University students aspiring to work for corporate companies, government and non-government organisations have an opportunity to sharpen their employment skills following the launch of the 2-week National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Career Expo.
NSSF’s head of marketing and communication, Olive Lumonya speaks to students during the launch of the NSSF Career Expo at Makerere University, Lower Senate Hall.
The Career Expo kicked off today at Makerere University, Kampala and will run until April 2, 2014 at major universities. After Makerere, the expo heads to Uganda Christian University (UCU), Makerere University Business School (MUBS) and Ndejje University.
The Fund is carrying out career events at major universities in Uganda for the third year running.
Speaking at the launch, Olive Birungi Lumonya, the NSSF Head of Marketing and Communications said the NSSF Career Expo is designed to prepare students for the work place and equip them with skills and knowledge to increase their employability.
“The Career Expo also offers students professional career advice as well as an opportunity to engage with potential employers,” she said.
NSSF has lined up a number of learned human resource consultants, recruitment agencies, seasoned public speakers and Heads of Human Resources of a number of top employers in Uganda as guest speakers.
“We have distinguished speakers such as Milka Singh of SMU, APTECH and Human Resource consultant, Ambassador Edith Ssempala from the World Bank among others to tip university students about what employers look for and their expectations of employees,” Lumonya said.
NSSF will also be looking at registering new members at the universities as a way of encouraging a savings culture and social security planning.
“As a social security institution, it is vital that we teach the youth in our country how to save at an early age because they are the very same people that will contribute to the Fund’s growth,” Lumonya added.
NSSF has held two career fairs in the past two years which saw over 5,000 students attend and over 2,000 students register with the Fund.
In the future, the Fund plans to grow the Career Expo to include all major public and private universities in Uganda.