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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

First Dementia Care Mapper in Africa receives international award

2015-11-17

The first Dementia Care Mapper from Africa,
Dr Sanet du Toit.
Photo: iFlair Photography

“In one facility, four elders who needed minimal assistance to eat were provided with an opportunity to sit at a separate table, and enjoy their breakfast as preferred – that is, to spread bread with butter, jam or marmite; to add their own milk and sugar to their tea.”

Dr Sanet du Toit described a scenario where staff members at an old-age home implemented recommendations she made following an observation she conducted.

“We do not think twice about doing this but, within institutional care settings, these ’normal’ routines are often replaced with practices that could be viewed as ‘time savers’. For example: everyone gets milky, sweet tea to drink,” she explains.

Yet, by creating an environment where the elderly living with dementia were at liberty to determine the amount of milk in their tea, active participation meant an improved well-being.

She was honoured with the International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (IAHSA) Award for Excellence in Applied Research on 1 September 2015, at a joint conference held by the Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) and IAHSA in Perth.

This exceptional Occupational Therapist from the University of the Free State (UFS) emerged as the first Dementia Mapper from Africa. Dementia Care Mapping is a method used internationally to assess with the purpose of improving the quality of care given to residents in institutionalised settings.

The IAHSA award acknowledged her person-centered care training and research in South African residential care facilities while working at the UFS as a senior lecturer from 2003 to 2013. Currently, she is based at the University of Sydney, but remains an affiliated lecturer at the UFS Department of Occupational Therapy.

In 1992, she graduated with a BA in Occupational Therapy at the UFS, and went on to further her studies at various institutions. Also, she is one of the founding directors of the Eden Alternative South Africa, an advocacy for older persons’ rights within old-age homes. Over the years, Dr du Toit has won numerous awards for her research.

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