Festival showcases an array of career-development and job-finding events

UCT students will be spoiled for choice in the second semester when UCT Careers Service once again hosts the Careers Festival at the University.

The festival - in its third year - sees an array of career-development and work-finding events and programmes made available to UCT students and alumni.

The Careers Service (CS) brings a multitude of stakeholders together to connect with students who are given the chance to take part in their own career development. It brings the world of work to UCT while encouraging students to plan their careers throughout their time at university.

The festival runs from 16 July to 19 November, and is highly visible on campus, ranging from expos to company presentations and showcases where recruiters engage with students about their internship and graduate opportunities.

Career Conversations allow students to engage in panel discussions with graduates who have studied similar degrees, showing UCT students that they have various career options once they graduate. Highly trained careers advisors bring expert advice to students - right to their faculties - during the CV Labs, which helps students create a top-notch CV for a job application.

One major highlight includes the popular Student Entrepreneurship Week. It encourages a mindset among students that entrepreneurship is a viable career option and ways of taking their business ideas to the next level.

Hishamodien Hoosain, Acting Head of Employee Relations at the CS, says: “Several weeks of recruitment and career readiness programmes will take place during the Careers Festival and hundreds of job opportunities will be available. I don't think any student preparing for the world of work can miss out on these opportunities,” he says.

Ingrid van der Merwe, head of Careers Advisory Services at the CS says: “The careers festival provides a diverse offering of talks, workshops, and opportunities to hear graduates talking about their career journeys. There are plenty of opportunities for students to get ideas, be inspired, work on articulating their skills in their CV and even improving their LinkedIn profile. Students are encouraged not to miss out.”

For an updated list of Careers Festival events, visit MyCareer or download the UCT Careers Festival brochure.