Newman Huo

SWEDISH pilot Ulrick Ottosson held a group of 18 secondary students of QSI International School of Shekou (QSI) in Nanshan District enthralled yesterday as he described his career experiences to them.

Ottosson, 41, is employed as a commercial pilot by the Shenzhen-based Jade Cargo, a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo in Germany.

After a year of training at a flight school in South Carolina, the United States, Ottosson obtained a commercial pilot’s license in November 1989. He moved to Shenzhen to work for Jade Cargo last May.

“It’s always my great pleasure to give young people inspirations for their career development,” he said yesterday.

Ottosson was among more than 25 professionals from fields such as art and design, technology, business, service, health, education and media, who spoke at Career Day and College Fair in QSI yesterday.

Career Day provided secondary students a chance to know more about various fields of work by allowing them to interact face-to-face with established professionals.

Many of these professionals are parents of QSI students and working in Shenzhen.

“By a tight network of the QSI parent support group and other organizations like Shekou Women’s International Club (SWIC), we have a diverse group of people we can call upon to volunteer for such an event,” said Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen, vice president of SWIC, who was the event coordinator and also a speaker.

“I am amazed at the high level of successful professionals attending the event,” she said. “Their biographies read like a who’s who in Shenzhen and what an exceptional opportunity for the students to be exposed to these people.”

About 125 secondary students, aged 14 to 17, attended Career Day and College Fair. This was the first time such an event had been held at the international school.

“This kind of event is unique in Shenzhen where career fairs and job fairs are emphasized for current working people,” said Nordloef-Pedersen.

“By having a career fair for high school students on the verge of making significant college decisions, we feel that a diverse set of careers offered to the students allows them insight into what a particular specialty in school, such as math or art, can be turned into a successful career that provides stimulation and satisfaction in their life,” she added.

Like many of the participating students, Yonaton Israeli, 16, from Israel, felt excited after attending the event.

“The event today has given us the chance to be exposed to a great diversity of careers other than my parents’ careers,” he said.

Established in Shekou in August 2001, QSI now has a total of 769 students from preschool through secondary school.

The school had six high school graduates last year, and will have 11 this year, and 25 next year, according to Britt Brantley, principal of QSI.