American software company Autodesk is launching an initiative to help engineering graduates in South Africa take their First Step to a career in the manufacturing sector.
The First Step in Your Career initiative is a volunteer programme which includes technical training, interview techniques, help with preparing a CV and one-on-one mentoring. The initiative currently open for registrations with entries closing on 24 June 2022.
The First Step in Your Career initiative was first launched in Turkey by Autodesk as a pilot project and after the success of the Turkish arm of the programme, the company decided to extend the initiative to other regions that Autodesk operates in, including South Africa.
Murat Tüzüm, Head of Manufacturing Industry EMEA Emerging, Autodesk, spoke to IT News Africa about the launch of the initiative in South Africa. Tüzüm said that the event was initially spurred by the vast unemployment faced by graduates, not just in South Africa, but in the EMEA region as a whole.
According to Tüzüm, Autodesk as a technology vendor is focused on the future manufacturing, of which technology is key, but “without people this future would not be possible.” There are young graduates, Tüzüm says, that represent the future of manufacturing. “To address the youth unemployment problem, we have decided to start this initiative,” he says.
Tüzüm says that currently there is a discrepancy between employers and prospective employees. Graduates are shouting that they need to be allowed to join jobs since they have put in such time and money investments in their education, but employers are saying that the graduates at these disparate engineering departments are simply not what they are looking for. Tüzüm says that employers are looking for different skills than what graduates are offering.
“As Autodesk and our project partners, we have decided to positively contribute towards the solution to this problem, and try to close this discrepancy between employers and employees,” he says.
What the Program Includes:
- Fusion 360 Technical Online Training
- Interactive Seminars with Industry Professionals
- Soft skill Training: Interview Techniques and CV Preparation
- 1:1 Mentorship
Tüzüm says that initiative is focused on preparing graduates to enter the working world and contains more than technical skills training through Autodesk’s Fusion 360 platform, which is one part of the initiative.
“We want to provide these young people with interview techniques, as well as how the properly formulate their CVs with techniques given by professional agencies,” Tüzüm says.
He continues to say that graduates and young engineers that join the initiative will also receive the experiences from industry experts and company owners to understand what they need to be careful with during interviews, as well as how to be better prepared to enter the interview space.
“These experts will be sharing some best practices to enter the industry, also in the programme there is 1:1 mentorship for the applicants to help them get their dream jobs. When all these legs come together, we believe that it will help close the gab between employers and graduates,” Tüzüm says.
Speakers at the Initiative Include:
- Cindy Norcott – Motivational Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur, Business Coach, Philanthropist, The Robin Hood Foundation
- Richard Hansen – Managing Member, Bolt Engineering.
Autodesk says that more speakers are to be announced.
Application Criteria:
- Graduated in 2019, 2020 or 2021 – Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, industrial design, manufacturing design, mechatronics engineering or aeronautical engineering.
- Not currently employed
To register to take part in the initiative, click here.
By Luis Monzon
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