Zelda Janse van Rensburg, Marketer at theFaculty of Engineering and the BuiltEnvironment, has made some interestingfindings with regards to the return oninvestment of recruitment drives.
Janse van Rensburg, who obtained the degree last year, managed to establish a possible correlation between the Faculty’s annual Competition Day and the subsequent enrolment at TUT of learners who attend the day.
For more than ten years, Janse van Rensburg has been closely involved in hosting the Competition Day. The event attracts thousands of learners who investigate the numerous applications of engineering in a fun way.
The results of her M: Tech, titled Factors influencing career choice of learners in engineering: a case of a selected university of technology in South Africa, indicate that a substantial number of learners from schools who annually attend the Competition Day make TUT, in particular the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, their academic home: In 2017, for instance, 65 learners from the Thohoyandou Technical High School, who never miss a Competition Day, enrolled at the Faculty, and 53 from the John Vorster Technical High School.
Other findings included that most of the Faculty’s students come from rural areas, which points to the importance of recruitment in such areas. Most of these students hail from the Limpopo and Gauteng provinces.
Janse van Rensburg says she has also found that the employability of Technologists and Technicians trained at the University is much higher than that of engineers. “Statistics by the Department of Higher Education and Training indicate that project teams in this discipline usually consist of one engineer (qualified at a traditional university) and eight technologists and technicians (qualified at a University of Technology).
She presented the findings of her M Tech at the 2019 STEMI Olympiads and Competitions Community of Practice Conference, hosted at the CSIR International Convention Centre from 19 to 22 February.
Janse van Rensburg’s career is well-rooted in education. Although she initially qualified as a primary teacher in the seventies, her sights were set on higher education. The stepping stone into this arena was when she accepted a position as secretary at the Department of Civil Engineering at the former Technikon Pretoria (which later on merged to become the Tshwane University of Technology – TUT) where she has been employed for the past 38 years.
As a lifelong learner, she enrolled for a B Tech: Business Administration (part time), followed by an Advanced Diploma: Education and, most recently, obtained an M Tech: Business Administration.
As Marketer she actively promotes programmes offered by the Faculty’s eight Departments, focusing on the correct subject choices to enter this fascinating field of study and its career options.