Attracting youth to agriculture has been the major focus of the highly successful PMA Agri-Foods Career Fairs held during the past five years at the Universities of Pretoria, Stellenbosch and Kwa-Zulu Natal. The upcoming PMA Agri-Food Career Fair at University of Pretoria, in conjunction with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and JuniorTukkie, to be held on 19-20 May 2016, will be the biggest ever. Targeting young people, the focus is on first-year BSc Biological Science students, many of whom have not yet decided on an area of specialization from their second year onwards, agricultural students currently registered at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level, and as students from other disciplines, such as Marketing, Engineering, Food Science and Consumer Science. An estimated 2000 students are expected. Furthermore, more than 1500 top performer Gr 11 school learners will also be visiting UP in two groups of 600 respectively on 19 and 20 May, through the JuniorTukkie programme for prospective students, and 150 teachers will be accompanying them. The objective is to expose the Grade 11 learners to the agri-food industry, and more specifically, to entice them to a career in agriculture/horticulture/food technology/consumer science. The PMA Agri-Food career fair also provides a platform for companies and organizations to identify future employees and offer internships and bursaries to students.
Companies and organizations who already confirmed their participation at this year’s Career Fair include: Fruit SA (Hortgro, Citrus Grower Association, SUBTROP, SA Table Grapes, Fresh Produce Exporters Forum), Potatoes SA, DAFF, SANSOR (seed industry), Sakata, ZZ2, Bosveld Citrus, Monsanto, Syngenta, Timbali, Russellstone, Westfalia, Shoprite Checkers (Freshmark), Agricultural Product Agents Council, ARC, Dupont, SA Institute for Agricultural Engineers, Water Research Commission, Cibio (Aqua-ponics) and RSA Market Agents.
Activities at this year’s PMA Foundation Agri-Food Career Fair at University of Pretoria:
Venue: Rautenbach Hall (below the Aula) next to Tribeca and Steers
The hours of the Career Fair:
Thursday 19 May 2016 08:00 – 15:30
Friday 20 May 2015 08:00 – 12:00
Parking: Undercover public parking is available at Entrance 12, University Road. Visitors are however advised to arrive early to ensure parking is available.
The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is a global trade association, with head office in the US, serving member companies around the world. Recently the South African fresh produce industry (vegetables, fruit, flowers and horticulture), realized the value of the association’s initiatives for similar applications in Southern Africa, and PMA in Southern Africa is being established. The PMA is playing an important role in uniting the fresh produce industry and addressing issues focused on marketing, sustainability, global market development at all levels and especially in Africa, and human capital development throughout the supply chain. For membership inquiries contact PMA Southern Africa GM Lindie Stroebel lstroebel@pma.com
The Centre for Growing Talent by PMA is a non-profit organization and its mission is to attract, develop and retain talent for the fresh produce industry. The Centre’s programmes include global activities to implement human capital development projects in South Africa and Australia/New Zealand, as well as in the U.S. and Canada. The Centre for Growing Talent by PMA embarked on several projects, including Agri-Food Career Fairs in partnership with Universities of Pretoria, Stellenbosch and KwaZulu-Natal, to attract young talent to the fresh produce industry. All three universities have since reported a steady increase in student numbers in the ‘scarce’ fields of study, i.e. agronomy, horticulture, plant pathology, entomology and food science. For more information www.growingtalentbypma.org
Agri-Food Career Fairs hosted by the Centre for Growing Talent by PMA
Marianne van der Laarse
Tel 012 3320696
Cell 0823881000
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