Big student turnout for career networking event

Friday 11 March 2022

Students in post-16 education went to the Careers Guernsey Networking Event at the Grammar School en-masse yesterday, to learn of job opportunities offered by local firms as part of National Careers Week.

Lots of employers were in attendance at the event, spanning finance and public service providers, to horticulture and retail.

The annual event provides an opportunity for soon-to-be school leavers to speak with businesses and organisations as they look to make their initial steps into full time employment.

They were able to learn what the employers deliver operationally, as well as discovering the many available roles, internships, and training opportunities.

Sarah Stonebridge, Head of Careers Guernsey, said that Careers Week serves as a good opportunity for the business community to work with education providers to “link curriculum to careers".

“This networking event can help students connect their learning to their future and help keep them motivated," she said.

"For teachers and lecturers, it is helpful to update their knowledge about skills for work, job roles and recruitment practices and a great opportunity for employers to get fresh ideas from students for industry-live projects."

Pictured: The Grammar sports hall was filled with students at the end of the school day.

Express spoke to some post-16 Grammar students at the event; Kerys in Year 12 claimed she was attending the event as she remains unsure about what path to take after completing her studies.

She said that whilst she had given less consideration to finance, the IQ-EQ desk had made the sector sound “more fun than I thought".

Emily, also from Year 12, said the event was “really interesting and helps students to look at all the options".

She agreed with Kerys on how IQ-EQ presented the finance industry: “Finance often makes you think of just money and spreadsheets, so it was interesting to see a different perspective on it," she said.

Another student, Elisabeth, echoed the praise placed on IQ-EQ, claiming it made finance sound “exciting".

Pictured: IQ-EQ, who provide financial services, was noted by students as presenting the industry in a fun and engaging way.

Express also spoke to Pia Brazil-North – a Trainee Officer in Private Wealth at IQ-EQ who was co-running the stand – she said that cryptocurrency was “driving interest” amongst students in the companies’ alternative fund services.

She was joined by Finley Colquhoun, an Officer in Pensions, who claimed they were both recent “fresh starters” at the firm after completing their post-16 educations.

Ms Brazil-North argued that despite not studying the relevant qualifications for finance that she “loves the role".

Pictured: The Specsavers stand garnered good interest from students on the day.

Careers Guernsey, the body responsible for organising the event, claimed that this is just one of a programme of initiatives facilitated this week. The organisation has been working directly with local businesses to support them in highlighting their careers opportunities.

Marks & Spencer has been encouraging people to come in to speak about all of the different roles that their business offers at lunchtimes every day this week. They sought to highlight how retail is purely customer focused, which extends into finance, IT, HR and more.

The supermarket chain has also been running a number of competitions throughout the week.

Pictured: Guernsey Electricity were in attendance, actively advertising their available roles on a screen.

Guernsey Electricity has prepared a job-hunting guidelines sheet, which provides advice on CV preparation and how to apply for roles to give guidance to young job-seekers.

Meanwhile, Raw Capital Partners has run a ‘Pitch your Passion’ competition with a prize of a £1,000 donation to a local non-profit organisation, and have also hosted an interview bootcamp.

Ms Stonebridge said: “We have been really pleased with the engagement we have had from local businesses as part of this week. We would always encourage employers to be conscious of career development for their current staff.

“As a service, Careers Guernsey is always available to support people with advice on how they may be able to take the next step in their career.”