2023 National Career Expo Highlights: Connecting Job Seekers with Opportunities

In a significant effort to bridge the gap between education and employment, Dereja, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MOLS) and the Mastercard Foundation, successfully hosted the 2023 National Career Expo on October 18-19 2023 at Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa. The event attracted over 12,000 recent graduates, including more than 3,000 highly trained graduates from Dereja Academy, and offered a platform for them to connect with 200 companies, presenting 7,000 potential employment opportunities.

Prominent organizations representing diverse industries, including manufacturing, financial services, agro-processing, development, and construction, such as Awash Wine, Habesha Breweries, Dodai, JTI Ethiopia, Plan International, PurposeBlack Ethiopia, Dashen Bank, and EEIG Construction participated in the expo.

The Career Expo featured a range of engaging activities, including:

• Employer booths where job seekers could learn about open positions and meet recruiters.
• Forums for employers to emphasize the need to invest in young talent.
• Orientation sessions on how to prepare for the career expo.
• Training sessions for both employers and job seekers.
• An HR conference.

Leading up to the Expo, four regional job fairs were held at Wollo University, Jimma University, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, and Adama Science and Technology University. These fairs connected up to 2,400 candidates with 98 employers, including Dashen Bank, INSA, Horizon Addis, United Beverages, ALX Ethiopia, Jotun Ethiopia Paint Manufacturing, and Unilever Ethiopia. This regional approach ensured broader access to employment opportunities across the country.

Through its forums for employers, orientation sessions, training sessions, and HR conferences, the 2023 National Career Expo served as a networking event and an educational platform, equipping Ethiopia’s youth and employers with the necessary tools to navigate and succeed in the evolving job market.?

Introducing the Milk Run Campaign

Building on the success of the 2023 National Career Expo, we are excited to introduce the Milk Run initiative. This initiative by Dereja aims to further bridge the gap between talented graduating students and leading national and international employers. Drawing inspiration from the traditional milk delivery routes, the Milk Run symbolizes routine, reliability, and efficiency in delivering career opportunities to students nationwide.

As part of our continued commitment to empowering Ethiopia's youth, the Milk Run campaign will be hosting job fairs across five prominent universities: Bahir Dar University, Hawassa University, Haramaya University, Jimma University, and Wollo University, with the final event in Addis Ababa, at Millennium Hall.

These events will feature job fairs, networking, skill-building workshops, and HR seminars. Our goal is to provide students with direct connections to employers, enhance their employability skills, and promote the potential of Ethiopian graduates to local and international companies.

We encourage employers to seize this unique opportunity to connect with Ethiopia's brightest young talent and secure the skilled professionals their companies need.

Register now for the upcoming Milk Run job fairs and find the skilled professionals your company needs!?

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