NSSF, Monitor annual career fair kicks off
Panel. Left to right: Prof Musa Moya, the dean of the Faculty of Computing and informatics at Mubs, NSSF managing director Richard Byarugaba, the Nation Media Group Uganda managing director, Mr Tony Glencross, and Ms Maureen Twongyeire, the Mubs career guidance manager, address students during the opening ceremony of the 8th NSSF-Monitor Universities Career Fair on March 04, 2019. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Mr Musa Moya, the Mubs dean of the Faculty of Computing and Informatics, told the students to be eager to learn and take career exposures seriously because they expose them to the practical work environment which is hardly taught at school since 90 per cent of the courses focus on theory.
Kampala. The annual National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Monitor Publications Limited career fair has opened with the NSSF managing director asking earners to spend wisely.
Addressing Makerere University Business School (Mubs) staff ahead of the opening ceremony of the 8th annual NSSF career fair at the campus in Nakawa yesterday, Mr Richard Byarugaba advised the members to plan well the remaining 95 per cent of the salary to enjoy the pension when it is paid in future.
“You do not need to get a car loan when you get a job but a mortgage because you will need a house. One day you will fall sick, get health insurance, you will need to pay school fees, find somewhere to save this money to avoid loans,” he said, adding that focusing on pension is wrong because it is supposed to cater for the old age.
Career guidance
The annual universities career fair is an initiative by Monitor Publications and NSSF to arm university students with career options for a soft landing into the labour market after school. Industry experts are selected to speak to the students about life in the employment world and other available employment options outside the traditional white collar jobs.
Mr Byarugaba advised the students to keep reinventing and re-engineering themselves to stay relevant in the crowded job market since courses they are studying today maybe taken over by machines citing lawyers and accountants who may soon be replaced by robots.
“Expose yourself and interact with successful professional people who will lead you to the right career path, develop enterprise, put together skills, people and processes that help you find space in the crowded market,” he said.
To illustrate Mr Byarugaba’s advice, Mr Tony Glencross, the Nation Media Group Uganda managing director, said when he joined the print industry, he never envisaged that one day jobs of darkroom operators would be wiped out.
“No matter the career path you choose be dynamic and be flexible with the environment around you. After university there are never enough jobs. We need entrepreneurs because when you create enterprises, you will be employing other people,” he said.
Mr Musa Moya, the Mubs dean of the Faculty of Computing and Informatics, told the students to be eager to learn and take career exposures seriously because they expose them to the practical work environment which is hardly taught at school since 90 per cent of the courses focus on theory.
Ms Harriet Mudondo, the director of gender and community development in Kampala Capital City Authority, said as administrators and regulators of the city, youth unemployment is among the major challenges they are grappling with.
