UCT to host largest job expo for students

The Epic Job Expo, taking place in August, is the perfect opportunity for students to speak to potential employers, fine-tune their curriculum vitae (CV) and listen to inspiring TED-style talks.

The expo, hosted and organised by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Careers Service, is the largest careers festival for students hosted by any South African university. It takes place on Wednesday, 7 August from 09:00 to 16:00 at the UCT Sports Centre.

For one day only, students from all faculties will be able to find out about internships and graduate programme opportunities, as well as engage with companies to get a better understanding of what they’re looking for in candidates.

This is the second year that the Careers Service is running the expo, having hosted smaller, industry-themed events in the past. The first Epic Job Expo, in 2018, combined 10 smaller expos and featured 100 companies.

The Careers Service has won the SAGEA (South African Graduate Employers Association) Award for the Best Career Fair/Expo eight times in the past nine years.

“For one day only, students from all faculties will be able to find out about internships and graduate programme opportunities, as well as engage with companies to get a better understanding of what they’re looking for in candidates.”

Among the exhibitors at this yearʼs event are the Auditor-General South Africa, Bain & Company, FirstRand, Huawei, Investec Asset Management, McKinsey & Company, Oasis, PSG, the Small Enterprise Foundation, Truworths and the Vega School.

CV advice on hand

Students can bring along their CVs (in hard copy or digital format) to the Careers Service experts at the all-day CV Lab who will share their knowledge and help with CV makeovers. The lab operates on a first-come-first-served basis, so students are encouraged to arrive early and come prepared.

The Careers Service team will also be on hand at their own expo stand to give advice, and employment opportunities from the various festival participants will be on display.

Students are urged to pick up a copy of the 2019 Careers Service Guide, which features 99 companies, their opportunities and useful articles about the world of work, at the expo.

TED-style talks

Presentations hosted by industry leaders, in the format of TED-style talks, will be happening on the hour throughout the day.

Among the speakers are David Buckham, chief executive officer of Monocle Solutions, who will present on the topic “Power of the Humanities Degree”, and Dr Mark Nasila, chief analytics officer for consumer banking and chief risk office at FNB. Nasila will tackle the topic, “Technology and Artificial Intelligence”.

The expo is made possible by UCT Careers Service, Monocle Solutions, Expro, Deloitte, KPMG and Rio Tinto. For more information, go to MyCareer and look for the Epic Job Expo under events.