IFSC Career Fair makes strides

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Tuesday July 27, 2010 00:00

 

Last year's fair was attended by 400 graduates and 35 exhibitors hoping to tap into and develop the skills emerging from the country's tertiary education sector.

The just-ended edition realised a strong attendance by graduates and prospective employers, a sign that the economy, which shed thousands of jobs last year owing to the global recession, is recovering. Although official figures are not yet available, it is expected that last year's recession exacerbated the country's official unemployment rate of 17.5 percent.

The career fair is therefore a god-send opportunity for graduates battling to secure gainful professional employment in an economy struggling to shrug the worse effects of the recession.

Officiating at the event, Botswana Life Insurance acting chief Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele said lack of career mapping and setting goals is a major contributor to graduates' unemployment.

She advised that career development, as a lifelong investment, requires an amount of preparation commencing at an early stage of one's academic career. 'There is a need to take initiatives in order to add value to one's chosen career path,' she said.

Lesetedi-Letegele stated that finding the right job that does not only match one's skills but passion is a must, otherwise employees will lack motivation and interest which adversely affects productivity. She told graduates that the job market is looking for people who can bring fresh insights, visions and identify opportunities for change.Moreover, sharpening employees' skills and networking are invaluable to attaining what is needed from them.

Joy Simakane, founder and chief executive officer of Extramile Express encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs that success requires tenacity.

She said entrepreneurs meet an avalanche of challenges and risks that calls for fine management skills to overcome. 'It is about perseverance, dedication and ultimately hard work,' she said.

IFSC corporate communications executive, Tebogo Lebotse said the feedback they get from exhibiting companies and graduates is very positive. She added that the career fair goes beyond internship opportunities and that skills acquired during the hiring clinics goes a long way to improve career paths.

She said the IFSC Skills Readiness Initiative is important as today's employers are becoming increasingly selective and less willing to consider job applications that appear average as there is a substantive cost associated with recruitment and hiring. 'Job seekers therefore need to be better prepared in their job search,' she said.

Introduced in 2009, the initiative is aligned to the Botswana IFSC mandate of creating employment opportunities for suitably qualified citizens within the financial and ICT sectors.

The IFSC website says the initiative comprises three distinct but complementary components; the annual career fair, an online job portal and the internship programme.

The annual career fair gives current and potential interns an opportunity to interact with different employer groups exhibiting at the event. Every year at the fair, reputable speakers give presentations on various topics on important aspects of professional life like CV writing, interviewing skills and productivity.