Pupils explore their futures at career expo

Hundreds of high school pupils explored options for their futures during a two-day career expo at the Lentegeur civic centre last week.

The expo on Tuesday and Wednesday August 2 and 3 was organised by the Lentegeur library, and people from various professions and institutions spoke to the pupils about their jobs.

Mitchell’s Plain High School pupil Tyreese Simpson said the expo showed him the best study route to follow for the job he wanted to do.

“It made it easier for me to know where I can go study to be a nurse and that I can work sooner and study as I go along,” he said.

Lee-Anne Philander, head of change management at the City, helped the pupils complete online aptitude tests and spoke to them about careers in IT.

“We want to encourage them in the field of IT and show them the career opportunities in being a technician and or programmer or even an application designer, especially girls and women,” she said.

Max Dingaan, an educational officer from the City’s environment department, spoke about living sustainably and careers with an environmental focus.

“Careers in the environment talk about our management of our earth to protect our plants and animals; the management of water resources; how the future generation can benefit; and how to manage waste, like recycling, and address the energy crisis we are in at the moment,” he said.

Darul Arqam Islamic High School pupil Ahmad Abrahams asked about learnerships and bursaries, and City environment manager Adeeb Davids advised pupils to volunteer and to reach out to the municipality to experience different professions. “I always wanted to be of benefit to others. I would be willing to assist you where I can,” he said to Ahmad.

Zoghra Enus, from Lansdowne, said that she visited the expo on behalf of her grandson.

“I’m collecting all of this information and will be sharing it with him,” she said.