Wirral Met College proudly celebrated National Careers Week (7th – 11th March 2022) by hosting over 80 employer talks to hundreds of students.
Businesses from all walks of industry, including accountancy, construction, hair and beauty, computing, science, automotive, public services, travel & tourism, engineering, the arts, plus many more, took time out of their busy schedules to deliver masterclasses, Q&As and live careers demonstrations.
Companies involved included Ryanair, Bourne Leisure, Urban Splash, Halfords, RAF, Laing O’Rourke, Morgan Sindall, Chester Zoo, North West Ambulance Service, Blue Cross, Magenta Living, CNC Robotics, British Airways and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The week began with an Army ration pack challenge by the Royal Logistic Corps 167 Catering Support Regiment. Hospitality and Culinary Arts students had to create a starter, main and dessert in 90 minutes using basic army rations. The winning team created a timbale of tuna and rice, lasagne al forno with chunky chips, and a spiced pear and ginger cheesecake.
Meanwhile, Ryanair joined travel, tourism and aviation students for a presentation on the exciting career opportunities at the airline. Lauren Dixon, UK Recruitment Manager and Lola Hall, Recruitment Officer for Ryanair delivered a presentation to students and interviewed students for live job opportunities.
Lauren Dixon, UK Recruitment Manager for Ryanair, said: “As the world opens back up and we look to the future of aviation, building relationships with colleges such as Wirral Met is vital to the future growth of Ryanair.”
To coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8, representatives from Laing O’Rourke and WSP joined construction and engineering students for industry talks. Former student Rachel Jack is a Student Quantity Surveyor for Laing O’Rourke and Joanna Bateman is a Traffic Signal Engineer for WSP.
Rachel and Joanna spoke about their own career paths in a traditionally male-dominated industry and inspired students with their industry insight and experience.
Joanna Bateman, Traffic Signal Engineer at WSP said: “It was great to be able to engage with Wirral Met engineering students this week as part of Industry Week, both face to face and online, to provide support on writing a brilliant CV that will help them to stand out to employers.
“The next generation of our workforce need support now more than ever, as they enter the world of work and take the next steps on their career journeys. It’s a privilege to be able to give a few hours of my time on National Careers Week to offer that help to the students.”
Councillor Emily Greaves, an environmental campaigner, who was homeless at 18, went on to win a Business Innovation Award for establishing Merseyside’s first zero waste company Waste Not Want Not.
Owen Drew, from the multi-award winning British fragrance house established from his kitchen table, spoke to students about the challenges and rewards of starting a new business.
Professional boxer Natasha Jonas, who was recently crowned WBO super-welterweight champion, visited hairdressing and beauty students at Conway Park campus. Natasha spoke about her own inspirational career journey and told students that success is achieved through being resilient, hardworking and never giving up on your dreams.
Alongside employer visits, students also got the opportunity to attend CV writing workshops and a careers fair, with representatives from Shaping Futures, the Student Loan Company and local universities in attendance. Advice, guidance and next steps support was available throughout the week from the college’s student adviser and work experience teams.
The successful week enriched students’ learning and helped them to explore different career paths and progression opportunities for when they leave college.
Principal Sue Higginson said: “Industry Week, coinciding with National Careers Week, is always a highlight in the academic calendar for our students.
“A big thank you to all of the employers who joined us on-campus and virtually who helped students explore the wide range of career pathways available to them. Our students ended the week even more motivated, inspired and excited to take their next steps when they leave college!”