News - Hundreds Meet Their Future
The second Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) Graduate Careers Fair- Meet Your Future 2007- took place on 14th November at the Tremough campus, Penryn, attracting around 800 talented students and graduates from across the county.Over fifty exhibitors also travelled from across Cornwall and the UK; attracted by the reputations and specialisms of the colleges and universities which make up the CUC partnership, to recruit graduates and gain the interest of those graduating in the near future.
International and national companies such as Barclays Bank Plc, Fugro Seacore, BG Group, The BBC and West Pharmaceutical Services lined up alongside a wide range of Cornish businesses, to offer their selection of graduate vacancies and training schemes. The strong Cornish contingent highlighted the increasing opportunities within the county for graduate employment with well known names like Worldwide Financial Planning, Stephens & Scown, TRAC Services and Ginsters.
Ben Simpson from Newquay, a Minerals Engineering graduate of Camborne School of Mines, was delighted to be returning to Tremough- this time to exhibit at the fair and recruit fellow graduates. Ben was employed by SGS Minerals Services, based at Wheal Jane, after completing his studies and explained, "It was great for me to be able to study locally and then to find a job based in Cornwall, straight from university. And from the fantastic response we have had today, it is obvious that many people are keen to do the same - in fact we've been swamped all day. We will definitely be back next year."
The vibrant creative skills sector in the county was well catered for at the event with a number of agencies on hand to give advice and guidance including the Crafts Council, Hidden Art and Cornwall Design Forum. Given the large proportion of self-employed business people and entrepreneurs in the county, information for business start-ups was also provided by organisations including Business Relations at University College Falmouth and Business Link.
CUC Executive Director, Dr Ian Tunbridge, was pleased with the feedback from the fair, commenting, "It was extremely encouraging to hear from the exhibitors how well prepared the students and graduates were and how highly they rated the event. The unique model of higher education and high calibre of skills and knowledge being generated across Cornwall is rightly valued by employers, who recognize the huge wealth of expertise available to them here. I have absolutely no doubt that next year's event will be even bigger again. "