1st Annual ASAQS WSC Student Conference 2018

On Saturday October 6^th 2018, the ASAQS Wits Student Chapter hosted their first annual ASAQS WSC Student Conference. The theme for this conference was “Creating an enabling environment for Quantity Surveying Students” and comprised of industry professionals that engaged students in various topics that will affect them in their route to employability.

The first session was opened by Tebogo Jempe, a Candidate QS at Equate Africa. Tebogo spoke about the competence and readiness of QS graduates and how the university curriculum is not evolving with the evolving QS industry. “There are market expectations on graduates and they are often expected to have the required skills and experience straight after graduating”.

Lesley Bergstrom, the Executive Assistant to the Registrar at the SACQSP, highlighted key aspects on how QS students and graduates can make themselves more marketable. “Do internships, consider volunteer work, and base your CV on the job you want. Review common interview questions, dress for success, sharpen your communication skills,  know major current trends in the construction industry and join a professional society to grow your network of contacts”.

Professor David Root, Head of School of Construction, Economics and Management at Wits University, gave a brief summary about how the construction programmes at Wits are regulated and if this degree will truly prepare us for the working world.

The second session of the conference highlighted the very controversial topic of land expropriation without compensation. Prisca Simbanegavi, PhD Researcher and Senior Lecturer at the School of Construction, Economics and Management at Wits, opened the discussion. “State land should be used for economic development purposes and it is important for people to be educated on the functions of land. Land should not be used for political gain but for economic liberation. We need to fix this issue as of now and should learn from other countries such as Zimbabwe”.

Josias Mahlangu - ASAQS WSC Chairperson	Panel discussion
Prof David Root	Dr. Oluwayomi Babatunde

Mashilo Pitjeng, Managing Director at TseboREAL Asset Management and former President of SAIBPP: “The questions we should be asking ourselves is why do we want to possess land? How does land acquire its value over time? It must be useful and productive to someone. What is the proportion of productive land in South Africa?” He later went on to reiterate some of the points brought up by Prisca;” We should stop looking at land as a position thing, but more for economic prosperity. We also need to fix the tenure system and the issue of special inequality”.

Dr. Oluwayomi Babatunde, Senior Lecturer at the School of Construction, Economics and Management at Wits, gave the students a few truths that will equip them in the working environment and some of them include: cleaning up your digital footprint, telling a story with your CV, not lowballing yourself to get a particular job, being loyal and dependable and working on your dreams after working hours.

The last speaker, Karl Trusler, the EduTech Director at ASAQS, gave an interesting and insightful presentation on the technological advancements that the QS profession has made in the past few decades. “The future of QS will surprise us. We are moving from bricks to clicks and the fourth industrial revolution will include disruptive technology. QS is not only a role limited to estimating and calculating. Some of the skills to stay relevant include: Personal Branding, Digital Fluency, Belonging to a Tribe and Making sense of Complexity and Resilience”.

The ASAQS Wits Student Chapter would like to thank every single speaker and delegate for attending our conference. Thank you to the ASAQS, the SACQSP and Edu-Tech for the contributions they made to make this event a true success. We certainly hope that the chapter will continue to grow from strength to strength with your assistance and continued support.

Article provided by: Nthabiseng Motlatle