Careers in the SAPS
Police and traffic officers spoke to learners about careers in safety and law enforcement - and clearly enjoyed the exchange as much as the learners did.
Case study · Free State
Careers Day at Lephola.
Lephola Secondary School turned its classrooms into a careers exhibition - bringing 28 alumni and professionals back to school to talk to learners about the real jobs behind the qualifications. It is exactly the kind of in-school career talk that National Careers Week is built around.
- School
- Lephola Secondary
- Speakers
- 28
- Grades
- 8 to 12
Good careers education is not a finance issue - it is a coordination issue.
Lephola did not buy a careers day. Alumni gave their time, local partners brought their stands, and a small committee brought it all together. What careers education needs most is not budget - it is someone to coordinate the right people into the same week.
The idea
Real faces, in real careers.
The school's Mentorship & Career Pathways Subcommittee put out a simple call to alumni: come back and share your career journey - the wins, the struggles and the lessons. The brief was 'real Lephola faces, in real careers, for our learners', spanning health, law, engineering, teaching, IT, entrepreneurship and any other field. The point was for learners to see people from their own school in careers they could actually reach.
Your story could be the reason a learner does not give up.
The build-up
How the day came together.
The day did not happen by accident. It was built up over weeks of planning and a simple campaign any school can copy.
- 1
Weekly planning meetings
The subcommittee met every week to plan the day and share the load, so nothing landed on one person.
- 2
The alumni call-out
A broadcast went out to the alumni group - 'Calling all Lephola alumni' - asking professionals and tradesmen to volunteer as speakers.
- 3
The Careers Day poster
A simple flyer set the date and the fields - Health, Law, Engineering, Teaching, IT, Entrepreneurship, or any other field - under the line 'real Lephola faces, in real careers, for our learners'.
- 4
The speaker list
Volunteers were captured on the NCW Speaker List template - topic, grade, date and hosting slot - so the day ran to a plan.
- 5
The countdown
Reminders and build-up posts kept the momentum going right up to the big day.
Follow the campaign:#CareersWeek#CareersWeek2026#NationalCareersWeek
On the day
What the learners saw.
From the SAPS to a self-made entrepreneur, learners heard from people who had walked the same corridors they walk now.
Stands & exhibitors
More than talks - a careers fair.
It was not only talks. Exhibition stands turned the day into a careers fair, giving learners something to see, touch and take home - from an interest-profiling banner to real industry equipment.
Moments that landed
The talks learners will remember.
Career multipotentiality
A former Miss Lephola, now the owner of a woodworking company and a property sales business, spoke about building more than one career at a time.
From Grade 10 dropout to entrepreneur
A multimillion-rand entrepreneur and alumnus who once dropped out in Grade 10 urged learners to finish school and consider TVET - proof that the path is rarely a straight line.
A learner who became an advocate
A former Lephola learner, now a practising advocate, returned in full court dress to talk about careers in law.
Inspiration in the parking lot
One alumnus drove his Bentley to the school to show learners what hard work can build - a talking point that turned into a lesson about effort and reward.
28 certificates of service
Every speaker was thanked with a Certificate of Service - the recognition that keeps volunteers coming back year after year.
The speakers
28 careers, one afternoon.
A sample of the day's topics. In total, 28 speakers volunteered across health, engineering, law, the public sector, the trades and enterprise.
Physiotherapy
Pontsho Selengoane
Environmental Health
Mapuleng Masilo
Occupational Therapy
Koena Lichaba
Town Planning
Rose Nkhasi
Occupational Health
Ithaopeng Moleta
Eskom Engineer
Motse Khaeane
Social Worker
Mpho Letsekha
Communication
Ntombizodwa Mhlambi
Careers in the SAPS
Ntahbiseng Thulo
Entrepreneurship
Muzi Mthimkhulu
Entrepreneurship
Neo Makhomu
Carpentry
Emily 'Emza' Nhlapho
Why it worked
A day that mirrors the week.
Lephola's Careers Day works because it follows the same model as National Careers Week itself.
In-school, on their turf
Careers came to school grounds, so every learner took part - the core National Careers Week principle of in-school delivery.
Alumni as role models
Real faces from the same school made success feel reachable - the 'go back and give back' pledge in action.
Career talks that count
Each talk adds to a learner's careers exposure - the part of careers education with the strongest evidence behind it.
Recognised and repeatable
Certificates of service and a speaker list built from the NCW templates mean the day can run again next year.
A good start
Start with a day. Grow into the week.
The full programme runs across Term 3, Week 8 for every grade - but a school does not have to start there. Lephola shows that a single, well-run Careers Day is a powerful first step: it builds the relationships, the alumni network and the confidence a school needs to grow into the full week.
Start with one day
One day of career talks is enough to prove the model to your staff, learners and speakers.
Build the alumni list
Every speaker who comes back becomes a contact for next year - the network compounds over time.
Grow into the week
Add grades, days and try-a-skill activities each year until you are running the full Term 3, Week 8 programme.
Thank you to each and every one of you for making Careers Day a success. This was because of teamwork - from the planning and our weekly meetings to all the work behind the scenes. I was truly amazed by how ready you all were to step in and fill the gaps. That willingness showed just how passionate you are about making a difference in the lives of Lephola learners.
Mentorship & Career Pathways Subcommittee, Lephola Secondary School
Who made it happen
Thato Thibile
Project lead · Lephola alumna, FSDOE Life Orientation Provincial Coordinator & National Chief Examiner
Mr Nchoba
Team leader
Tshidi Dabula
Co-chairperson
Jeany Mens
Volunteer coordinator
Run a Careers Day at your school.
Lephola started with one day. Use the guidelines and templates to plan yours - and grow it into the full Term 3, Week 8 programme.
A National Careers Week case study, based on the Lephola Secondary School Careers Day held on 7 August 2026.