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Case Study

by Sharif Mussa | November 2019

Career Fairs as a livelihoods program strategy

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ABOUT YOUTH LEAD & THE LIVELIHOODS CASE STUDY SERIES

A primary goal of the Youth Lead program’s first phase, implemented by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) with support from Irish Aid, was to develop meaningful youth livelihood program models and engagement practices through a youth-led research and co-design process. This goal was achieved through a research and leadership-focused fellowship program (Kiongozi Fellowship), complemented by field research conducted in three regions of Tanzania.

The Kiongozi Fellowship was a six-month program that engaged young people as partners in research, program design, and strategy development. The 2019 Fellows (five women and four men) ranged in age from 23 to 27 years old and represented seven regions of Tanzania. Over the course of the fellowship period, Kiongozi Fellows conducted primary and secondary research to develop case studies on specific livelihoods program strategies and provide recommendations on youth engagement. Their work included a combination of examining existing youth livelihoods programs, collecting data and statistics to better understand the livelihoods context in Tanzania, interviewing key stakeholders, and leading focus group discussions with other young people to gain additional perspectives and insights.

This is one of nine case studies, each of which focused on one of the following program strategies: access to health care, career fairs, career guidance, entrepreneurship training, information & communications technology (ICT), life skills training, peer networks, social entrepreneurship, and vocational training. Each of these types of interventions can play a critical role in supporting young Tanzanians in their journey to sustainable livelihoods.

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BACKGROUND

Career fairs provide many great opportunities including a chance to practice networking skills when meeting with new employers or checking out graduate school possibilities. This program strategy allows young participants to develop job-related competencies and to “prove themselves” in the specific work environment.

This study suggests that career fairs can be important tools for encouraging youth to move to the formal sectors by conveying information about labor market prospects for their economic development. Career fairs tend to increase youth economic opportunity by providing valuable career services including networking with employers or recruiters, resume writing, interview skills and how to look professional in the current labor market. The main objective is to provide greater career opportunities targeted to unemployed young people in the workforce.

The Challenge Sajitha Bashir (2016) reports in a World Bank blog that there is an increasing rate of more than 800,000 youth entering labor market every year. The labor market is highly competitive due to the age of the population and education levels of the graduates, yet the formal employment market generates only 50,000 to 60,000 jobs annually (Restless Development). Graduates lack employability and professional workforce skills, including poor CV writing and interview skills which are useful tools when competing for jobs.

Contrary to the above expectation, employers in Tanzania are still concerned about the alarming lack of relevant job competencies and skills among the graduates (British Council, 2014; World Bank, 2014). Despite the wide range of careers available in the world of work, choosing an appropriate career path has been identified as one of the common challenges to many students or graduates.

Low access to job information from recruiters also is a contributing factor: many young people access misleading information, can only find information for high-level jobs they’re not yet qualified for, and depend on friend/family connections. Many young people also fail to apply internet technology in their search for new openings, for instance by searching professional websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor and other sites.

The Solution Some employers require online submission of resumes. This activity is accomplished by online chat with recruiters by accessing technology from desktop, mobile or tablet devices. Nowadays LinkedIn is a

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popular choice when it comes to social media tools for recruitment and hiring rather than wider use of virtual career fairs. With more than half a billion members, LinkedIn is a formidable recruiting tool that lets employers post jobs, build a company brand, and network with active candidates. Career Fairs provide opportunities for students/alumni, graduates, and job seekers to learn about potential careers in industry sectors, network with perspective employers, and often submit resumes to prospective employers.

The key actors involved in career fairs include employers/recruiters and job seekers/graduates or students. Employers may be from local, international and youth-led organizations, companies and government who are acting in career fairs with higher education stakeholders.

Career fairs are the single best way to meet a range of employers and stakeholders face-to-face. Career fairs offer job seekers, graduates, and students the opportunity to ask questions about employers and build relationships. Other activities include providing awareness about campus life, career guidance and how to choose a career path, life skills, professionalism skills, digital skills, application for scholarships, CV writing, and interview practice.

