MANY tertiary level institutions, recognising the importance of job placement, have developed programmes to help graduating students find employment.

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona’s annual graduate recruitment programme, with which I am familiar, is more than 35 years old. Every year at this time (March-April), it brings public and private sector organsations together on campus to source prospective employees. Interviews are scheduled over a four-week period, and are held in the comfort of the interviewing facilities of the Office of Placement and Career Services.

We look this week at the benefits of such programmes to not only the students, but also to the recruiters.

Advantages to graduating students

. The prospective employee (student) attends the interview on campus, eliminating the need for travel to the organisations undertaking the recruitment. This saves students time and money.

. Once the student is screened and his/her résumé is sent to the organisation, an interview is ensured. The prospective employee will, therefore, get the opportunity to meet with the employer.

. Even if the student/prospective employee was not successful in the interview, going through the process helps to build interviewing skills and competencies, thereby improving their self-confidence.

. Students would have been prepared for the recruitment programme by the career development specialist. Skills and competencies learnt can, therefore, be transferred to other situations.

Advantages to organisations

. Organisations, oftentimes, are looking for newly trained personnel to be placed in positions, such as trainee managers. Through the graduate recruitment programme, they get a ready pool of applicants.

. They have applicants screened and so only the number they require are interviewed. Of the vacancies, which were advertised in the newspaper, the organisations would be flooded with hundreds of applications from which to select a few.

. Organisations do not have to pay for advertising the vacancies, since they are contacted directly by placement officers.

. Organisations can be sure that the pool of applicants are trained in ‘world of work’ skills and competencies, and in the case of UWI, Mona, a partnership is formed where this is concerned. The suppliers and users of human resources collaborate for the effective learning component, and the result is the holistic development of the prospective employee.

. Organisations, such as accounting firms, can always plan their annual staff orientation for a specific period, usually during the summer, after they have selected their new employees through the on-campus job fair or recruitment programme.

. Employers can choose to build a skills bank, if vacancies are not immediate.

Recruitment programmes/job fairs are vital sources for accessing employment and should be practised by educational institutions. It is, however, not all about finding a job. It also helps to build skills and competencies, as well as the self-confidence of prospective employees.

Merrit Henry is career counsellor and students services manager at the Placement and Career Services Unit of UWI, Mona. She may be contacted at merrit.henry@uwimona.edu.jm