New career options for Humanities studies

In today’s  labour market that requires employees to have a set of soft skills to succeed in the world of work, Humanities students are most adept at these skills.

Investec, as a specialist bank corporation, aims to remain relevant through recognising the value that such skills as communication, agility, interpersonal relations and self-awareness brings to their organisation.

For this reason, Investec has teamed up with UCT Careers Service for the third consecutive year to assist our Humanities students in understanding the value that they bring to a sector that they ordinarily would not consider as possibilities on their career path.

The programme has become a career service highlight for the Humanities students, with half of this year’s participants signing up within twenty-four hours of the 2017 program being advertised. It is becoming increasingly clear that our Humanities students recognise that they are not limited in their career choices and that they are taking up opportunities that seek to nurture their ambitions.

Kendyll Solomon, one of this year’s participants, said: “These past few weeks have been informative and inspiring and has really made me excited for what my future holds. The lectures made me aware of the great amount of opportunities open to me (ones which I was not aware of before) and has inadvertently pushed me to consider opportunities beyond what I initially thought was meant for me. Moreover, it has pushed me to truly find out more about myself and my passions, through self-introspection.”

Investec Humanities Exclusive 2016 resulted in two of our participants being employed at Investec upon graduation. One of these graduates was Jessica Frost, who shared her journey with us at this year’s program.

“Having studied a Humanities Degree, I often assumed that my career options were somewhat limited. I then attended Investec Humanities Exclusive 2016 and was surprised to learn that the financial sector was one that was open to me. The guest speakers re-iterated the richness that a Humanities Education brings us – one that teaches us how to think, reason and questions things creatively and critically and in a mere six weeks, I realised that I had a whole new career path available to me. I have now been working for Investec for nine months and I can honestly say that I have never been happier. I work for an organisation that embraces diversity and provides me with the necessary tools and training to pro-actively seek out and navigate my own career success – not based on the degree that I studied, but through my own willingness to learn and my eagerness to grow.”

At the core of this programme, students are given the tools and the information that will support them throughout their career paths. Investec emphasises the importance of owning the story of who you are and the values that motivate you in your work ethic and how you are experienced by those around you.

In an era where millennials aspire to seeking purpose in what they do, this advice will resonate throughout our working lives. At UCT Careers Service, our maxim is ‘Own your Future’, which speaks directly to the advice that Investec has offered our students.