UKZN Hosts its First General Career Fair
UKZN Hosts its First General Career Fair
The University of KwaZulu-Natal hosted its first combined Career Fair over three days on the Pietermaritzburg, Westville and Howard College campuses, respectively.
The fair, which was a collaborative effort from the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (AES), College of Humanities (HUM), and the College of Law and Management Studies (LMS), offered students an opportunity to engage and network with potential employers for full-time, part-time and vacation employment, graduate traineeship, internship programmes as well as trainee contracts.
Ms Yanga Lufundo, Career Development Officer for LMS and one of the organisers for the event, said the purpose of the event was for employers to recruit, engage and share their offerings with the students. She said this was the first general career fair for UKZN and the first in-person fair to be hosted after the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘In previous years, Colleges would host their own career fairs, but this year, we decided to collaborate and make it a joint effort,’ said Lufundo. ‘We couldn’t be happier with the turnout of both the companies and students and we’ll definitely see more combined career fairs being hosted in the future!’
Sharing a student’s perspective on the career fair, Mr Mohammed Khan, fourth-year Electrical Engineering student, said, ‘Being able to engage with the South African National Space Agency was really cool. I’m applying for their graduate programme and if I get in, that would be a dream come true as I’m really keen on attaining a PhD in Astrophysics in the future.’
Fourth-year Bcom General student, Ms Nosipho Buthelezi, said the fair gave her more insight into the various companies that exist, their offerings and their recruitment processes for graduates, while Mr Khethokuhle Mhlongo, a third-year Bachelor of Social Sciences student, expressed how the career fair had not assisted him directly with his field of study but rather helped him with his business endeavours.
Words: Hlengiwe Khwela
Photographs: Dime Creative Studios
