More than 1,000 students attended Greenwich University’s first Computing Graduate Recruitment Fair on Wednesday 18th October 2009. The students came seeking advice as well as opportunities being presented by any of the 11 companies who were present and included Just IT Training, The British Computing Society and Microsoft.
In addition to the recruitment stands set up in the recruitment hall, there were several presentations being delivered in an adjacent room, where students could watch guest speakers discuss an area of IT and how to get into the market.
Simon Perriton, the Director of Just IT, took up the opportunity to deliver a presentation to the students on ‘Exploring your Career Options in IT’. This presentation covered the requirements for securing graduate programmes, the diverse areas of work within IT and how students can ‘stand out from the crowd’ in the job searching process.
After the presentation, a survey was undertaken and the results gained from 42 students were astounding. Out of the students who participated, the majority thought they would be employed in an IT graduate programme 3 months after they graduate. This however, was contrary to recent statistics that state that only 5-10% of candidates actually secure graduate programmes. This reality will certainly disappoint a high percentage of students and will cause them to look at other options and routes to their chosen career.
The second most popular answer illustrated that students believed they would be employed in an IT role but not in a graduate training programme. Even though this option is the most sought after, a huge percentage of employers find that students lack the relevant commercial experience or focused technical skills to be able to transition from a degree or masters straight into an IT role. So, if graduates go down this route they need to understand how they are going to build their technical skills or gain voluntary experience.
Interestingly, we found that just under 50% would consider further training and work experience from a company like Just IT Training. Just IT have been helping graduates for over 8 years to transition from theory based degrees into the ‘real world’ through a programme of internationally recognised certifications and work experience which often leads to a first IT job.
Overall, the presentation delivered at Greenwich University clarified the routes into IT employment and the various paths students can take. In the survey, one student commented that ‘it was the best presentation today!’ another stated it was, ‘very exciting, engaging and something I would recommend to my friends!’
If you would like to secure a copy of the presentation ‘Exploring your Career Options in IT’ please email Diane Thomas on dianet@justit.co.uk.
If you want to know more about what Just IT can do for you, please see www.justit.co.uk or email info@justit.co.uk or call 0207 426 9839.
