Young people are no longer seeking lifelong careers with one employer – survey – UG Job Fair 2026

Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Guyana (UG) Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin emphasised that today’s job seekers are no longer interested in spending their entire careers with a single company. She shared these sentiments at the opening on the institution’s Annual 2-day Open Day and Job Fair at the Turkeyen Campus on Friday which is being held under the theme “Innovation. Opportunity. Impact.” The event like previous years, features two main components. The first is an Open Day, which provides prospective students with an opportunity to explore the university’s 180 programmes and learn about various career paths. The second is a Job Fair, which offers information on job and internship opportunities from local and international organisations for students and other interested persons. More than 40 companies are participating in the job fair, representing sectors such as energy, manufacturing, retail, banking and finance, as well as public sector entities drawn from education, security, tourism, and labour. Speaking during the opening ceremony, UG Registrar Nigel Gravesande noted that the job fair comes at a timely moment, coinciding with the influx of applications for the upcoming academic year. He highlighted that since the application portal opened on March 30; the university has experienced an unprecedented surge in submissions.

“By the close of business yesterday, we recorded, for the first time in our history within a three-week period after opening, 3,500 local applications and 45 international ones. The top areas of interest so far were drawn from engineering, management, education, medical sciences and law, covering all 10 administrative regions.” In the case of Guyana, he noted that Regions Two, Three, Five, Six, and 10 all recorded strong application numbers – 162 in Region Two, 486 in Region Three, 159 in Region Five, 161 in Region Six, and 234 in Region 10-while Region 4 recorded a four-digit total of 1,648 applications.
However, he added that the Distance Education Centre (DEC), supported by the Registry in the hinterland regions, continues to show strong interest in its programmes. He added that they look forward to two productive days of engagement involving UG students, participants from outlying regions across the country, and dedicated staff led by DEC, whose efforts in organising well-structured activities reflect their commitment and professionalism. In addition, VC Professor Mohamed-Martin, referenced two surveys conducted earlier this year examining the workforce landscape and young people’s attitudes toward work and education. She noted that the findings indicate a shift in mindset, with many young people no longer interested in spending their entire careers with a single company adding that there is a growing view that people are no longer likely to remain in a single job or vocation for their entire working lives.
Instead, individuals are increasingly expected to work in ways that finance their present goals and lifestyles rather than commit to one long-term career path.
“Research is showing that there is not a future in which one job is going to be a lifelong vocation. They are telling us that we are going to do what we need to do now. We are going to work not to live, but to finance what we want to do in our lives at this moment. And if you think about what that means, it means that you can no longer recruit a person who is 15 years old or 18 years old and expect them to be with your company until they are 60.”
She added that this shift means organisations can no longer assume that young people recruited at 15 or 18 will remain with the same company until retirement. She further explained that there is also a rising demand among workers for greater autonomy and agency in their roles, with individuals wanting less instruction and more opportunity to innovate and create.
“Secondly [research] is saying that autonomy and agency will be more common in their work, so it is telling us that we are seeing a lot more entrepreneurial spirit coming up, and for us educators, it is telling us that the way in which we have structured our education is too settled. They want more innovation. They want to design their degrees.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO) of the Ministry of Education, Marti DeSousza expressed that the Ministry remains steadfast in its mission to ensure education is accessible and relevant to produce a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, and ready to meet the demands of the evolving economy.
“We are working to strengthen the alignment between academic programmes and labour market needs so that our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and practical skills required to thrive. Events like this demonstrate what is possible when institutions and industries come together for a shared purpose. They create opportunities for real-world exposure that cannot be found in textbooks. I encourage students, prospective students, and patrons, as we navigate the activities and visit booths, to remain open, curious, and to ask lots of questions.” UG is also collaborating with the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI) to host the Essequibo leg of the event on May 8, while the activity will be hosted at the Berbice Campus on April 24.