By Zandile Nkosi and Belinda Bantham

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Career Centre recently hosted its annual career fair across its three campuses.

The aim of this event is to bring together students and potential employers in a centralised location to facilitate networking and information sharing, and to share recruitment opportunities.

It serves as a platform for companies to showcase themselves and to provide information on job openings and corporate culture, while the students can explore various career options and make valuable connections.

The Career Centre hosted three general career fairs on the three campuses that targeted all students, and two accounting career fairs on the campuses in Vanderbijlpark and Potchefstroom.and over 1100 students and alumni from various disciplines within the university were in attendance during the Vanderbijlpark fair.

A virtual career fair was also held on the 19th May.

Hloni Putsoane, employer engagement specialist from the Career Centre, says the event exposes students and alumni of the NWU to available job opportunities from esteemed organisations.

He says the career fairs attract a diverse range of companies and industries with an interest to lure students from across the NWU’s diverse range of faculties.

“It was fantastic to see so many students and employers connecting at our career fairs. We had a lot of positive feedback from both exhibitors and attendees, who indicated that their wish is for us to continue hosting events of this nature in the future”, said Hloni Putsoane, Employer Engagement Specialist, Vanderbijlpark campus. He thanked all internal NWU stakeholders for their assistance in making this event a success, “it would not have been possible to pull off this event without the support of all internal stakeholders,” he said.

“The main goal for employers are to find suitable candidates for their job vacancies. Additionally, they want to exhibit their brand, values, and work environment. This assists them in attracting top talent and raising their organisation's profile among job searchers,” Hloni adds.

He adds that it is very important that students learn as much as they can about the companies they are interning for. “Learn more about what drives the company, the values they uphold, the goods and services they offer, and the initiatives they've recently undertaken. Having this information will make you stand out and show how interested and prepared you are.”

Neo Nkhumane, a BA Hons student in advanced corporate communication on the Potchefstroom campus said that not only do the companies provide them with cool gifts but the career fairs enable them to learn about new options within the various industries  and introduces students to alternative career paths they might not have thought about previously.

The NWU career fair on the Mahikeng campus - unleashing potential and making dreams a reality.

The NWU career fair on the Potchefstroom campus- unleashing potential and making dreams a reality

The NWU career fair on the Vanderbijlpark campus - unleashing potential and making dreams a reality.