February 2009


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As they prepare to enter the professional world, emerging graduates of the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) will benefit from the experience and wisdom of Giselle Laronde- West, Public Relations Manager, Angostura and Derek Chin, Chairman, MovieTowne. Mrs Laronde-West and Mr Chin will each deliver a feature address at this year’s installment of the World of Work 2009 (WOW) Seminar. WOW 2009 is an annual UWI programme designed to equip final-year UWI students with the necessary tools for long-term success in the globalised work environment.

Mrs. Laronde-West, who is also President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), will speak on ‘Navigating the Interview’, while Mr. Chin will deliver a presentation on ‘The Entrepreneurial Mindset’. The WOW Seminar will take place at the UWI Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC) on February 7th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The WOW Seminar has emerged as one of the most highly anticipated events on the annual WOW calendar.

For the third consecutive year, the WOW programme is being fully sponsored by Republic Bank Limited (RBL). The Branch Sales Manager of the Republic Bank Limited (RBL), UWI St Augustine Campus, will deliver a CAMPUS NEWS motivational address to the students. WOW 2009 is being organised in conjunction with the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the UWI Alumni Association (UWIAA). Mr. James Richardson, UWIAA President, will deliver closing remarks.

WOW 2009 activities begin on Thursday 5th February and continue until March 13th, 2009, all taking place at the UWI SPEC. Each component of the WOW 2009 programme is specifically intended to develop a targeted skill set. The programme opens with the Resume Writing Workshop conducted by Lara Quentrall-Thomas, CEO of Regency Recruitment, to be held on February 5th from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Mrs Quentrall-Thomas will teach participants how to make their resumes more competitive in the global job market.

Next, on February 12th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Catherine Gordon and Renata Tulsie will share with the students some invaluable tips on workplace protocol, in a session on Professional Etiquette, a relatively new addition to the WOW programme. Then, from February 28th to March 7th, dozens of local and regional organizations will be represented at the WOW Mock Interviews. These sessions, which run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., allow each student to practice their interview skills with real business professionals. The fifth and final element of the WOW programme is the highly anticipated annual WOW Recruitment Fair, which this year takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on March 11th through 13th. The Recruitment Fair will showcase companies and organisations from a variety of fields who will recruit students for either vacation or graduate employment. The Recruitment Fair will take place over three days with one day open to all returning students and the remaining two days restricted to final-year students.

Since its inception over ten years ago, WOW has attracted an increasing number of participants. More than 1150 final year students participated in WOW 2008, as compared to 850 in 2006. Many local, regional and international companies have participated in previous installations of this highly anticipated annual event, and this year promises an even greater participation from companies based in CARICOM territories. Over 50 companies and organisations from a wide variety of fields will once again be invited to recruit students for either vacation or graduate employment. Interested companies are asked to contact the Student Advisory Services, UWI.

The University is inviting final-year students to register for WOW 2009. Registration runs from Wednesday 28th January to Wednesday 4th February, 2009.

For further information, contact Mr. Chandar Gupta Supersad, UWI Student Advisory Services at (868) 662 2002 Ext. 2360,
or Ms. Sabrina Pierre 662-2002 Ext. 2325, or Ms. Fleur Edwards 662-2002 Ext. 4187, or Marva Belfast 662-202 Ext. 2098.