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Leading multi-national companies attended recruitment fairs in China to meet some of Exeter’s top graduates in the region.
Global companies attend Exeter careers fairs in China
A number of the world’s leading multi-national companies attended recent graduate recruitment fairs in China to meet some of the University of Exeter’s top graduates in the region.
The fairs were held in the major industrial cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen – the latter is regarded as the Silicon Valley of China. It’s the third time the fairs have taken place in the country and they welcomed back familiar global employers such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Decathlon, IBM and Nielsen. New attendees included Bosch, Citi, Expedia and PWC.
Previous fairs have seen graduates recruited into new roles within a number of renowned businesses.
“We are delighted that the fairs are now regarded as an annual must-attend event for prestigious graduate recruiters who attend year-on-year. Our decision to include Shenzhen as a venue this year enabled us to attract an even wider range of employers, including China-based giants Grandland Group and ZTE,” said Paul Blackmore, Head of Student Employability and Academic Success at Exeter.
“The range and quality of employers resulted in 20% more graduates attending this year, with an increasing number of graduates becoming employed as a result.”
The University delivers the fairs for its graduates in China as part of the GW4 consortium of Careers Services from the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter.
“The GW4 career fairs provide a great opportunity to meet with the graduates and assess their potential,” said Duncan Du, Associate Consultant for TEKsystems and a University of Exeter alumnus (BA, Economics & Finance, 2013).
“Already, one of the stand-out graduates from Exeter has been interviewed and has a trial start with our company this week. As a recruiter with TEKsystems of the Allegis Group, I’d like to thank the GW4 partners for creating such a successful event. We look forward to participating in the future.”
Global fashion retail company, H&M, commented: “The fairs are an excellent platform that allow us to meet high-quality returnee graduates. Overseas candidates with open personalities and good English language skills fit in well with the H&M culture. Last year we successfully hired a graduate from the GW4 fairs who had just finished her Masters degree at Exeter. Her performance in her first year of working in H&M has already resulted in her recent promotion.”
“The University of Exeter places the employment prospects of its students and graduates amongst its highest priorities,” said Professor Tim Quine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education). “We are therefore delighted that so many prestigious organisations continue to attend these high profile events and continue to offer our graduates such great career opportunities.”
As well as opening up additional opportunities for its graduates, the Fairs contribute to the growing global profile and reputation of the University to both prospective students and amongst international employers. In the latest QS World University Rankings, Exeter was in 128th place in the world for Employer Reputation - up from 147th position last year.
Plans are already underway to deliver even larger fairs in China in 2018 and you can read more about them here.
Date: 26 September 2017