Guys help me out here. When i registered for the ICS Talent Bank stuff, the orientation i was given was that it was goining to be a job fair holding in october 2015. But i just received a text from them inviting me for a test/interview. And the location is still along that same Ikorudu Road where all this scammers claim yo jave companies. Me is skeptical about the ICS text/interview invitation. I have attaches a screen grab of the text. Help me with clarification please.

Not scam. That's the address of ICSL, go for the test

Got same message for same day and date, after being resheduled once. I av another test same day and date at Ib which is priority. Don't know if I could be rescheduled again, or dey don taya already for me!!!

Na them o run

Icsl is real not gnld

opatolad:
Got same message for same day and date, after being resheduled once. I av another test same day and date at Ib which is priority. Don't know if I could be rescheduled again, or dey don taya already for me!!!

[/b] THEM GO USE GUN PURSUE YOU[/quote]

Thanks guys....

.

For any brand to be worthy of patronage, it has to constantly uphold both integrity of purpose and integrity of actions. Unfortunately Integrated Corporate Services Limited (ICSL), the organisers of the recently concluded ‘Biggest Job Fair in Africa’ failed woefully on both ends.

Integrity of purpose simply means to embark on a project solely for the reasons for which it was proclaimed to be undertaken. In the corporate world, it connotes the business case to be in alignment with advertised services. If a pharmaceutical company manufactures a drug and tells the world, this drug can cure malaria. If the drug doesn’t cure malaria after taking the prescribed dosage under the stipulated conditions then the company lacks integrity of purpose. Worse still, if the company knows fully well that the drug is a mere placebo and still goes forth to advertise it as a cure for malaria, it lacks not only integrity of purpose but also value for human dignity and such an establishment should be avoided like a plague.

As for integrity of action, it is promising to take some actions but failing to do so. If a food company proclaims that certain vitamins and minerals have been added to a beverage but upon subjecting the beverage to laboratory tests, it was discovered that it was deficient of those nutrients, then the company has failed the integrity of action test. If a politician promised to provide free education, healthcare and meals after 2 years upon the assumption of public office and fails to provide such within the time frame, then he lacks integrity of action.

ICS brazenly discarded both integrity of purpose and integrity of action in a manner synonymous with the impunity culture prevalent in the Nigerian public domain. This article would explain further below.

It is sadly surprising and hugely disheartening that over a week after the charade of a job fair held at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, with thousands of graduates left debased and disappointed, no one has registered any concrete complaint or disapproval in the public space. Apart from the light grumblings on nairaland.com, no discontent whatsoever has been visible. This speaks volumes of the ‘suffering and smiling’ syndrome ingrained in the psyche of the average Nigerian graduate.

One begins to ponder if it is a case of battered self-esteem due to prolonged subjection to humiliation by lecturers, recruitment agencies and prospective employers or a case of being hopeful that a job offer may miraculously emerge from the huge pile of resumes dumped on the floor of the National Theatre or a fear of victimisation from the powers that be. Silence in the face of evil is the fuel for impunity and corruption, thus this article is aimed at giving an objective feedback to all the news stations, social media outlets and members of the public who were caught in the publicity stunts displayed by ICS Limited.

What was the Talent Bank meant to be? It was touted to turn out as ‘Africa’s Biggest Job Fair’. The theme widely publicised was ’50 Brands meet 2000 Talents at 1 venue’. The profile on the twitter handle of ICS Limited read ‘Be part of the 2,000 job seekers to get employment at the ICS Talent Bank Job Fair. On the ICS job portal, the main aim of the job fair was to address the scourge of unemployment faced in Nigeria today by preparing and presenting Top Talents to top brands for immediate placement.

With all these carrots being dangled, it wouldn’t be out of place for an average unemployed graduate to conclude that his/ her job search sojourn would most likely come to an end once he or she scales through the hurdles cum selection process required to get invited for the job fair as a top talent.

The selection process for the ICS Talent Bank comprised of 6 major stages which included online registration, candidates’ credentials verification at ICS offices, aptitude tests, first stage interview, second stage interview, employment documentations which included seeking out for 4 guarantors and witnesses, Employability/ Talent Bank Talk (this was meant to give candidates the required information of what to expect at the talent bank but deliberately CV writing and career talks were presented instead) and online career profiling assessment.

