Students Lucia Luo and David Choi learn more about the job market at the fair
The University of Macau (UM) today (16 March) kicked off the Career and Internship Fair 2015. As the first of its kind on the new campus and the largest in history, this year’s fair attracted more than 100 companies, offering over 5,000 jobs in more than 20 industries, to over 1,300 graduating UM students. The fair will last until 20 March. According to UM’s latest employment and further studies survey among bachelor’s degree graduates for the 2013/2014 academic year, the three most popular industries for UM graduates are education, entertainment and gaming, and hospitality, with the employment rate reaching 92 per cent and the median monthly income being MOP 14,000. 20 per cent of last year’s UM graduates chose to pursue further studies. Prof Philip Chen, dean of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology, said in his speech that in addition to pursuing academic excellence, UM also puts an emphasis on providing internship opportunities for students to produce exemplary graduates for Macao and various industries. Elvo Sou, head of the Student Counselling and Development Section of the Student Affairs Office and organiser of the fair, said that this year’s fair is the largest in history, and in addition to providing various employment and internship opportunities, the fair teaches the students how to make career choices and provides an opportunity for them to showcase their talent. He added that UM plans to launch a series of assistance programmes to help students start their own business, so as to keep pace with the evolving needs for economic diversification of Macao’s society. During this period, the exhibiting companies are welcome to provide job interviews for applicants on the spot in order to speed up the employment process. UM will also hold 35 recruitment talks. The fair has attracted many students who would like to know more about the job market. Fourth-year Portuguese major Lucia Luo said that she wants to know more about the companies, and she will apply for a job on the last day of the fair. Third-year economics major David Choi said that the fair can help him make a better career choice in the future.
