Water was the focus of a careers day held at Glendale High School this week, and it’s not because of the drought.
Organisers said the event, which had a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) focus geared towards careers in water fields, had been planned months ago, long before the dams dropped to their current critical levels.
The Water Sector Career Day was a collaboration involving the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Management, The Table Mountain Water Source Parnerships (TMWSP), Future Water and the Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minierres (BRGM).
Learners of Princeton and Westridge high schools were bused in to join their peers at Glendale’s school hall on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 March.
Career paths
Speakers from various water-related fields told learners about the possible career paths open to them, which subjects are needed, how long they would need to study for and where to access bursaries.
TMWSP’s Eva Masemola told the learners about her career path to becoming hydrogeologist.
Initially, Masemola had been given a full bursary by a mining company but later when she decided that she wanted to specialise in a field that was not within the company’s sphere of interest she worked as a private consultant while completing her masters.
Later she was offered a job at TMWSP, which is a non-profit.
Time to browse
When the speaker portion of the programme ended learners browsed several tables where different branches of water sciences were set up by researchers.
The children looked at water algae cultures under microscopes or explored displays that explained how water was filtered into an aquifer.
A table with stuffed animals attracted the most attention, with several pupils taking photos at the display.
A press release by the City said that the initiative was aimed at introducing learners to diverse careers in the water sector and the career opportunities available in it, and to promote awareness of groundwater resources.
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