The Strand library hosted its very first Career Expo at its premises in Mills Street, Strand on Thursday September 7, between 10am and 11am and not even load shedding could dampen the enthusiasm of those in attendance.
Organised and hosted by staff from the City’s Library and Information Services at the library, staffer Linda Bruwer, the Children’s Librarian at the facility, said they were excited about hosting the very first career expo and the hope is for next year’s one to be bigger.
At the expo, the four exhibitors included stalls by the City’s own Library and Information Services, which with Ms Bruwer adds they want to generate more interest in the careers as librarians with, the City’s Environmental Management in Biodiversity, City of Cape Town’s IT department and an information table with Boland College brochures and information leaflets on careers they offer.
The expo started off with presentations by exhibitors present and allowing for a questions and answer section to address any questions from young attendees.
Ms Bruwer said their target market for the expo was local school pupils. “I think our hope for today is that maybe they learnt about a career they haven’t thought about before, that they were introduced to something new to pursue.”
Pupils and educators from local schools attended the expo. Cohen Mariyasusay, one of the student teachers at Ambience Academy, said: “It was good to see that the kids were interested in learning about the jobs here.
“Kids haven’t seen the full spectrum of jobs out there, so it was a good opportunity for them to get knowledge on other jobs to move forward. The career in conservation is very important at the moment and something they need to learn more about.”
The Strand library Career Expo formed part of a week-long list of events hosted during the City’s fine free week and Literacy Day on Friday September 8.
Earlier this year, when announcing the presentation of the Career Expo’s at various City libraries, the City’s Mayoral committee member for community services and health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross said the expo’s form part of the City’s Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy whereby libraries will host these career expos to help pupils, library patrons, unemployed young people and others to make a career choice based on having the information at hand to make an informed choice.
“Career expos are a fun way to get the information you need to make the best decision about future employment. More than free career advice, the expos are a chance to practice your interview skills and provide networking opportunities,” Ms Ross said in a press release issued by the City.
