Currently, South African youth between the ages of 15 and 24 face an unemployment crisis (Mason, 2024). This indicates a lack of access to opportunities and an apparent gap between education and employment. Therefore, it has become essential to equip graduates with the necessary skills required to thrive within the world of work, with the focus firmly placed on securing or creating employment. According to a study by Pitan & Muller (2020), which explored South African graduate’s employability, exposure to Career Development Learning (CDL) activities such as curriculum vitae (CV) writing, interview preparation and job searching strategies were directly related to Employment Development Opportunities (EDO’s). That being said, less than 50% of students were aware that support within CDL was offered through university support structures (Pitan & Muller, 2020). The Human Resources Management and Organisational Development component of the Management Practice module has been taught over the past four years. Through observation teaching during this period and regular assistance with CV structuring and job interview preparation, a significant gap was identified in students’ confidence and readiness to present themselves professionally in industry settings. This gap is also supported by the current cohort of final-year students discussing this aspect. In line with teaching to promote a sustainable impact, a project to offer presentations on career development and set up a panel of internal and external environmental health expertise and career development in partnership with Psychological Services and Career Development (PsyCaD) was developed. The presentations by PsyCad are divided into three sessions: CV and cover letter writing, job searching strategies and digital career footprints, and interview skills. The first CV and cover letter writing presentation was done on 08/08/2024, attended by 30 students (See Images 1 and 2). Interestingly, the presenter (Ms Mayet) tailor-made the content to suit this specific cohort of environmental health students using examples of adverts and templates related to the profession. While the session relied on an information-sharing narrative, it further promoted a theme of self-development, which encouraged students to empower themselves by taking ownership of their career process and investing in themselves as a “brand”. The presentation was met with engagement from the students, who were able to clarify questions they had about CV and cover letter writing. The remaining sessions are intended to follow suit, with students being awarded the interactive platform to contribute to a shared learning space. Alluding to upcoming sessions, with the focus resting on job searching within a digital sphere, students will be well-furnished with insight into optimising networking opportunities and accessing physical, hybrid and virtual employment options. This intends to put students on par with trends within the world of work. The interview skills session will also focus on adequately presenting oneself to potential recruiters and the industry. Presentation skills (concerning interview scenarios) were identified as one of the soft skills employers felt were lacking from graduates looking to enter the vocational space (Pitan & Muller, 2020). It is, therefore, an integral part which will round off the 3-part work readiness series of workshops offered by PsyCaD. Furthermore, the project also aims to assess final-year students’ CVs and conduct a simulation environmental health interview, which will be scored. Moreover, comprehensive feedback will be provided to each student on their performance. This will encompass discussions around areas of strength that can be leveraged and areas of development that can be intervened in. Through observation teaching during this period and regular assistance with CV structuring and job interview preparation, a significant gap was identified in students’ confidence and readiness to present themselves professionally in industry settings. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2024 69
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