Confucius Institute, University of Ghana hold career fair to prepare students for jobs, careers

The Confucius Institute and the Careers and Counseling Center at the University of Ghana held a career fair on Wednesday to prepare students for jobs and careers.

Some Chinese, local Ghanaian, and international companies mounted exhibitions to interact with the students on career paths available for them after school.

As part of the fair, career coaches and industry players addressed the students during a seminar session, coaching them on how to position themselves in the job market and choose careers.

Wang Jimin, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana, said the fair was part of the support Confucius Institute gives to the student community to find their feet after school.
Wang career and counseling days are important parts of academic work to introduce students to industry and the opportunities available in the world of work.

He urged the students to take advantage of the companies present to tap into opportunities available for them after school.

Wang urged them to leverage the advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) to build careers around technology and prepare themselves for life after school.

“Certainly, AI might look like a challenge for some people, but if you are open and can adapt to change, and if you are ready to change and can learn something that can grasp and change skills, then it will not be difficult for you to find a job in the future,” Wang added.

A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Nancy Myles Gyamfi, said it is important to build a close collaboration between industry and academia to ensure that students receive inspiration and see the current trends in the world of work to make their studies meaningful.

“Such career days are relevant for our times, especially when they bring industry close to academia. In school, they are book-oriented and theory-driven, but when they get close to industry, they can see the relevance of the things they study,” Myles Gyamfi said.

Alhassan Issah, a final-year economics and Chinese student, lauded the Confucius Institute and the University of Ghana for bringing the companies to the doorsteps of the students on campus, because some students go through four years at the university but do not know how to even look for a job.

Issah said his fears about job prospects after school due to the high graduate unemployment situation in Ghana were allayed after participating in the career fair.

“But now, I have become confident, having spoken to five companies and gotten positive responses.

They asked me to fill out certain forms and promised to get back to me. So, I am confident that I will get good placement for national service and, subsequently, a good job,” he said.