Equipping and Empowering the Student

UWC’S CAREER SERVICES department, part of the Student Development and Support Division (SDS), performs a key role in delivering the institutional strategic focus of Graduate Employability through programmes that prepare students for job search readiness to successfully transition to the world of work.

Career Services organises career opportunities for students, including job search skills workshops and boot camps, career expos, company presentations and showcases, and hosts promotions by leading South African recruiters and UWC alumni. The department also annually publishes a Career Update Handbook that includes articles on how to navigate the rigours of a job search, alumni success stories and adverts highlighting graduate trainee opportunities for the coming year.

Student Orientation Programme

To ensure that first-year students have a good sense of supportive resources and services on campus, Career Services facilitates the induction, transition and adjustment of new first-year undergraduate students to the campus environment and university life. Besides orientating students to the physical campus environment, the programme informs students about the realistic pressures of academic study and the electronic and human resources the university provides to assist them to maintain progress.

The UWC Career Xplora is an online platform that provides students and alumni with access to job search support resources via the UWC VPN. The portal logs over 50 000 students accessing the system annually. Recruiters can create company profiles, upload opportunities and register for recruitment events via the system. The students receive weekly job blasts and event newsletters and push notifications via the app. The UWC Career Xplora portal won the Best Work Readiness Initiative award at the SAGEA Awards in November 2019.

GRADUATE COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (GCDP)

The GCDP is a new work-readiness support service that is a continuation of graduate career development. The first group recruited in 2021 completed their 18-month internship in December 2022 and have either been absorbed into junior roles within departments in SDS or roles in the corporate sector. The second cohort will complete their placement in 2023.

RESIDENTIAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RSMS)

The new RSMS residence system was fully implemented in January 2023. The application process was automated and revamped to be more user-friendly. Students can access the system to trace the progress of their application, selection and allocation of bed space. They can appeal decisions, request room changes, and cancel or swap rooms via the student portal.

CENTRE FOR STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES (CSSS)

The CSSS provides multifaceted, student-centred, professional support services with opportunities for student agency for holistic development and growth through co-curricular and in-curricular engagement. Therapeutic services are provided within a ‘whole university’ wellness environment governed by the Integrated Student Mental Health and Wellness Policy of the university.

Student Leadership Academy

Through three key initiatives – the Emerging Leaders Programme, the Extended Emerging Leaders Programme and the Advanced Leaders Programme – the academy trains students in general leadership, self-development, networking and practical project skills to prepare them to develop their leadership capacity to serve as citizen leaders. The academy operates within the CSSS under the broad directorship of the DVC (Student Development and Support).

UCDG GENDER EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (GEEP)

The GEEP is a CSSS initiative funded by the University Capacity Development Grant (UCDG). It aims to provide practitioner-based research to enhance a more holistic institutional response to gender inequality and gender-based violence for students to cope better and feel safer on campus.

Students With Disabilities

While the physical barriers to students with disabilities have largely been addressed in UWC’s infrastructural development and renewal projects and progressive policies, the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSwD) identified a need for improvement in attitudinal barriers, where people have skewed views of disability and make limited efforts towards inclusivity on campus. The OSwD launched an advocacy and awareness campaign on campus to highlight the various impairments categorised as disabilities, the impact disabilities have on a person’s everyday life, and the need to create a more inclusive campus culture for diversity and, specifically, those living with disabilities. Most importantly, the OSwD used the campaign to be more visible so that students would be confident and informed enough to seek support for their needs from the OSwD and reach their full potential. An immediate result was an increase in the number of students with different impairments requesting support from the OSwD.

Other Student Support

UWC Work-Study Programme

The university provides on-campus work opportunities and skills training for full-time students in tutoring, research, administration and other support services. Students get to build skills and learn about the working world while receiving remuneration, a percentage of which they are contractually bound to use to fund their studies. The valuable work experience that they gain will form part of their co-curricular record and aid their transition into the world of work after graduating. For their part, departments get willing and talented students contributing their time and skills as needed.

Co-Curricular Record (CCR) Programme

The CCR is a means of officially recognising students’ active participation in co-curricular activities, including experiential learning, transfer of skills and demonstrating attributes that facilitate their development, especially attributes that prepare students to be critical and responsible citizens contributing to society.

Students must apply for a CCR and provide evidence supported by competent referees of activity in areas such as participation in sport or culture, student governance (SRC, Sports Council, CHC, House Committee and Student Faculty Councils), the Leadership Development Programme, and peer facilitation. Once the application has been adjudicated, successful applicants receive an official university co-curricular certificate or record.