ISLAMABAD: Vice Chancellor Air University (AU) Air Marshal (Retd) Javaid Ahmed has stressed the need for promoting career-oriented education. He said that Air University was focusing on enhancing the skills development for getting employment in order to facilitate students for choosing a perfect career path.
He was addressing the concluding session in connection with the first-ever Career Counseling Week (AUCCW 2022) organized by the AU Career Support Office here Sunday. On this occasion, Director Student Affairs Fazaila Ali, Assistant Director Sabahuddin Qazi, Placement Officials Gulnaz Batool, Misbah Shahid, Mobeen Jamshed and other distinguished guests were also present.
The Vice Chancellor, in his address, emphasized that a career-oriented education was need of the time to empower students through academic programs and co-curricular activities, to identify their professional goals and let them move forward in the right direction to achieve successes. “The University is taking various initiatives facilitating students to earn their valuable degree, develop bright destiny and ensure a solid foundation for their future achievements,” the VC further said.
Answering a question about the importance of CGPA in job seeking, the VC acknowledged that the CGPA
was usually considered the most important factor when being shortlisted for a job position. “You might get a job offer based on your academic performance, but in order to secure the seat and compete in the job market, you need to demonstrate extraordinary competencies related to creative thinking, interpersonal skills, team spirit, decision-making, and a strong grip on technology,” he stated.
Sharing her views with the students, DSA Fazaila Ali said that it was a universal fact that students who were more self-aware and clear on their career strengths were feeling more confident to explore professional opportunities. “The key objectives for organizing the Career Counseling Week include to brief newly-enrolled students of 1st semester about the significance of choosing the right career path, to test and evaluate job readiness skills and devise a concrete plan of action in support of career planning and development,” she emphasized.
Head of the Career Support Office Sabahuddin Qazi said that the data obtained could also be beneficial for research purpose and decision making process to find out more about students’ career readiness, their strengths and needs for grooming. He informed that it would also provide a comprehensive framework for addressing career-related goals and outcomes of curricular and co-curricular activities in terms of student’s field of study and interest areas.
According to him, a total of nine sessions were held throughout the week starting from October 10, during which the AU Career Counseling core team, composed of Gulnaz Batool, Misbah Shahid and Mobeen Jamshed, evaluated the employability skills and career readiness competencies that employers value most in the recruitment process.
“The participating students were thoroughly tested on the basis of job readiness competencies, as per international best practices,” he stated.
