Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

Staff, students, learners and the public opened their hearts during R5 coin-laying ceremony

2012-07-17

Photo: Sonia Small
18 July 2012

Amidst a festive atmosphere on the Red Square in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), students, staff, learners and members of the public came together to make their contribution to stop hunger.

In celebration of former president Nelson Mandela’s birthday, the university collected money and food in the form of a coin-laying ceremony, the packing of food parcels, and a message delivered by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu in aid of the university’s No Student Hungry (NSH) campaign and Bloemfontein Child Welfare.

Representatives from schools in Bloemfontein donated their R5 coins, together with university staff, students, members of the public, and employees of Pick n Pay Hyper. Money collected at the coin-laying ceremony will be shared between NSH and Bloemfontein Child Welfare.

According to Ms Grace Jansen and Ms Carin Buys, patrons of NSH, the more than R42 000 that was collected will be donated to Bloemfontein Child Welfare in an effort by NSH to give back to the community. “We are impressed by the number of people who showed up and by the fact that people opened their hearts and pockets to give,” said Ms Buys.

Thirty employees of Pick n Pay Hyper in Bloemfontein were also present and packed 1 833 food parcels (equivalent to 11 000 meals). This forms part of a Pick n Pay initiative in cooperation with Stop Hunger Now that is being held countrywide today.

In total, 88 000 meals will be distributed in six cities in South Africa today. The 11 000 meals in the Free State have been donated to the university and according to Ms Jansen a social worker at the UFS will distribute it to other needy students. These are students who do not receive bursaries from NSH at the moment. Every food parcel contains rice, dried vegetables, soya, and vitamin and mineral enriched powder.

The university was honoured to have Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the speaker at the event. He attended a dialogue in the Series of Dialogue between Science and Society today at the university where he took part in a conversation with Profs. Mark Solms and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela as part of the Global Leadership Summit.

He made a special appearance at the university’s Nelson Mandela Day festivities. His message was simple but inspiring: “Everyone has, just like Madiba, the capacity to change lives. I hope there are people present who can say that they want to improve someone else’s life. You have the chance to make South Africa a country where no one goes to bed hungry. Help us to make South Africa a country where we have compassion for each other and care for each other”.

The UFS would like to thank the following schools for their contributions:

Grey Kollege Primêre Skool
Grey Kollege
St Michael's School for Girls
Hoërskool Jim Fouché
Hoërskool Fichardtpark
Hoërskool Sentraal
Navalsig High School
HTS Louis Botha
Eunice High School

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept