Job fair: Career expo - Opening the doors of opportunity

Hope offered to Bahria University students in shrinking job market.

ISLAMABAD:

Career counselling and on-the-spot interviews were among the prominent features of the Career Expo 2012 organised by Bahria University in its campus gymnasium on Wednesday.

The expo gathered as many as 25 companies from the corporate sector, with many graduates getting the opportunity to give open interviews in addition to the provision of counselling on job hunting in a difficult market.

“It is a great tradition of the university to assemble different companies to facilitate job-seeking students,” said recent BBA graduate Sohaila Khalid.

Talha Khalid, a management sciences student, believes that today’s youth face problems even if they graduate from elite institutions and that those who are successful usually receive jobs based on strong references.

He added that stronger links between institutions, industries and the corporate sector would help in absorbing fresh graduates.

According to data released by the university, out of approximately 4,700 current students and 4,000 alumni, over 3,000 students and 1,800 alumni sat for interviews.

Of these, 175 students were selected for full-time employment, 376 as internees, and 810 were put on waiting lists.

“Such exposure will open the door of opportunity for our students as they interact with job providers,” maintained Safia Malik, a university official. She added that the university has linkages with around 200 companies, corporations and banks in Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar and most of their students are facilitated by these bodies.

The companies that participated in the expo included IBM Italia S.p.A, Nestle Pakistan, Allied Bank Limited, Bank Al-Habib, Dawn Group, LMKR, Wi-Tribe, Warid Telecom, Qubee, Rozee.pk, Standard Chartered Bank, Ovex Technologies, Touchstone, Bahria Town, Elixir and Wetlands WWF.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2012.