Emmanuel Norvisi Quaye is our portrait for today. He shares with us how he turned the lemons handed to me by life, into lemonade.
Emmanuel Norvisi Quaye is the last of 9 siblings. He is 35 years old and works as an Accounts Officer at Asar Ramofh Limited. For leisure, he loves to listen to music, read, walk, or watch movies. He is a Christian, and loves to participate in church, social and other charitable activities whenever he can.
His education
“I haven’t achieved much academically. However, I have been able to use my moderate educational background to my advantage and made some significant gains”. Norvisi’s primary, junior, and senior high education were smooth. It t took almost two years after junior high school before he started his senior high program. His parents passed away when he was a teenager. His older siblings took care of him till he completed high school because they had their own families to raise. Pursuing tertiary education has been a challenge since then due to financial constraints.
“Initially, after my first and second attempts to enter university were unsuccessful, I felt ‘defeated’ in my mind. Although I had friends who encouraged me, I generally began to shun their company altogether which affected my self-confidence”.
He could not find a decent job that paid reasonably well to help him save and go back to school. So, he combined two to three menial jobs which paid daily and weekly. Gradually, through training and short programmes he acquired and developed different skills. This has been beneficial to him in the face of several rejections, disappointments and other challenges.
I use the success stories of others as an inspiration to keep me going
“My response to these difficulties has improved positively. I use the success stories of others as an inspiration to keep me going. Of course, I had to deal with bad influences too. But I knew what I wanted. I hang around them to learn what I needed but I did not let their lifestyle sway me”
The struggle to survive
Although his education was cut short, Norvisi has been able to build relevant work experience. He believes that being a fast learner is one of the strengths that have carried him so far. In 2010, he had his first full-time job as the administrator of an Auto engineering workshop. His employer was his sister`s customer.
“He was ready to train me, because he had observed my ready-to-learn attitude. He observed me in my sister`s shop and thought I could do more if given the opportunity.”
This motivated Norvisi to push harder. He never said no to opportunities. He asked questions, learned about statutory compliances, preparing invoices and receipts, keeping administrative and financial records, managing an office, and its administrative processes including some technical skills and procurement. “I will be forever grateful to that man”
Then in 2013, he applied to be a teaching assistant at Ghana International School (GIS). Although he did not have the academic qualification, his performance at the interview earned him the role. “It was another great working and learning experience. It was a school and not parallel to my career path. Yet, their tolerance for cultural diversity and progressive way of doing things, challenged me to do even more. bring out the best in me”.
Two years into the work at GIS, he applied to be a waiter at a restaurant. However, after separate interviews with both the Managing Director and Human Resource Manager, they offered him a supervisory role. It was a great opportunity for him to learn operations, HR processes, stock management, customer relations, marketing/sale, and negotiation.
In 2018, he took up a job at UPT, a private pension company as a cleaner. He used about three months to learn their services and processes. The HR and MIS Managers noticed his potential. They gave him some tasks like data entry and stock management to handle. When he exceeded expectations, they gave him a desk with a defined role of Office/Operations Assistant.
While executing his new duties, he still kept the cleaning job in the office. It led to the establishment of his own cleaning/laundry services business, which he still does today.
Norvisi went on to work in another auto engineering company as an Administrator in 2021. He obtained a driver’s license, and took up some part-time and remote roles in-between (both as an employee and volunteer). In 2022, he started working with his current employer.
Dreams for tomorrow
He hopes that his small cleaning and environmental care service business will grow in the next 2-3 years.
This will contribute to hygiene and sanitation by putting up facilities of convenience, and creating jobs too. He recently got married. His wife is a professional teacher. Together, they hope to soon start something innovative in the educational sector. “I am still improving on my skill set and working on acquiring more. I will keep learning in relevant fields, and also hope to go back to school very soon, God willing”.
His advice to you
His advice to you is to believe in yourself and your abilities and let God lead. You can be anything you want to be if you set your mind to it and remain determined. There will always be challenges, but see them as motivation for you to do better.
“Whenever the opportunity to learn a new skill comes up, take it. It may be helping your parents or a family member in their business but you would need it one day. I know it. but take your education seriously if you have the opportunity now. Be entrepreneurial if you can.
I learnt interesting things from some of the rejections I faced. Some employers found me qualified because of my skill set, knowledge and years of experience, and gave me the job. Others thought I was overqualified, but did not meet the academic requirement. Some acknowledged that I qualified. However, they did not want to pay me the salary I deserved because of my educational background.
Having a degree is good. However, it may not always be an automatic access to a great job. Times have changed. With the internet, there are more ways to learn, re-learn and unlearn. You can stay abreast of the changing times and its demands. Take pride in your capabilities, keep a positive attitude and a fine balance of academic certificates and requisite skills”.
He acknowledges the people he met along the line who impacted him positively. Through them and some opportunities they gave him, he knows some things today, which opened doors for him.
“I am very grateful to everyone who gave me the opportunity to be in their circles – social, career, or religious. I would encourage people who are privileged to be in places of authority and opportunities to give people the chance. Help others to explore their potentials, because sometimes, all that some people need is a little push.
