Lancaster Environment Centre has successfully hosted another dedicated Careers Fair to help students find employment.
The second Lancaster Environment Centre Careers Event took place on Wednesday 25th February, seeing more than 150 students circulating around the indoor Courtyard and Atrium space inside the LEC building. Students engaged with representatives from over 30 companies and institutions, many of whom were Lancaster Alumni themselves.
The exhibitors covered a broad range of sectors, including environmental, local and national government, logistics, teaching and more-than-profit. The aim was to be varied enough to be of interest to the many disciplines of the Environment Centre.
Larger exhibitors included the Met Office, Environment Agency, DHL, Tesco, Office for National Statistics and Teach First, and these were joined by a host of small to medium sized enterprises and volunteering organisations which students would not normally get the chance to interact with. LEC alumni represented local government, wind power companies, logistics companies, and governmental offices and organisations.
Students were able to discuss job and internship opportunities, and to make connections to help them focus on their careers.
The large, naturally lit courtyard with its areas of wood-decked flooring and planters of palm trees provided a relaxed and friendly space, which proved beneficial to the interactions that took place.
“It can be quite daunting for students to engage with businesses for the first time, but events such as these help them to better understand what employers are looking for in a fairly relaxed environment. This helps to build their confidence when applying for internships as they have a clearer idea of the company and what is expected of them,” commented Pam Pickles, Student Employability Manager for Lancaster’s Faculty of Science and Technology.
“Many students are recruited into internships after this type of event and often they become permanent members of staff of the same company following graduation.”
“Wonderful, airy light venue, impeccably run, tasty delicious lunch, feel we were looked after indeed: a brilliant event!” said Andi Lewis, representing North West Women in Management, of the Chartered Management Institute. Others noted that it was “really nice to see a university engaging with industry” and that it was a “great and well run event.”
LEC Careers Tutor, Paul Young, summed up the success of the event. “It’s been awesome to see this event grow from its first year and attract so many students and exhibitors, and we were extremely grateful to see so many alumni represented. I’d like to thank the FST employability team, central Careers, and the people in LEC that made the event such a success, especially Laura Feinberg and graduate intern - and LEC alumnus - Greg Edmunds.
We were pleased to welcome the following companies, organisations and alumni including:
IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment)
MSc International Innovation (Lancaster University)
North West Women in Management
Office for National Statistics
Rosie Convoy (alumnus, Offshore Windfarms)
Amy Fowler (alumnus, Office for National Statistics)
Ellyse Maddocks (alumnus, Environment Agency)
Petern Shanahan (alumnus)
Lisa White (alumnus)