A Look Into Student Employability

The thought of life after college terrifies some and enthrals others. It’s just around the corner for some and an eternity away for others. However, it is something that all of us are going to have to face. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s not all hot chicken rolls, €3 pints and Thursday nights out forever. Both the graduate and part-time job markets are becoming increasingly competitive. This means that everyone around you is really stepping up their game. But that’s why I’m here. Think of me as your secondary school guidance counsellor, but seven times more sound.When it comes to graduate jobs, things are looking up. UCC’s own Deirdre Parker of Career Services outlined in a recent piece for The Irish Times, that 1800 graduate vacancies were advertised through the UCC Student Development and Employability service this year, 200 more than last year. But as the demand for graduates increases, employers have their own concerns. A GradIreland survey of over 7000 graduate employers this year found that half of graduate employers are expecting challenges in filling their graduate recruitment quotas for 2015.  The National Skills Bulletin, published in May of 2015, showed an increase in the number of vacancies for professional roles, in addition to skill shortages across a range of sectors such as IT, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, health and business and financial services. Changes in regulations in financial services has led to increased graduate opportunities in risk and compliance. An evolving international tax environment maintains a strong demand for graduate tax roles in the professional services sector.  Two thirds of the “difficult to fill” roles in the National Skills Bulletin were professional roles and two thirds of these “difficult to fill” roles are IT roles such as software programming and development, IT business analysis, cloud computing specialties, web design and network engineering. Other highly sought after graduates include production and process engineers, chemical engineers and general scientists (for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, engineering and medical devices industries), business and financial professionals (e.g. accountants, data analysts) and medical and health professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses and radiographers).  German was the most frequently mentioned language required on Irish job sites, followed by French, Spanish and Dutch. Some graduates roles require a combination of two distinct but complementary areas of expertise (e.g. engineering and science; maths and IT; languages and finance). Therefore, many graduates choose postgraduate conversion courses that provide them with skills and knowledge in a new discipline to enhance their existing qualifications, skills and job prospects. So in general, the graduate employment market appears to be quite positive at the moment seeing as there is a high level of employment across almost every possible background. There is something for everyone out there!However, student employability is not just for graduates. It spans all years of study. Whether it is a part-time job while you’re at college or a work placement somewhere down the line, student employability is relevant to everyone. CVs have a massive role to play in securing work. It is the first port of call for employers to assess who you are as a person, whether you’re right for their business and your suitability to the vacancy. That is a lot to take from just two pages. This means that you have to make the most of those two measly pages. Sell yourself. Leap off that CV and show that boss…well…who’s boss! Again, your fairy-job-mother is here to guide you. The most important thing to do is to build up your CV. Employers are looking for a well-rounded, three-dimensional person. Results alone just don’t cut it anymore. They want to see that you’re multi-faceted; that you can provide good results that you can take on extra responsibility, that you are willing to give back and help others, that you can juggle multiple roles at once, I could go on and on. They basically want to see that you are balanced as a person. Companies such as Google won’t even read a CV if there isn’t some role of responsibility on it. There is a plethora of ways that you can build your CV to portray that you are all of the above. This is mostly done through volunteering. Volunteering is incredibly easy to get into here in UCC. Most recently, there was the volunteering fair in Devere Hall on September 22nd which housed numerous organisations willing to accept volunteers both on and off campus. There is also a multitude of organisations on campus looking for students to give their time. Many of the charities such as Saint Vincent de Paul, UCC Cancer Society, Amnesty International, Surgeon Noonan, Friends of Médecins Sans Fronitères and the most recent addition to campus, UCC Friends of Refugees are always more than happy to accept an extra pair of hands. Off campus, there are plenty of opportunities to display these qualities as well. Engaging in activities such as summer internship schemes, be-friending schemes and teaching or leading summer camps both here in Ireland and abroad. There is a wealth of information online, with websites such as corkvolunteer.ie and vsi.ie offering several different volunteering options both nationally and internationally. Partaking in extra activities like this will really show employers that you adaptable, have a broad skill set, that you can handle responsibility and that you have a great work ethic. This nicely ties up your plan to blow away future employers. You can thank me later.A priceless service made available to all students here in UCC is the UCC Career Service under the umbrella of Student Development and Employability. Yeah, we have a whole department dedicated to advancing us and helping us kick-start a career. A new Director of Student Development and Employability has been appointed in recent weeks, this being Paul Moriarty. Paul is keen to emphasise to the student body his enthusiasm and dedication to his new role and his desire to create opportunities to aid the development of the students here at UCC. Paul Moriarty, Deirdre Parker and all the members of the UCC Career Service are incredibly knowledgeable in their respective fields, are very welcoming and friendly and are ultimately there to help guide you seamlessly into professional life after university. What more could you want? At the end of the day, student employability is an area that should not seem daunting. If it is, there is support there to help and guide you. If you love what you’re doing, the prospect of branching out further should excite you. Like they always say “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”.