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19 March 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
Career Services
Front row from left to right: Magdalena Matthys (intern), Lavhelesani Mpofu (intern). Back row from left to right: Carmenita Redcliffe (Chief Officer: Company Relations), Nthabiseng Khota (intern), Belinda Janeke (Head of Career Services and Student Relations).

The Career Services office opened its facilities in 2007 as a help desk on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus at the Sasol Library, due to the increasing number of students looking for employment opportunities. The team has grown over the years and now consists of two chief officers, Belinda Janeke and Carmenita Redcliffe, two research assistants, 15 volunteers and seven career ambassadors.  The portfolio of company relations is the latest addition to the team that runs a number of new initiatives and events that aim to enhance overall marketing and services offered by the department.

In January this year, Career Services hosted a corporate breakfast in Johannesburg.  Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, led a delegation consisting of Vice Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Dean of Student Affairs, Pura Mgolombane, Director of Institutional Advancement, and Director of Communication and Marketing, Annamia van den Heever, and Lacea Loader respectively . The event was an initiative that sought to motivating companies, donors and funders to employ and fund top UFS graduates.

According to Belinda Janeke, keeping UFS students informed about career opportunities and equipping them with the skills and grit to make them employable, finding employment or starting their own business is the department’s ultimate goal.



News Archive

Success of Schools Partnership Programme embodies essence of UFS
2016-01-04

Description: Schools Partnership programme Tags: Schools Partnership programme

The everyday function and subsequent success of the SPP have come to embody the very essence of the UFS: inspiring excellence; transforming lives.

Addressing the urgent need for quality education at school level, the University of the Free State (UFS) established the Schools Partnership Project (SPP) in 2012. The aim of the project has been to turn ineffective schools into institutions producing outstanding results, thereby increasing the number and quality of first-year students at the UFS.

Within three years, the SPP has grown to include 68 primary and secondary schools across the Free State and the Sterkspruit area in the Eastern Cape. The programme is headed by Dr Peet Venter and run from the UFS South Campus. Expert mentors assist teachers and principals at these schools on a weekly basis, helping them to excel at their core functions. The programme’s success has been phenomenal.

Learner results from the SPP schools show a marked improvement compared to previous years. Teachers report that they have gained a broader understanding of the subjects they teach. “The university is doing a great job with this programme,” says one of the teachers. “We have developed a lot. We really appreciate this partnership.” Teachers not only gain substantial expertise in areas of planning, presentation, and subject knowledge; an increasing number of them have been receiving promotions, too.

The principals experience similar positive results, and regard the SPP as a productive contribution to their schools. The project has also established closer cooperation between principals and schools. This enables them to achieve common goals, share knowledge, and deal with challenges together.

An added spin-off of the programme has been the increased involvement of parents and care-givers. “We experience much more involvement from the community,” says mentor Danie Nieuwenhuizen. Parents start to take it upon themselves to tidy school grounds, care for vegetable gardens, and prepare food at school feeding schemes. Even the Sustained Silent Reading programme – that supplies magazines to learners – is now having an impact on households and communities. Many homes have never had magazines or other reading material before the reading programme.

The everyday function and subsequent success of the SPP have come to embody the very essence of the UFS: inspiring excellence; transforming lives.

 

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