Career fairs provide students/graduates with access to experiential opportunities and meaningful jobs and internships. The intended outcomes of career fairs are to help students identify their interests and strengths; expose them to a diverse range of opportunities to build experience and clarity about their goals; and empower them to pursue internships and jobs and evaluate the environmental fit of a variety of work settings and roles. Graduates will be able to identify and use relevant tools in the job search, including activating professional networks. Also, they will be able to engage in informational interviews.

The achievements of career fair attendance are to gain employment and become more skilled, both professionally and in career development. The main objective of career fairs is to change the mindsets of young people by imparting knowledge and skills for career guidance and the workforce. After the event, students/graduates have a chance to communicate with the employers and briefly convey why the firm is an excellent fit given their background.

“I received this [job] as Head of Communication at Nlab Innovation Academy after meeting Mr. William, the Director of the Academy, at a job fair at University of Dar es Salaam. The event has truly saved my life and has given me the opportunity to pursue my career and my dreams. I will never forget how the organizers of the career fair played a huge role in impacting my life for the better, I will forever be grateful.”

Dorcas Mgogwe

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Theory of Change: Career Fairs Activities Results

• Provide soft skills training on CV writing, interview tips and career guidance to the youth (job seekers).

• Recruit potential employers for career fairs. • Communicate / advertise effectively to reach

graduates (job seekers).

• Young people get soft skills to meet the requirements of the employers.

• Employers showcase open positions for their companies.

• Graduates attend career fair events. • Graduates meet potential employers.

Assumptions

• Young people attend the sessions for soft skills. • Potential employers attend the career fairs. • Youth participants actually network and have a space to interact with the

recruiters.

NOTEWORTHY CAREER FAIR PROGRAM EXAMPLES

Empower Company Ltd. Career Fairs, 2009-present

Organization Overview

Empower is a human capital consultancy firm that specializes in talent acquisition, customized training programs, experiential teambuilding and championing employee engagement. One of their main goals is providing talented candidates for their clients’ vacancies by hosting career fair events where young people can learn, network, meet potential employers, and gain skills.

Key Activities Providing knowledge, career guidance, coaching and mentorship; hosting to apply for international internships and other job openings and entrepreneurship and life skills development activities.

Target Beneficiaries

The program is implemented in colleges and it covers urban areas. The targeted beneficiaries are students and graduates of higher-level institutions, i.e. universities and colleges (job seekers), and employees of unspecified age, both young men and women with all levels of socioeconomic status.

Community Perspectives

“Most graduates and jobseekers who attend our career fairs have achieved different opportunities in and outside the country, including volunteering, internships and job opportunities suitable for their careers.” -Staff member from Empower Company LTD “Apart from networking, career fairs helped us to attain skills that changed our mindsets, for example the entrepreneurship skills helped most of us to start our business.” -Job Seeker

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AISEC Career Fairs, 1998-present

Organization Overview

AISEC is an international, non-political, non-profit, student-run, independent educational foundation whose goal is support young people to be global citizens and the experience and skills required to be leaders. For their annual career fair, AISEC Tanzania partners with other non-profits and youth-led organizations, in addition to companies such as PWC, KPG, Deloitte, Tai, NMB, HRSTA, Total, Airtel, KPMG, EY, and the Tanzania Horticultural Association to bring together employers and prospective job candidates.

Key Activities Providing knowledge, career guidance, coaching and mentorship; interviews and CV writing; and entrepreneurship and pitching workshops.

Target Beneficiaries

The program is implemented in colleges and it covers urban areas. The targeted beneficiaries are students and graduates (job seekers), both young men and women aged 18 – 30, and inclusive of persons with disabilities and all levels of socioeconomic status including low, middle, and upper.

Community Perspectives

More young people who attend career fairs get connections to employers, have space to learn workforce skills, and can start their own initiatives. -Reflection from career fair implementers The program has helped them to prepare themselves for the competition of the labor market by creating self-employment. -Reflection from program participants

New Hope Organization Career Expo, 2018-present

Organization Overview

New Hope connects graduates and students with other youth-led organizations (e.g. Road to Success) and companies (e.g. Bandar, Coca Cola, HELSB, Elimu Solution, E-FM Radio, and TTCL).

