Tons of of scholars and up to date graduates crammed Kimisagara Youth Middle on Friday, June 12, carrying CVs, asking questions and transferring between employer stands looking for internships, graduate roles and a primary break into the job market.
The gathering unfolded in opposition to a broader nationwide push to increase employment alternatives for younger folks. The five-year Nationwide Employment and Abilities Technique (NESS), which runs till 2029, goals to create greater than 500,000 jobs via Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, with a concentrate on increasing alternatives for these getting into the labour market.
The annual profession honest introduced collectively younger job seekers and employers from banking, human assets, agri-processing and expertise, creating one of many few areas the place college students, graduates and recruiters might meet head to head.
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The honest gave them direct entry to recruiters, panelists and other people already working in sectors they hope to enter. Organizers mentioned the turnout rose from about 400 final yr to greater than 500 this yr, an indication that extra younger persons are on the lookout for structured methods to maneuver from college into work.
Victor Nkindi, founder and CEO of Hooza Media and a board director on the European Enterprise Chamber of Rwanda, mentioned the combo of exhibitors mirrored a altering labor market. He mentioned new corporations had joined the honest this yr, alongside corporations from extra established sectors equivalent to banking and human assets.
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“We had greater than 500 attendees,” Nkindi mentioned. “ I used to be actually completely happy to see new exhibitors in comparison with final yr. The market in Rwanda is dynamic.”
“The takeaway from the panel is that vanity, perspective and character must be unleashed in some unspecified time in the future for candidates to get the best job with the best employer,” he mentioned. “On the employer aspect, they had been anticipating creativity and innovation, not solely comfortable abilities and exhausting abilities.”
The message matched the temper on the bottom.
Youth contributors didn’t look like wanting just for instant employment. Many had been amassing contacts, evaluating sectors and making an attempt to know what totally different employers worth.
One of many attendees was Molo Munyansanga, who graduated from the College of Kigali final yr with a bachelor's diploma and lately labored at buyer expertise firm CCI.
Returning for his second profession honest, he mentioned the occasion felt totally different as a result of he was now not attending solely as a job seeker. This yr, he volunteered, serving to different youth navigate the occasion whereas persevering with to construct his personal skilled community.
“My first expertise launched me to corporations I didn't even know had been working in Rwanda,” Munyansanga mentioned. “This yr was simply as priceless, however I additionally had the chance to volunteer and assist others.”
Exterior his profession ambitions, Munyansanga has a ardour for studying languages and now speaks each German and Swedish.
He mentioned conversations at an earlier profession honest linked him with members of Rwanda's Swedish neighborhood after organizers realized he was educating himself the language.
“There isn't a Swedish college right here, so I've been studying alone,” he mentioned. “Assembly individuals who spoke the language gave me the motivation to maintain going, and at the moment I can communicate it comfortably.”
For Munyansanga, the most important advantage of attending profession occasions has been publicity.
“What stood out to me was what number of totally different organizations had been represented,” he mentioned. “It wasn't solely about jobs. It was additionally about assembly folks, constructing relationships and discovering alternatives I wouldn't have discovered in any other case.”
He inspired younger individuals who missed this yr's occasion to hunt out comparable networking alternatives all year long, arguing that conversations with employers might be simply as priceless as submitting a job utility.
“Even when an organization isn't hiring instantly, they’ll clarify the pathways to get there via internships, volunteering or future recruitment,” he mentioned. “That makes it a lot simpler to know easy methods to put together your self.”
Munyansanga additionally mentioned the ambiance helped take away the intimidation many graduates really feel when approaching recruiters and enterprise leaders.
“As younger folks, it could possibly really feel intimidating to talk to CEOs or senior professionals,” he mentioned. “What stunned me was how open everybody was. They answered our questions and had been keen to share recommendation.”
He added that the honest additionally created alternatives to satisfy fellow younger professionals from throughout the area, describing conversations with contributors from nations together with Malawi and South Sudan as one other reminder that profession improvement usually begins with constructing connections.
Jean Marie Nibigira, 22, shared the same expertise, having joined the community in 2023 after graduating in enterprise administration and entrepreneurship. He mentioned the honest helped him transfer from curiosity to alternative by connecting him to mentors, volunteer work and internships, together with one with EBCR and one other at Yego Cabs.
Nibigira mentioned the honest has change into extra helpful as a result of it now goes past face-to-face conferences, with contributors receiving common updates on alternatives via electronic mail and different channels.
In Rwanda, people with a bachelor’s diploma or increased make up about 3.3 p.c of the resident inhabitants aged 15 and above, in response to the Nationwide Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). As that share progressively grows, profession festivals are taking over a bigger position in bridging the hole between schooling and employment.
Comparable occasions have lengthy been utilized in universities {and professional} networks world wide to attach college students with employers, expose graduates to office expectations and open doorways to internships and first jobs.
