More than 100 employers from all over the UK are to take part in the region’s biggest employers fair next week.
Hosted by UWE Bristol on Thursday November 3, the fair is expected to attract thousands of graduates and students and will be opened with a motivational speech from pent-athlete Heather Fell.
The third annual fair organised by UWE Bristol, it will give the employers a chance to showcase opportunities and to talent scout.
UWE Bristol students are performing well in the employment market despite the recession and a recent survey of all UK universities rated it as 11th for student employability.
The annual Employers Fair plays an important role in helping students to maximise their employment opportunities.
UWE Bristol has one of the UK’s largest graduate internship schemes, more than 70 programmes of study accredited by professional bodies, a growing list of strategic partnerships with key players such as HP and the BBC, and a careers service that came joint third in the world in the International Student Barometer in 2010.
Interserve, one of the region’s largest construction companies, has taken part in the fair for the past three years.
Business improvement manager Richard Gardiner said: “We have a long-standing partnership with the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at UWE Bristol. The fair is a good way of promoting the company to students and graduates. We send staff on day release to UWE Bristol to study for BSc qualifications in quantity surveying, engineering and site management.
“We also offer a limited number of industrial placements for students from relevant courses. Supporting staff through training is a good because they can ‘earn while they learn’ during their degree course and gain experience while developing their expertise.”
Brian Hunt, managing director of Zircon Software, a company specialising in real time software engineering for roads and railways, believes the fair is an excellent way of sourcing new students for placement and graduate employment.
“Our business requires specialist skills and knowledge,” he said. “We work on a wide spectrum of projects ranging from improving traffic light systems to devising control mechanisms for underground platform screen doors. We have worked closely with Dr Rob Williams who leads the computer systems integration course for some years and the fair presents us with a chance to meet more students who might enjoy spending their year in industry with us. We need staff who understand our business. Our partnership with UWE Bristol has created good opportunities for students and a supply of graduates who have the skills that are useful to us.”
John Clarke, Assistant Director of Student Services at UWE Bristol, said: “Over the past three years UWE Bristol has had continuous improvement in the performance of its graduates in the labour market, with this summer’s HEFCE employment performance indicator showing UWE only one place behind Bristol and within the top 12 major higher education institutions in the UK.”