Key Activities Providing awareness of campus life; career guidance; digital skills development; how-to-apply for university scholarships sessions; life skills training; tips on professionalism.

Target Beneficiaries The program is implemented in colleges and it covers urban areas. The targeted beneficiaries are students, graduates (job seekers) and employees of unspecified ages, both young men and women with all levels of socioeconomic status.

Community Perspectives

More young people who attend career fairs get career guidance and skills and have space to network with employers or recruiters. -Reflection from career fair implementers The program has helped them to give choices in their career paths and has created a platform for them to improve their networking and learn different skills. -Reflection from program participants

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Restless Development Career Fairs, 2013-present

Organization Overview

Restless Development, through its cohort of volunteers, implements numerous youth employment initiatives in Tanzania. One of the things they do, with funding from SIDA, is host career fairs where they connect youth with companies and industries, e.g. TRA, ASAS, NSSF COCACOLA, VODACOM, TTCL, NHC. Standard Chartered, NBC, Exim Bank, Total Gas, Smile Communications, and TIGO.

Key Activities Providing awareness of campus life; career guidance; digital skills development; how-to-apply for university scholarships sessions; life skills training; tips on professionalism.

Target Beneficiaries

The program is implemented in colleges and it covers urban areas. The targeted beneficiaries are students and graduates (job seekers) and both gender young men and women with all level of socioeconomic status including low, middle and upper.

Community Perspectives

More young people who attend career fairs get connections to employers and have space to learn workforce skills including good communication skills and interviews to attract the employers. -Reflection from career fair implementers The program has helped them to prepare themselves for the competition of the labor market by creating a platform for them to improve their network and learn different skills. -Reflection from program participants

WHAT WORKS IN CAREER FAIR PROGRAMMING

Partnerships—Having strong partnerships with local and international organizations in supporting to implement career fairs. In order to benefit more young people these agencies must play a role in offering facilities.

Certificates, snacks and drinks—Most of young people want certificates of appreciation for their participation because they believe that through these events, they have the opportunity to learn new things, thus it’s important to have certificates for improving their CVs. Also snacks and drinks are very important during the event.

Soft skills and activities—Career fairs go together with soft skills, including CV and cover letter writing, communication and presentation skills, interview tips, effective use of social media, registering on job portals, entrepreneurship, mentorship, and coaching.

Entertainment and talent showcasing—It is important to encourage young people to participate through showcasing entertainment and talent acts. This includes highlighting and showcasing talents,

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for instance designing and decorations, drawing arts, singing, and acting by inviting inspirational people who are in the arts and entertainment industry.

Success stories and inspirational speakers—Inspirational speakers play a great role in motivating other young people to achieve their goals about career development and paths, so recruitment of these inspirational speakers is very encouraging and impacts young people.

WHAT DOES NOT WORK IN CAREER FAIR PROGRAMMING

Lack of creativity and innovation—Poorly designed and implemented career fairs lack creativity and innovation. Career fairs should not only be based on formal activities like presenting CVs, interviews etc., but should include other important activities like talent showcasing, pitching their initiatives, branding, and other entrepreneurship skills.

Advertisements and information—Career fairs do not reach the target because of poor information and advertisements. Most of the organizers use only social media platforms, when other ways like radios, televisions may be used to provide information.

Lack of inclusiveness—Career fairs focus on students or graduates with a higher level of education, including schools, universities or colleges in towns and cities rather in other rural areas. But there is a high number of young people in rural areas and those who are out of school with different social economic statuses, and it fails to reach them, even though the activities and skills which are provided during the events seems to be very important for these young people, including entrepreneurship, branding, mentorship, coaching, and knowing which employment opportunities are likely attainable.

