In preparing to enter the sometimes-daunting world of work, students should include exposure to real-life work environments in their CVs. Career Services can assist students in planning for and finding opportunities for work experience in order to be Ready for Work when they graduate.

As a graduate, if you haven’t been offered a graduate job yet, you can boost your skills and gain a foothold in the world of work by undertaking a graduate placement programme or internship. These can help you to make industry contacts, prove yourself to an employer, build your confidence, and put you in a stronger position to get a permanent job.

Another method to gain work experience is to do so while studying. Many corporates accept students on a part-time basis, or during holiday seasons. These positions can help you gain work experience even before you start your job search. This will allow you to build a more robust CV and workplace skills during your studies. It will also show future employers that you’ve actively worked on building your skills, which will allow you to create a Skills Addendum on your CV and give you a competitive edge in the job market. 

If you are interested in working, there are various on- and off-campus opportunities advertised to enable students the opportunity to acquire work experience. These include:

• Faculty job opportunities ....
• Be part of Volunteer Program ....
• Internships ....
• Freelancing ....
• Find a job on campus ....
• Join student organisation and societies ....
• Job Shadowing ....
• Vacation work ....

All the above opportunities as well as external job opportunities are advertised on the student portal, TuksCareers

Apart from student jobs, you can consider academic programmes that include work-integrated learning, practical work, in-service training and module projects. Contact the Community Engagement Office in the IT building at [email protected] or on 012 4205341 or visit the Community Engagement page here.

Stars mentorship programme: The aim of this programme is to assist first-year students with their adjustment from high school to varsity life, by supporting them socially and emotionally in order to boost their academic performance. For more information, click here. 

If this is not your first rodeo, you could also become a mentor to first years. As a mentor, you are provided with the opportunity to learn and participate in community service, which will be a great addition to your CV.