At the interview stages, it was widely circulated that major oil multinationals like Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, major manufacturing companies and several other indigenous and international brands would be at the job fair.

It would have been logical to conclude that similar processes undergone by the candidates would have been applied to the recruiting companies/ brands as well to ascertain their credibility, staff requirements and availability for the job fair.

Alas! The situation at the job fair was shockingly unexpected. Instead of meeting 50 great brands that were eager to recruit top talents, we were faced with 9 companies (4 banks, 2 FMCG, a pension fund administrator, a telecoms company and an ICT training institute) who came solely to force their products down the throats of candidates. I doubt if any of those companies were represented by their recruitment or human resources personnel. Their representatives at the job fair were marketing officers and sales agents. The same gimmick was used by almost all of them to ensure that their products were patronised i.e., if you are really passionate about working for us, then you have to love and use our products also.

As for the banks, one was ‘secretly’ advised to open an account on the spot for you to be considered. At the fair, I met a lady that was hastily filling out a savings account opening form for one of those banks. When I asked her on why she was doing so, she had to say she ‘truly loved the bank and had been looking forward to banking with them’. Seriously? A classic case of suffering and smiling. The telecoms company really perfected the art. On scrutinising your resume and discovering that your phone number is not that of their network, you are then recommended to get and register a SIM card at the fair and then purchase a N1000 voucher for you to have the chance to work for them. The ICT training institute mandated the unemployed graduates to register for one of its courses valued at N49000 to be considered for employment. The FMCG companies expected you to help in marketing their products as a sales agent. No wonder, some of these companies collected CVs just to later dump them on the floor after achieving their aims.

As all these were ongoing (the job fair actually started around 2pm), there was no staff of ICS Limited on ground because they had all left the venue having accomplished their ‘goal’ for which the event was organised. Truth be told, the company was more concerned about reviving its dwindling corporate image as a major outsourcing firm to attract more patronage from top companies. This was what the first 5 hours of the programme was used to accomplish. The company wanted the public to view it as a firm that is striving towards reducing the scourge of unemployment in Nigeria and also helping companies to recruit quality employees. Whereas the ICS Talent Bank 1.0 portrayed the company as one taking undue advantage of the millions of unemployed graduates who are ready to give it all it takes and even risk their lives in securing jobs.

For weeks before the fair, the company was frequently asked both online and in their offices to release the names of participating companies but tacitly ignored the requests even though they were promptly answering other enquiries. This clearly showed that all that happened was pre-planned and tailored towards using candidates as pawns in their publicity game.

ICS Limited effectively connived with some companies to come and market their products under the guise of recruitment and hoodwinked several others into believing that they are capable of producing the most quality candidates for employment with their ‘rigorous’ recruitment process.

Some may be putting forth the argument that after all the company did not collect money from candidates to be invited for the job fair. So why all these hullaballoo? Firstly, the company lied to the candidates, to the companies and also to the public especially at the press briefing held before the job fair. Secondly, ICS Limited ensured candidates travelled from across Nigeria to attend the charade in Lagos. Some came from cities like Kaduna, Owerri, Benin and other far places. They had to expend transportation and hotel costs in addition to risking their lives on the poor Nigerian roads.

Thirdly, the hopes and aspirations of many were dented as they couldn’t have imagined the gross betrayal that transpired. Many felt used and insignificant and would need some help in regaining their belief in the credibility of outsourcing companies. And the time expended on these? I am sure no candidate spent less than 4 days for the screening process excluding the attendance at the job fair. Lastly, ICS Limited has set a negative precedence for other firms to make use of unemployed graduates in booming their corporate images with the guise of providing employment without any consequences whatsoever.

In conclusion, I am calling on all those in authority to look more into this scam to prevent future reoccurrence before another ICS Talent Bank 2.0 takes places. I implore all the news media that were represented at the press briefing that took place before job fair to do some investigation on what transpired at the fair and reach out to the necessary agencies for prompt action. After all what can a bloody unemployed graduate do and who even cares about what he/she think? Please prove me wrong.

Thanks.
https://omoodoagba.files./2015/10/ics-talent-scam.

Nice piece by Denigma