Lack of strong support and partnership—Amongst the government and organizations, career fairs are poorly coordinated. This comes from poor support from the government in offering facilities to be used in career fairs, which is due to the bureaucracy and the processes to get licenses to conduct career fairs, and also meeting the timeline of the key partners or organizations.

WHY LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMMING IN TANZANIA SHOULD INCLUDE CAREER FAIRS

Career fairs should be conducted to help young people by preparing them to enter the job market. Using this strategy will teach graduates soft skills, give them access to professional networking, teach them interview skills, and finally provide the opportunity to gain employment or to start self-employment including businesses. In one way or another this will help to reduce unemployment among the young people.

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Career fairs a relevant livelihood programs in Tanzania that should be used for all groups of young people, including students, graduates, and job seekers. Eight out of ten young people who participated in a focus group discussion at the Institute of Social Works (ISW) agreed with the following statement:

“A career fair is relevant for all: for the students, they offer soft skills on good communication, social profile skills, entrepreneurship skills, career guidance and other realistic topics; for graduates and job seekers they offer interview tips, CV development, and networking opportunities.”

Ways in which career fairs uniquely lend themselves to engaging young people include creating platforms where young people will be able to grab different opportunities, promoting gender equity, and/or being more inclusive of young people with disabilities; and including creativity and innovation. The activities at career fairs should not focus as much on interviews, but on other innovative extra activities like entrepreneurship skills, talents showcasing, mentoring, and coaching to help to reduce unemployment.

HOW CAREER FAIRS SHOULD BE TAILORED TO THE TANZANIAN CONTEXT

In order for this strategy be best implemented or applied to the Tanzanian context, organizers should consider providing soft skills, including CV and cover letter writing; raising awareness on career fairs; providing information about how to register on different job portals; and including all employability skills to impress the employers for the job seekers.

For the students in high schools, career fairs should be tailored to realistic topics including career guidance, entrepreneurship skills, and social media profiles. Career fairs should be conducted at least three times per year to give students, graduates and job seekers opportunities to learn different skills which will help to prepare them to enter to the labor market and improve the networks.

It is important to target not only urban schools, colleges and universities, but also rural or other regions. As a free space for students and graduates to learn and network, career fairs should also not be based only on professionals, but also should include talents exhibition, mentoring, and coaching by inviting local artists. This will help to not only inspire young people to attend career fairs, but also help them to get assistance to reach their dreams through meeting those artists who inspire them.

Some other recommendations for success include:

Strong partnership—The strong support from the government and other local and community organizations will help to meet the target of career fairs by supporting the lead organizations in advertising in more locations and offering facilities. The government should offer full support with getting the licenses and helping to advertise the events as well.

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Inclusiveness—Youth should be engaged at all levels, including in and out of schools, colleges or universities and equal access for all genders and people with disabilities. The topics for those who are out of school should focus on soft skills, how to create self-employment, how to brand themselves, etc.

Online program about career fairs—This should be piloted so that it continues to raise awareness to the young people in schools, colleges and university, and those who are out of school so they will have access to learn through programs on television. Also, inviting different television stations will continue to raise awareness and reach many young people.

Key Stakeholders for Career Fair Programming in Tanzania Stakeholder Role(s) Key Activities

National Government Policy making in education systems

• Supporting the program and raising awareness on career opportunities.

• Offering facilities and partnership support with other stakeholders.

• Creating advertisements.

Youth/Career Fair Participants

Take the lead and interact with employers, mentors to improve their networks.

• Presentations of their CVs, interviews, learning, branding pitching their initiatives, and talents showcasing.

International NGOs or Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

Partnering with the lead organizer or implementer and the government.

• Supporting career fairs by raising awareness for young people; raising funds; offering facilities including venues; transportation; printing flyers, t-shirts and other materials; advertising; and outreach programs.

Private Sector, Industries, and Companies

These are the employers and recruiters who should come to share job openings and opportunities, internships or volunteer positions in their companies, as well as criteria for the candidates or job seekers.

• Offering full support of the program by offering snacks, drinks and other refreshments,

• Branding, networking and recruitment.

Universities, Colleges, and Schools

Implementing career fairs by raising awareness for students and proving licenses to conduct career fairs.

