UCT Careers Service Wins 2015 SAGEA Awards

13 Nov 2015
(Left to right): CS Director David Casey accepts the award from comedian Loyiso Gola who is flanked by Nawaal Boolay, CS Head of Employer Relations, and Hishamodien Hoosain, CS Graduate Recruitment Co-ordinator.
13 Nov 2015

Image: Courtesy of SAGEA

When Thabang Edwin Molapo was close to graduating with a BCom Financial Accounting degree at UCT, he realised that he felt ‘uneasy’ about transitioning to the world of work. Determined to find help, he applied to take part in UCT Careers Service TransitionZ programme and become one of almost 100 students across faculties and all years of study to partake in the pilot project that helps students make the leap from varsity life to the world of mainstream employment. 

The programme has since paid off for both Thabang and the Careers Service when it helped department scoop up one of three accolades at the South African Graduate Employers Association (Sagea) awards ceremony held at the end of 2015. Sagea awards highlight and recognise the achievements of graduate employers across South Africa. UCT received the Best Work Readiness Initiative (for TransitionZ), Best Careers Service and Best Careers Fair awards. 

Topics covered in TransitionZ included what to expect from the recruitment process, what the world of work is like and how to identify opportunities in the job market.

‘I so desperately needed some insight into how that environment is, how to package myself, the skills I have, and my experiences  to increase my chances of employability, and once employed – how to make that “transition” between varsity and work.
‘Transitions gave me the opportunities to reflect on myself, what traits I had, strengths, weaknesses, and how I could capitalise on these.  Prior to the workshops we had to take a series of online career-related tests, which somewhat gave us an idea of who we are and what we care about. 

‘The core theme of the programme was personal branding, and this is a critical area that people need – powerful brands (i.e. employers) seek other amazing and powerful brands that complement theirs (you), and we focused on how we can best manage our brands,’ he said.

Students have since given the programme top marks for its usefulness, and it ranked high in terms of being interesting and engaging as well as helping them develop their skills. It also increased their understanding of career and professional development.