An educational and career advancing initiative such as the Fill Me with Colour Programme, is one focused on participant qualities in the areas of discipline, commitment, drive, purpose and grit. The above coupled with the limited number of admissions into the programme, call for a rigorous process to be strictly followed to ensure all participants accepted into the programme meet the qualification benchmark.
The process began with a call out for participant application on 25th February 2023. This initial call out was made through beauty agencies, tertiary schools and other institutions to reach makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts. The second call out was online via the foundation’s social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn @valeriecaresfoundation) from 19th April through to 26th April 2023.
A total number of 353 submissions were received and this marked the first step of the participant selection process. The application sought to attain some key qualifying information such as age (18-35 years), location (Accra), availability (can commit to nine months of training), access to educational resources, experience, interest, proof of interest and career ambition.
A team of four namely; Mrs. Valerie Marfo (Founding Director & Lead Educator), Mrs. Natasha Sawyerr (Safeguarding Officer), Ms. Solacetai Quartey (Programs Lead) and Mrs. Karen Tackie (VCF Support Lead) judiciously went through the submissions to shortlist the applicants that will make it to the second stage. The review and selection process took a total of 7 days (from 27th April to 3rd May) 2023). The first batch of non-accepted application letters and interview invitation letters went out on 4th May 2023. A total number of 110 applicants were carefully selected to attend an in-person interview which was the next stage of the selection process.
Members of the interviewing panel were: Valerie Lawson (Founding Director & Lead Educator), Kaladata Orwurariye (VCF Educator), Solacetai Quartey (Programs Lead) and Karen Tackie- (VCF Support Lead). The interviews took place on 8th & 9th May 2023 with 64 and 46 candidates in attendance respectively. The interviews took place at The Fitzgerald located in Cantonment Accra at 9:00 a.m. on both days. The environment created was welcoming to ensure all applicants felt confident and comfortable enough to express themselves freely.
The interview process was crucial because it gave all parties an opportunity to exchange enough information to determine if a candidate is truly a good fit for the programme and for the candidate to determine if they want to commit to the program or if the objectives of the programme align with their goals.
After the interviews, the panel discussed each candidate’s performance taking into consideration comments noted during the interview as well as proof of interest to determine who qualifies to become a participant. The final decision on each selected candidate was made without bias, with transparency, objectiveness and diligence.
Finally, a total number of 60 applicants were shortlisted to create the new cohort of participants for 2023. The last batch of letters for both unsuccessful applicants and successful applicants based on the interviews were sent out on 17th May 2023. The final process will be signing of a participation contract by candidates to officially make them participants of the 2023 Fill Me with Colour Programme. The programme will run for 9 months and commence on 12th June 2023 at The Fitzgerald in Cantonment Accra.
Comments