• Providing career guidance and how to choose career path,

• Providing soft skills, including CV writing, interview tips, entrepreneurship skills.

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DATA SOURCES & METHODOLOGY

This research included both primary and secondary sources of information.

Primary sources of information included interviews with the lead organizations of career fairs whereby 12 questionnaires were prepared. They were randomly selected according to the years of experience in conducting career fairs. All these organizations are working to support youth livelihoods programs in Tanzania. Moreover, these key organizations depend on partnerships with other organizations in conducting career fairs. Also, different donors and the key activities tailored in career fairs are almost the same, including interviews, branding and pitching, networking, mentorships, and workshops on how to get scholarships and registering in different job portals.

Two focus group discussions were also conducted as a primary source of information to get information from the young people as the beneficiaries of career fairs program. One focus group discussion involved graduates and jobseekers while other group involved students. Jobseekers and graduates recommended that all the activities tailored in career fairs are relevant, including interviews, branding and pitching their initiatives (enterprises), networking, and mentorship. The students recommended that the activities be tailored to be more relevant according to their status, for instance talent showcasing, mentorship and soft skills workshops, how to get scholarships, etc.

Students, graduates and job seekers all agreed that career fairs should be conducted not only in schools, colleges and universities based in towns and cities, but also in rural areas, and should even target young people out of school because the knowledge of career fairs seems to be very important for preparing and mentoring young people to be ready not only for employment, but also to create self-employment opportunities by developing business ideas through entrepreneurship skills, branding, and talents showcasing.

Works Cited Jacquelyn Smith, 11 tips to get something useful out of a job fair. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-job-fairs-2014-3

Sajitha Bashir, “Tanzania: How boosting work skills through education can lead to economic diversification”, World Bank blog, https://blogs.worldbank.org/education.

Additional Resources The following resources may also illustrate the strategic opportunity for Career fairs in Tanzania.

• https://restlessdevelopment.org/news/2013/06/25/careers-fair-in-tanzania

• http://www.escape-tanzania.com/en/posts/browse/news-announcements/aiesec-career-fair

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sharif Mussa Dar es Salaam, Tanzania sharifmussa0@gmail.com Sharif Mussa, 26, is a youth leader and activist passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), youth-led advocacy, and youth engagement. He uses his passion and skills to support a number of youth-led programs in Tanzania. He believes that youth empowered with resources and opportunity can be a positive force of change in the world.

Sharif cofounded Tanzania Youth Opportunities Forum (TYOF), an organization focused on promoting youth opportunities and rights as the foundation for peace, freedom, and justice in Tanzania. In the past he served as a volunteer with READ International at the Nyang'hwale Community Library in Geita, supporting library refurbishment and fostering a reading culture in the area.

Sharif has been working with Restless Development for one year as a community mobiliser under the Journey4Life project, ensuring youth aged 14-19 have access to comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender-based violence (GBV). Through this work he has catalyzed more than 100 young people to be agents of change in their local communities. Sharif is also actively involved in various international SRHR workshops, conferences, and activities, and is a mentor for Msichana Amani Clubs under the Msichana Initiative, which focuses on empowering girls through education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Education from Jordan University College (a constituent of Saint Augustine University of Tanzania).

As a Kiongozi Fellow, Sharif focused his research on the role of job and career fairs in youth livelihoods programming.

This case study was made possible with support from Irish Aid and the International Youth Foundation (IYF). The findings and recommendations are

the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Irish Aid or IYF.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FOUNDATION

The International Youth Foundation® (IYF®) stands by, for, and with young people. Founded in 1990 through a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, IYF is a global nonprofit with programs

directly benefiting 7.7 million young people and operations spanning 100 countries so far. Together with local community-based organizations and a network of corporate, foundation, and multilateral partners,

we connect young people with opportunities to transform their lives. We believe that educated, employed, engaged young people possess the power to solve the world’s toughest problems, and we focus our youth development efforts on three linked objectives: unlocking agency, driving economic

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