Students who need to compete at the international level have been advised to seek more training through undertaking professional courses after completing undergraduate studies.

Reuben Kibiru, the chief executive officer of Britam in Rwanda, made the call to students, lecturers and human resource managers last week in Kigali during a training session on professional courses at the launch of the Campus Career Fair Programme.

"When you complete your university degree, there is need to go an extra mile, be it competing on the now open regional East African market or around the Globe. All these require competences that you can only gain from professional courses,” Kibiru said.

Kibiru, who added that employers now rely on a workforce with sufficient skills, emphasised that lack of professionalism is now limiting availability of both capacity and creativity.

"Institutions are able to make more profits if they hire professionals who are creative. Even self-employment demands a high set of creativity,” he added.

Deborah Ingabire, the finance and marketing manager of AISEC, an institution that trains youth in leadership skills, said youth can meet the required skill set through more training.

"University graduates could be left out for jobs because of lack of potential. We are taking the human resource managers to the universities so that they explain what they expect from the applicants,” Ingabire said.

She also advised unemployed graduates without experience to take on voluntary work.

Meanwhile Jean Damascene Ndahayo, the head of the career advisory centre at Independent Institute of Lay Adventist in Kigali, said the meeting of managers, learning institutions and students would bridge the gap between employees and employers.

"Most times universities are blamed for not producing well-trained graduates and on the other hand universities blame employers for not taking care of their students during internships and after graduation, but this can be addressed through such interactions,” Ndahayo said.

The Campus Fair Programme aim to inform students in universities and other higher institutions the requirements of the job market through exhibitions and training sessions that involve discussions, curriculum vitae writing and interviews. Events will this month begin with Kigali Institute of Management and University of Rwanda in January next year.