A group of youngsters were treated to an eye-opening day at the Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) offices in Sandton.
PPD is an international clinical research organisation which focuses on the testing of new medication and combinations of existing drugs.
The day, which formed part of Take a Child to Work Day, saw pupils from different schools taken on a tour of the organisation’s offices to gain a bit of insight into the inner workings of the office.
Human resources co-ordinator, Karina Moodley said, “We extended the invite to PPD employees to bring pupils from Grade 8 [and students] up to second-year varsity, and we’ve given them training on career goals and mapping.
“Not all of them might want to head off into the pharmaceutical field, so we are focusing on a broader world of work and to see what a working environment is all about.”
Director of clinical management at the organisation, Heinrich Pienaar said, “In South Africa, we are running short on good clinical research staff. So we would help these children see this as a great opportunity for a career.”
Pienaar added that there was a wide spectrum of choices for young people in the field and he hoped that the pupils and students would consider delving into the clinical research field.
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