Ashesi University College, on Tuesday, 13th March 2012, welcomed corporate Ghana to its new campus in Berekuso for the first time during its annual career fair. The event, which was integrated into the University’s 10th year anniversary week celebration, was aimed at familiarizing its students with the corporate world as well as giving companies the opportunity to discuss their products and employment opportunities to students. The stunning hilltop campus was transformed into a maze of stands that housed representatives of over sixty of Ghana’s most reputable organizations. This Career Fair was by far the largest ever.
The event officially commenced with a welcome address from Mrs Ophelia Sam from the career services office and then opening remarks from Dr Patrick Awuah, the President of the university. This was closely followed by presentation of awards to top and repeat employers of Ashesi students. Awarded organizations for the top employers category were General Electric (GE), Tigo Ghana Limited, Best Western Premier Hotel and Fidelity Bank. IC Securities and SCG Consulting were the two organizations awarded for being repeat employers of Ashesi students. After that, interactions between students and company representatives continued for the length of the event.
The Career Fair had a fair representation of firms from all sectors of corporate Ghana. Multi-national companies like Vodafone, Tullow Oil, Chase Petroleum, and Unilever Ghana were present. Other prestigious firms included Oxford and Beaumont, MTN, Viasat 1, CFAO, Busy Lab/ESOKO and Alltel. NGOs such as Ark Foundation and Lumana were also well represented. (Click here to see the list of companies that attended the career fair). There were presentations from participating companies such as Google, General Electric, Kosmos Energy, Delta Airlines and DreamOval amongst others.
Career centred competitions such as the Assessment Center, Corporate Icon, Elevator Pitch and a Programming Competition were part of the highlights of the day. (Please refer to this link for the full details on the competitions).
Students competed in these competitions to win very attractive awards from sponsoring organizations. The competitions aimed at developing skill sets that were critical to marketability as well as excelling in the workplace
Students showed keen interest in information provided by the organizations that attended as well as the employment opportunities they publicised for the forthcoming summer break. “It’s a good atmosphere....students come fairly researched and are asking the right questions” said a representative from PZ Cussons Ghana. Final year students were also seen scouring the grounds handing out CVs and familiarizing themselves with potential future employers
Representatives from corporate Ghana took the chance to tour the new ultra-modern Ashesi campus and also commended the organizers of the fair – the Career Services Center. “Whoever put this up has done a great job” commented Mr Henry Osei Yao, an Executive of Chase Petroleum. An executive from Tigo Ghana Limited also praised the fair as one of the best fairs he had been to. Even those who missed the fair had great things to say about it. Mr, Miroslav Boev, HR Manager Viasat 1, one of those who could not make the career fair had this to say, “I heard it was as good or even better then European universities career fairs”.
The day was then capped off with the presentation of awards to the winning students who participated in the competitions. Awards were also presented to some final year students for having remarkable CVs and utilising effectively their time spent in the university. Final year Career Peer Advisors (CPAs) were also awarded for their hardwork and commitment to the Career Services Center. Awards included laptops, paid internships, mobile phones, cash awards, modems and company souvenirs and were sponsored by Unilever, RLG, Vodafone, Zenith Bank, Tigo, Best Western Premier Hotel, General Electric, Rancard Solutions, 4 Sight Microsystems, Harley Reed, Chase Petroleum, Amazing You and Axis Human Capital.
The fair ended in aplomb with representatives as well as students satisfied and pleased with their interactions. Students elatedly left the fair grounds with a wealth of knowledge and information gathered from the organizations. They also had a couple of business cards as well as some very attractive company souvenirs. Company representatives also left very pleased having a healthy stack of résumés from students and a sense of gratification after successfully interacting with the Ashesi community and promoting their brands.
The 2012 edition of the Ashesi Career Fair has certainly placed a high benchmark in the minds of all who participated. The first of its kind to be held at the University’s new campus with the largest number of attending companies, it was certainly a step above the rest.
By Kevin Ojo '13