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08 June 2023 | Story Danelle Fisher | Photo Lunga Luthuli
Career Services
Pictured are student representatives from House Vergeet-My-Nie, winners of the 2023 Inter-residence Work Readiness Challenge. With them is Nobesuthu Sonti, Senior Officer, Career Services (holding a mic), and on the right is Petunia Rooibaaidjie, Career Ambassador.
The Career Services division within the Department of Student Affairs recently (May 2023) held their first-ever Inter-residence Work Readiness Challenge. The challenge, targeted at students in residences, called on students to submit their CVs and cover letters to the UFS Careers Office. 

Students from the Bloemfontein Campus residences were challenged to submit as many CVs, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles as possible, with the most submissions winning the challenge. “Having the Inter-residence Work Readiness Challenge was to increase the employability of the University of the Free State students through a healthy competition among students on the Bloemfontein Campus,” states Nobesuthu Sonti, Senior Officer in the Career Services office. 

Nineteen out of 28 residences competed, with students submitting their documents on Blackboard; Career Services recorded 486 submissions in one month. “The response from students is an indication that they were not aware of the support that Career Services can offer regarding their CVs and cover letters,” explains Sonti. 

The initiative also revealed the challenges students have in compiling CVs and writing cover letters, and how to articulate themselves during mock interviews. 

Sonti said: "Most students were not aware of what to include in their document, which affected the quality of content submitted. Through the mock interviews, we found that students struggle to articulate themselves and are not able to sell themselves,” said Sonti. 

House Vergeet-My-Nie came out as victors in the end, having submitted more CVs and cover letters than the other residences. Sonti encourages students to seek career guidance and contact the office to assess their career paths and be offered private career coaching.

  • The Career Services office offers students workshops on how to write CVs and cover letters, networking, and job-hunting skills to improve their employability. It further offers career guidance and mock interviews, together with a career closet where students can pick out interview-appropriate outfits for their interviews.
You can contact the Career Service office at the following email address: career@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

UFS hosts sign language workshop to educate parents
2017-05-22

Description: Sign language workshop to educate parents Tags: Sign language workshop to educate parents

Back row; from left; John Keitsemore from
Bartimea School for the Deaf; Philip Cook,
the headmaster at De la Bat School for the
Deaf in Worcester; Jeannie Cook, De la Bat School
for the Deaf; front, from left; Marisa Vermeulen, mother
of two deaf children and teacher at Bartimea
School for the Deaf in Thaba Nchu; Marianne Kühn,
audiologist, and Susan Lombaard, acting Head of the
Department of South African Sign Language.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“Ninety percent of deaf children are born into hearing families. When parents first receive the news, they are shocked, angry and confused,” says Susan Lombaard, Acting head of the Department of South African Sign Language at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The department hosted a workshop, “Early intervention options for the child with a hearing loss”, on Friday 12 May 2017 on the Bloemfontein Campus. “It is the first time a sign language workshop of this kind was hosted by the Department of South African Sign Language at the UFS,” says Lombaard, who facilitated the workshop. They hope to make it an annual event.

Parents of deaf children do not always know how they will communicate with their children or where the child must attend school. The workshop aimed to provide parents with the necessary information on different communication options and also touched on school placement.

Support group for parents established
A support group for parents was also established, the first of its kind in the province. It will provide much-needed support, information and guidance for parents of deaf children.

Some of the speakers at the workshop included Anri Esterhuizen, an audiologist; Marianne Kühn from the Carel du Toit Centre, Marisa Vermeulen, who is a mother of two deaf children, and Phillip Cook, the headmaster at De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester, in the Western Cape. Jeannie Cook, also a presenter, provided information on sign language acquisition of the small deaf child, which is done through creative play.

Professionals have responsibility
South African Sign Language is a language in its own right and is not international. “Sign language is a visual language with its own grammar and syntax different from spoken language,” Lombaard said.

There has been much controversy surrounding teaching deaf children to speak and teaching them to sign. “We as professionals have the responsibility to provide information on all options. This is to help the parent make informed decisions about communication and school placement.”

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