The Durban University of Technology (DUT) recently hosted another successful Career Guidance Day at Hunt Road Secondary School.
This initiative was part of the DUT School Engagement Project, which is headed by the Project Manager, Ms Berenice de La Croix. The project is managed by the DUT Advancement and Alumni Relations unit and it includes a number of internal and external stakeholders.
The Career Guidance Day was primarily designed to promote the academic programmes that DUT offers and to help high learners to navigate their options and to make the right career choices. This initiative also encouraged learners to focus on their studies and to obtain good results, which could allow them an oppportunity to further their studies at a university of their choice.
Ms Judy Singh, the Career Day coordinator of Hunt Road Secondary School said that the DUT Career Day was absolutely amazing and the attendance of this year’s Career Day was far better than the previous years.
“As far as the actual programme was concerned, it was very well planned and covered aspects that speak directly to learners in terms of their future career choices. The facilitators were well trained and executed their sessions with passion and excitement. They were able to ensure that the learners participated and felt free to be a part of the programme. Time management was excellent, despite the loadshedding, the programme continued without any disruptions,” said Ms Singh.
It was not only the learners from Hunt Road Secondary School in attendance but there were also learners from Overport Secondary School, Durban Girls Secondary School and Sastri College. The programme included high school learners from grade 9 to grade 12.
The programme had facilitators from Bridge, Tomorrow’s Leaders in Training (TLT), DUT School Engagement and DUT Student Recruitment. The interactive modules of the programme were: 1. Personal Vision and Personal Leadership; 2. Personal Careers Assessment and Career Options; 3. Entrepreneurship as a Career Option; and 4. Understanding the Current World of Work: Building a CV, Applying for Study Options and Financial Assistance.
The programme allowed the facilitators to engage with the learners. The learners were given an opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions.
The DUT Student Recruitment Manager, Mr Alex Mdletshe, encouraged the learners to not only choose a career with the aim of getting a job but to also become entrepreneurs and to create job opportunities for others.
“In this Career Day, we combined learners from different schools and it worked really well in inspiring the learners to engage deeply, create new friendships and aim higher in their lives,” commented Ms La Croix.
The Career Day was a success as the learners expressed how grateful they were to DUT for hosting this programme for them.
One of the learners, Lihlithemba Khanyeza said that her experience of the Career Day was very educational and inspirational. She continued to say that she had learnt a lot and had picked up many new things that were previously unknown to her. “The Career Day helped a lot and thank you to DUT for sponsoring this event,” remarked a grateful Ms Khanyeza.
Pictured: Learners from Hunt Road Secondary School and Overport Secondary School.
Sibahle Ngcobo
