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UFS Mock Interviews: Shaping career-ready graduates and tackling unemployment

23 May 2025 | Story Lilitha Dingwayo | Photo Lunga Luthuli

To get senior and postgraduate students ready for the world of work, the University of the Free State (UFS) Division of Career Services’ Placement Preparation Day, which was initiated in 2023, has grown into an annual workshop – Mock Interview Day – with this year’s event taking place in the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Held on 14 and 15 May 2025, this UFS initiative – aimed at addressing employability – has evolved through the implementation of several educational subdivisions tasked with the responsibility of assisting all registered students understand the professional environment. One of these divisions is the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) ‘Graduate Attributes’ – an initiative that seeks to assess a student’s development of valuable attributes during lectures.

According to Belinda Janeke, Assistant Director of Career Services, “Feedback indicates that most students have no interview experience – a critical factor. It is through these mock interviews that students’ confidence is built and their transition from student to employee is smoothened.”

With the assistance of staff members and employees in conducting the interviews, the two-day initiative has seen evident success in both attendance and reach. “Yesterday we had about 90 students come in for the mock interviews and all of them stated that it was their first time being interviewed,” said Janeke. “Even though our office is situated on the Bloemfontein Campus, we also visit the South and Qwaqwa campuses to ensure accessibility across all three UFS campuses,” Janeke added. Emphasising results, she shared that in the 12 years she has been working in this division, student engagement has grown due to improvements in technology.

Career Services sends out letters and emails on the 11th of each month to recognise the achievements of students who have used their services. In collaboration with the UFS’ Vision 130, more directions are being explored across the three campuses, starting with the cross-campus Shoe Camp project.

This initiative targets all UFS students, prioritising senior individuals on the cusp of job hunting. “As a postgraduate student, I am looking into getting a job next year and I have never been interviewed before, so I needed the trial run to get more information on accurate interview etiquette,” said Aphiwe Mbutuma, an Administration honours student. Mbutuma said the support she received from the staff was crucial in boosting her confidence for her next interview. She further described the experience as an eye-opener, adding that students should seize these opportunities to understand what is expected of them. Zukile Daki, a second-year student in the Faculty of Law, said: “I once bombed an interview, so I came here to improve, and it went well.”

News Archive

Founding meeting of the Advisory Panel of the International Institute of Diversity

2008-11-21

The University of the Free State (UFS) today (20 November 2008) successfully convened and hosted the founding meeting of the Advisory Panel of the International Institute of Diversity.

In the wake of the Reitz video incident, the UFS wishes to establish an institute that will study and promote transformation on the campus as a microcosm of the much broader socio-political challenges facing South Africa. It is hoped that in due course the UFS and the institution will develop the expertise and experience to help other organisations and societies in transition.

The institute will work closely with the Transformation Cluster – one of six strategic academic clusters already created as part of the university’s long-term strategic plans.

Given the transformation climate in which it finds itself, the university recognises that the guidance, support and direct involvement of thought leaders and other specialists in the field of transformation are critical to the design and operation of the proposed institute. To this end, the university has established an advisory panel for the institute. The Advisory Panel will give guidance to the Executive Director (to be appointed) in helping with the conceptualisation, design, and development of the institute, and the compilation of its business plan.

Brian Gibson Issue Management facilitated the meeting and is also responsible for the reporting on the meeting. The International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) co-hosted and provided the secretarial support for the meeting.

The members of the advisory panel:

(Click here to read more about the Panel Members)

External panel members:

Dr Clint Le Bruyns, Senior Lecturer in Public Theology and Ethics at the University of Stellenbosch .

Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, Chief Executive Officer, Sentech Limited.

Dr Andries Odendaal works in the field of conflict transformation with international agencies such as the United Nations, DANIDA and GTZ.

Prof. Lungisile Ntsebeza, National Research Foundation (NRF) Research Chair in Land Reform and Democracy in South Africa in the Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town.

Mr Roger Crawford, Executive Director for Government Affairs and Policy South Africa, Johnson & Johnson.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 2001 to 2007.

Ms Zandile Mbele, Director of Plessey (PTY) Ltd. and the Transformation Executive for Dimension Data.

Dr André Keet, Director: Transdisciplinary Programme at the University of Fort Hare in October 2008 and part-time Commissioner with the Commission for Gender Equality.

Dr Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela is an associate professor in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education Program in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University.

Dr Mpilo Pearl Sithole is a senior research specialist in the Democracy and Governance Research Programme at the Human Science Research Council.

Professor Steven Friedman, D.Litt. is Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg.

Representatives from UFS:

Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations at the University of the Free State, and currently Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

Prof. Piet Erasmus, Interim Co-ordinator for the Cluster Transformation in Highly Diverse Societies.

Prof. Lucius Botes, Director of the Centre of Development Support and Programme Director of the Postgraduate Programme in Development Studies.

Prof. Philip Nel, Former Director of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS.

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