LAHORE: The University of Management and Technology (UMT), one of Pakistan’s leading universities in the private sector held its annual ‘Career Fair 2017’ under the theme of “Backpack to Briefcase”.
As many as 120 companies, most of them multinationals, set up their stalls and carried out recruitment of degree holders on the spot.
A good number of fresh graduates and other students thronged to the venue organized by the varsity’s Office of Career Services (OCS), exchanged their curriculum vitae with the recruiters and got hired on the spot.
More than 120 corporate organisations, including Vivo, TCL, HINO, Hardees, Pepsi, Stylo, Descon, Haier, Wilshire, Nestle, Dawn, Beyt.com, Huawei Technologies, The Urban Unit, Hyperstar, Joyland, Habib Bank Limited, and Pak-Qatar Takaful, set up their stalls to provide job opportunities to students. Numerous food stalls were also displayed in the event where visitors and their families enjoyed fresh bites of traditional and fast food.
Over 1000 recruiters held talks with the fresh graduates and evaluated their knowledge, skills and passion to work in corporate culture. The students delivered around 7,000 CVs directly to the recruiters and many of them were hired on the spot, according to the UMT spokesperson.
Chairman Higher Education Commission Punjab Professor Dr Nizam ud Din along with UMT Rector Dr Muhammad Aslam inaugurated the job fair. Member of Punjab assembly Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq and regional head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chairman Jameel A Naz also paid a visit to the event to express their views.
UMT, through this annual fair, creates employment opportunities for the students and gives them an exposure to dealing with the companies directly. This fair also gives the students an opportunity to build professional networks with big companies.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman UMT Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad said that UMT is fundamentally an entrepreneur university, which supports students in finding out business opportunities by getting an exposure to working companies. He said that the career fair is organized every year to create jobs and networking opportunities for undergraduates who are about to complete their studies. Dr Murad also said that UMT has become the number one choice for students and their families due to its amazing corporate and research culture.
“We are producing quality leaders keeping market demands in view so that they lead in their respective fields”, he said.
Expressing their views, some of the students said that the career fair was an exciting opportunity to interact with the companies of their choice. They said that the event had brought them opportunities to learn from, the exposure and help in buffing up skills that are the requirement for securing jobs in a competitive environment.
WTO Chairman Jamil A Naz, while addressing in the event, said that the role of educated individuals is critical for the economy of any country. He appreciated the university’s management for hosting such a fruitful event that offered plenty of opportunities to the students.
Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq on the occasion said that the government is taking a number of initiatives for youth engagement in the journey of national development. He said that Shahbaz Sharifs’ government is introducing many schemes for the youth in order to empower them so that they could play a critical role in boosting the national economy.
Mr Shafiq added that such an event is a great opportunity for both students as well as companies, as it bridges up the gaps between academia and industry.
Professor Dr Nizam ud Din also addressed the students, faculty members and corporate organisations.
