Tanzania Cigarette Company

Over 100 graduates from local and foreign universities and colleges gathered on Saturday at Tanzania Cigarette Company for this year’s TCC Career Fair which aims to select candidates for job opportunities at the company.

The event, which took place at the factory in Dar es Salaam, was introduced 10 years ago to assist in the creation of a database for potential candidates for employment at the firm.
The selected students underwent vigorous assessment and had the chance to meet and interact with the firm’s top management as part of the assessment process.

Those who sail through will be trained and hired by the company, the company management has said.

Speaking soon after the exercise, TCC human resources director Caroline Kavishe said the students were drawn from 14 universities and colleges from within and outside the country.
She said that so far over 67 graduates have secured jobs at the company since the programme started over 10 years ago, adding that for the successful candidates, opportunities exist even outside the country.

“Through this programme, we have been able to acquire the best candidates in the positions we require as a company, and we are proud to note that other firms are now trying to emulate us,” she said.

The graduates work in groups under the supervision of the management team and are awarded marks which are tallied and the best graduates are selected.
Apart from working for the country’s leading employer, the human resources director said that other successful Tanzanians working for TCC have been given the opportunity to work for JTI organisations across the globe. JTI is TCC’s mother company, he added.

Narindwa Shaidi, the TCC Human Resource Business Partner, said that the programme was started by the company in 2003, and that the firm has been able to see its success, which is why it is now a continuous project.

She said while assessing the students, they look for qualities of the individuals, determination and fighting spirit and whether they meet the company’s needs.
“Besides the management, the graduates get the opportunity to meet with TCC workers and get hands on experience of the company before being assessed to determine the right candidates,” she said.

Beaming with high expectations, Christopher John from the University of Dar es Salaam said that selected as one of the candidates in itself was a learning experience for him.
Irene Japheth from the College of Business Education (CBE), Dar es Salaam said the opportunity given by TCC was good, considering that once students graduate they get a tough time looking for jobs.

“I really hope that I will get an opportunity to work with TCC, because I know that currently they are the leading employers in the country. This will actually give me the opportunity to improve myself,” she said.