Real Help for our Graduates Now
Around 11,000 students from the universities of Southampton Solent, Southampton and Winchester have just finished their studies and are facing an uncertain future in the jobmarket as new graduates.
Captain Jimmy Chestnutt, Director General of the Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce said:
"We are concerned that the Southampton region may lose the talented graduates who will be leaving university and looking for employment. Many of our members benefit from the skills that graduates bring as they help to sustain and grow businesses."
Graduate Jobs South (GJS), supported by the universities of Southampton Solent, Southampton and Winchester is putting into place different options for regional employers during these challenging economic times.
GJS Project Manager Meredith Smith said:
"We have seen an increase over the last 6 months of the number of placements and internships being advertised on the GJS website. Employers are recognising they can access the skills of students and graduates for short-term projects to move their business forward. The graduates benefit from having real work experience, adding to their CV and helping them enter a challenging labour market."
Graduate Jobs South, the region’s number one website for graduate level opportunities, are launching an additional service to this year's graduates to help them find employment during a recession and to keep their skills in the region.
An event called ‘Steps to Success’, led by Graduate Jobs South in partnership with the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, the University of Winchester and Jobcentre Plus has been organised and is targeted at this year’s graduates from the aforementioned universities. The event will also be open to graduates from any year of graduation and from other universities of study.
Date: Monday 28 September 9.30am - 4.30pm
Venue: Sir James Matthews Building, Southampton
Title: Steps to Success
The event will help graduates to expand their thinking about their approach to finding a job in these difficult economic times. It will be a truly collaborative event bringing together information and expertise from the regional universities and JobcentrePlus.
For further information please contact Meredith Smith, Project Manager on 023 8031 9734 or meredith.smith@solent.ac.uk
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Notes to Editors:
- Each year approximately 10,800 graduates from universities in Southampton and Winchester enter the labour market, with about 30%staying within the area to seek career opportunities. GJS is improving the region’s economy by encouraging more graduates to base their careers in the South.
· The University of Winchester has over 5,600 students studying a wide selection of courses ranging from Foundation degrees, Bachelor Honours degrees through to professional development, postgraduate Masters and Research degrees. Programmes of study span the arts, humanities, social sciences, business, education, health and social care.
· Southampton Solent University is one of the UK's newest universities. It became a university in July 2005 and officially changed its name on 15 August 2005. The university now has some 16,000 students and offers a choice of courses ranging from foundation 'level zero' years that lead onto degree courses, to master's degrees and PhDs, plus a variety of professional and short courses.
- The University of Southampton is one of the UK's top ten research universities, offering first-rate opportunities and facilities for study and research across a wide range of subjects in humanities, health, science and engineering. It has a global reputation for cutting-edge research and scholarship and is one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. The University has over 22,000 students, around 5,000 staff, and an annual turnover in the region of £325 million.
Useful websites:
www.graduatejobsouth.co.uk- Graduate Jobs South
www.winchester.ac.uk – University of Winchester
www.solent.ac.uk – Southampton Solent University
www.soton.ac.uk – University of Southampton