Career Day for Tshwane youth on 14 June

This is in response to reports from the beginning of the year, that state that youth unemployment rates in South Africa are the third highest in the world.

"Young people are not equipped with the skills to enter the marketplace. They have academic skills and many having completed tertiary or secondary school satisfactorily, but there is a massive gap when they try to enter the workplace," says Liezl Hesketh, founder of TheRoomLink.co.za and a contributor in this year's expo.

"We have identified the challenges our young people face when entering the workplace and believe these problems can be resolved by providing additional guidance before they begin their career search," says Makgabo Mabula, of the URCSA. "We are thankful to have the support of local businesses, the community and the participating schools which have helped us to present our Career Day for a second year in a row. This shows that the career expo has had an impact on the students' career paths. We encourage students who have not participated to come join us on Saturday for a life changing experience."

Job advice

Nine high schools in the area will participate in the educational day, which aims to bridge the gap for school leavers entering the workplace. Hesketh has the following advice for students preparing and young job:

1) When writing a CV, think concisely and to the point and include only relevant information. Hesketh says the average resume that her company receives is seven pages long but advises job seekers to keep it to two pages or less.

2) Employers want to know how you apply yourself, more than the marks you received. Tell us about volunteer work, summer jobs, even relevant hobbies are important examples of how you will work.

3) This is the digital age and chances are prospective employers will Google job applicants who have made the shortlist. What you got up to at last night's party and even what you did or said months ago can have a damaging effect on your careers chances. We have seen it happen countless times, people who make inappropriate remarks on social media who then lose their jobs the next day. Those are people with years of experience, if one remark can do that to a career then imagine what it can do with someone who is just starting out.

4) However, social media can be a wonderful tool as well. Professional sites such as LinkedIn and even Twitter can be a fantastic way to stand out from a crowd. 'Following' someone in your field that you can look up to can be a great way to get your foot in the door - use social media wisely and it can be the best step forward.