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Talented UFS students attract potential employers to career fairs

16 March 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Sonia Small

UFS Career Fair — University of the Free State students listening attentively and taking tips to help them navigate growth in their chosen careers during the Career Fair held in the Callie Human Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus.

For the first time since 2020, we saw the return of in-person career fairs to the University of the Free State (UFS). The fair was presented in the Callie Human Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus for companies looking to recruit university talent and selling themselves to top institutional talent on offer.

During the career fair, Career Services invites companies to interact and share information with students without the added pressure of an actual application, interview, and recruitment process.

Belinda Janeke, Head: Career Services in the Division of Student Affairs, said: “Companies jump at the opportunity to sell themselves to top talent, and are always eager to share information with students and to answer burning questions about position requirements and prospects.”

Janeke said the first of four career fairs planned for the year emphasised local opportunities and talent. The Career Services Office encourages students to explore the excellent career opportunities available in South Africa and the Free State and promotes local talent to potential employers.

All the sessions presented at the UFS Career Fair are recorded for on-demand viewing on the UFS website. The career weeks are hybrid events, with the option to attend online or in person. Janeke said Career Services also visits the Qwaqwa Campus every semester for face-to-face engagements with students.

“Career fairs are common practice for educational institutions globally, and during the COVID-19 lockdown, such events were not possible. We are excited to be hosting a physical fair again, and this made us realise that students have a need to meet potential employers in a physical setting to ask questions that may not always be appropriate for discussion in an interview,” added Janeke.

Janeke said students can look forward to the SAGEA Virtual GradExpo in May, July, and August and the AgriCareerConnect, which usually generates a lot of interest among students. Janeke said, “This year’s AgriCareerConnect will focus on animal science, horticulture and crop sciences, and integrated disciplines.”

Other career week and career fair dates to look forward to include:

Faculty of Law: Career Week 22 March-24 March 2023 and Career Fair on 23 March 2023

Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences: Career Week 2 May-5 May 2023 and Career Fair on 4 May 2023

Faculty of Education: Career Fair on 24 July 2023

Faculty of the Humanities: Career Week 31 July-4 August and General Career Fair on 3 August 2023

Faculty of Theology and Religion: Career Fair on 16 August 2023

Pictured second and third from the right are Career Service’s Yolisa Xatasi, Administrative Assistant, and Nobesuthu Sonti, Senior Student Relations Officer, in a jovial mood with career ambassadors – a reminder of the value of face-to-face gatherings after the Career Fair has been hosted virtually for the past two years.
(Photo: Sonia Small)

News Archive

Gauteng business community experiences UFS

2010-09-23

Prof. Matie Hoffman from the Department of Physics of the UFS, presenting at the Boyden Observatory to a group of business executives from Gauteng, during their recent visit to the university.
Photo: Gerhard Louw

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Corporate Liaison Office recently hosted a group of eleven business men and women from the private sector in Gauteng on its Main Campus in Bloemfontein. The purpose of the campus visits, which are held two to three times a year, is to give representatives from the corporate sector the opportunity to get to know the UFS first-hand and to help build the brand of the university as a national asset.

During their visit the group of business men and women, amongst others, met with faculty members, they enjoyed a networking session with UFS staff at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, visited the Unit for Students with Disabilities as well as the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The day ended at the Boyden Observatory where a feedback session was facilitated by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations. After this opportunity where the visitors discussed their experience of the UFS, the day came to an end with a presentation on: The African skies: Stories and science by a Ph.D. candidate from the Department of Physics, Mr Bosco Oruru. One of the highlights of the evening included a sighting of the Hubble Telescope in the sky over Bloemfontein and observing the moon and Venus through one of the Boyden telescopes.

The visitors left with new insights and a great appreciation for the contribution of the UFS to education, research and community service in South Africa.

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