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Employment boost for aspiring Unisa accountants

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Front (left to right): Mandisa Gandela (Acting DED: CAS), Anita Smith (Recruitment Hub Manager: Africa – PwC), Neo Thoothe (Acting Director: School of Applied Accountancy). Back (Left to right): Professor Cameron Modisane (Acting School Director: School of Accountancy), Palesa Tshabalala (Graduate Recruitment: Senior Associate PwC), Michael Ferreira (Africa Human Capital Director, PwC), Dr Moses Hlongoane (Acting ED: CAS)

he College of Accounting Sciences (CAS) Operational Plan 2022 highlights the importance of stakeholder engagements as follows: "We understand the importance of collaborations within the accounting profession, and the college will remain faithful to its endeavours in strengthening its stakeholder relationships with professional bodies". On Friday, 4 February 2022, the CAS management team, led by Dr Moses Hlongoane (Acting ED: CAS), met with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to establish relationships and find ways for the college to build a long-term relationship in collaborative projects.

Michael Ferreira (Africa Human Capital Director at PwC) said he was elated to engage with the Unisa delegates. He alluded to the fact that Unisa contributes towards PwC's transformation agenda, which is, amongst other things, to invest in young African talent through programmes and initiatives that seeks to transform their lives. "We are looking for young passionate African talents to be part of this profession (CA[SA]),” he said. “Our relationships with all our stakeholders is important, but our relationship with Unisa (CAS) is of paramount importance as Unisa is an important source for us. Unisa is one of the top feeder universities which provide us with some of the best African, coloured and Indian (ACI) candidates."

Unisa team: Neo Thoothe (Acting School Director: School of Applied Accountancy), Dr Moses Hlongoane (Acting ED: CAS), Mandisa Gandela (Acting DED: CAS), Professor Cameron Modisane (Acting Director: School of Accountancy)

PwC has recently had a significant intake of graduates (625 graduates), and students from Unisa form part of that intake. In the past few years, PwC has been employing Unisa graduates and to date (2022), 71 CTA students have been taken in to serve their articles, with 25 awaiting their supplementary results. Of the 71 CTA students, 63 are African. This places Unisa amongst the top three feeder universities for ACI students. Therefore, the engagement between Unisa and PWC is crucial.

Speaking during the meeting, Professor Cameron Modisane, Acting Director: School of Applied Accountancy, expressed how grateful the college is to have been given a platform to create opportunities for Unisa students who may not have access to information regarding job opportunities due to their disadvantaged backgrounds. "As a person who is passionate about students and developing young people, we are grateful that today we get a chance to form partnerships that can change black aspiring accountants' lives," said Modisane.

 As part of the engagement, the following matters were discussed:

  • How PwC can assist Unisa to produce employable candidates
  • Bursary opportunities for students
  • Surveys to assess Unisa graduates who are now in the PwC workplace
  • How both parties can work together to strengthen the relationship between Unisa and PwC, and how top-performing students can be supported going forward

* Submitted by Ntsako Mohlaba, Communications and Marketing Specialist, College of Accounting Sciences

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Publish date: 2022-02-18 00:00:00.0

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