The 2018 Annual National Career Expo is set to be held from October 1 to 3 at the Addis Ababa Exhibition Center. The Expo which currently is the largest employer-employee event hosted in Ethiopia is expected to attract 10,000 fresh graduates from across the nation and over 200 public and private institutions.
Organized by Dereja, a subsidiary of Ethiojobs Ethiopia, the Expo aims to address the large gap between higher education institutions and the demands of the workforce. During a press conference that was held on Thursday March 29, 2018, it was stated that not only is there a shortage of professional jobs in the market place, but the ones that do exist are not being fully accessed by fresh graduates due to their inability to effectively market themselves to potential employers.
In addition, employers are not able to identify and recruit fresh graduates that have the right technical and soft skills that meet their requirements.
“The National Career Expo is a great platform to connect our fresh graduates with potential employers. What’s more, it will have a significant impact in meeting the target the Ministry has set for 80 percent of graduates to secure jobs within one year upon graduation,” said Desalegn Samuel, Director of Higher Education Inspection Directorate at the Ministry of Education.
The National Career Expo is expected foster open dialogue between job seekers and employers through various platforms such as a national job fair, HR seminar and interactive workshops. Prior to the Expo, Dereja will be organizing various trainings for students attending the Expo on how to navigate a job fair successfully.
“Every Year 100,000 graduates are coming out of higher education institutions with inadequate job searching techniques and job related soft skills that meet the demand of the employers. To this end, Dereja offers career centers, career counseling trainings, posting job and internship opportunities as well as resources to enhance student’s ability to develop a career path,” Siham Ayele, Project Manager at Dereja said.
Dereja is an online platform created with the aim of increasing the employability of Ethiopian youth by creating access to structured professional development resources to bridge the gap between the labor and job market.