Andrew’s Journey: When Every ‘No’ Meant Not Yet

Electrical engineering has always been a dream career for Andrew, right from childhood when he would play with and try to fix electrical items around the house. It was his way of solving problems for people, and that passion inspired him to study electrical engineering at Yaba College of Technology.

However, pursuing a dream career doesn’t always lead immediately to a dream job—one where you can truly realize your full potential. That was Andrew’s experience. After graduation, he applied for several electrical engineering roles, only to receive rejection after rejection. But he wasn’t discouraged. Each time he failed an interview, he would go back and do research on the questions he couldn’t answer to prepare better for the next one.

Andrew eventually heard about OPL Academy from a friend—an alumnus who had secured a contract job through the program. He recalls:

“He was trained, and I noticed that the things he did at home were quite amazing, quite impressive. So I told him to fix me too. And he said I should just fill the form, I should just apply.”

After completing the training, Andrew got his first real job as a technician at Megawatts through OPL Academy. Although it wasn’t his dream job, he gave it his best and kept looking out for better opportunities. A few years later, the opportunity he had been waiting for finally came—he got a job as an Electrical Engineer at Orritech, once again through OPL Academy. Reflecting on this, he says:

“They linked me to Orritech and it’s been the most wonderful thing ever—the most wonderful position ever—as an electrical engineer. And I’m loving my job, every single part of it. The challenges, meeting people, learning new things, leadership… it keeps me going.”

Looking back, Andrew says that all the failed interviews helped prepare him for the Orritech role. The same questions he once struggled with came up again—but this time, he was ready.

Today, Andrew remains grateful to OPL Academy for being there for him from the early stages of his career and helping him step into the future he always dreamed of.