details but were hardly aware of the fundamentals of business and relationships, she decided to set up her own agency that would teach these skills.
Achievements And Impact
In 2010, Poise Graduate Finishing Academy (PGFA), a subsidiary of Poise Nigeria Limited, started operations with the focus on equipping employable graduates with the necessary skills that World Class Organizations were in search for. Through their National University Commission (NUC) endorsed soft skills PSENSE Employability Skills Certification, they’ve been able to impact over 33,000 graduates with
employability skills.
The skills covered in this training include business canvas and plan writing, self-awareness, business communication and etiquette, amongst others. The Group Managing Director of Poise Nigeria, Ukinebo Dare, has cited the delight of employers in the graduates passing out of PGFA as a confirmation of the agency’s impact. As at 2016, PGFA had recorded an 87% employment rate of all its certified graduates.
