Independence Day

Yesterday was the first day of my path to being an independent woman. And what an experience it was. My day started off on a high note. Familiar faces made me less anxious and new faces made me excited for the World of Work Training Programme.

I would like to touch on some issues we tackled yesterday. First of all I would like to thank Dr. Van Zyl and Jean Power for welcoming us. I was quite nervous but from your warm welcome and kind words we are ready to promote ourselves, be advocates for our specific educational backgrounds and lastly, work very hard.

Secondly I am thankful for the opportunity of a self improvement activity like the team leaders. When it comes to public speaking or presentations I’m quite rusty in the sense that this is for real. We are introducing very important and successful people and I’m keen to learn from all the trainees’ examples on how this is done in a professional manner.

Thirdly I was very excited about our guests from the Businesswomen’s Association. It is great to know that an inspiring association like that realizes the importance of humanities and social sciences in the world of work. I enjoyed the relaxed approach by Ms Thomson. It was an enriching and fresh way of dealing with very important issues.

I have already rewritten the advice she gave us, especially the fifteen ‘Ps’. I think if we need to refer back to a guideline on how to conduct ourselves in the workplace (and personal life) and how to be resilient, the fifteen ‘P Letters’ are it. Also, as a South African woman, I’m extremely appreciative of the ongoing opportunities this prominent association provides to help women in business. Their business card is safely secured in my wallet (a very valuable contact).

Lastly I want to thank last year’s trainees for their input on their experience at the World of Work Programme. It was a great way of showing that it is going to be a tough course but the end result will offer us a string of opportunities (and contacts) for our future in the working world.