2015 Careers Fair shows continuing strong demand for skilled students

Students at the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering already have an excellent record for their success in the jobs market, and with 85 leading companies and organizations attending the 2015 Engineering and Technology Careers Fair, this looks set to continue.

With 25 per cent of the companies attending for the first time and more companies than ever wanting to take part, there is no shortage of choice for students who are aiming to work in some of the UK’s leading and most innovative companies. The Fair takes place on Tuesday 10 February at the University’s Highfield Campus and runs from 11 am to 3.30 pm in the Garden Court and Mountbatten Buildings. The companies attending will be offering graduate jobs, summer internships and industrial placements, and aiming to build awareness of their opportunities with students who may not be entering the jobs marketing until 2017 or beyond.

‘This is a great opportunity for students to get a really wide-ranging view of the engineering and technology industry,’ said Joyce Lewis, Careers Fair Director, ‘as well as to find out about specific careers and opportunities in many different sectors.’

This year there is particularly strong representation from the energy industry, with companies such as Centrax Gas Turbines, EDF Trading, EdifERA, Opus Energy and Schneider Electric taking part. Security and defence companies make a strong showing, as well as communications, specialist software consultancies, design consultancies, management consultancies, and some of the world’s leading electronics companies. A new feature of the Fair this year is The Innovation Zone, which highlights some of the leading technology being produced by companies based at the University of Southampton Science Park at Chilworth. Eleven companies, all affiliated to the SetSquared consortium of southern universities, will be looking for the brightest students to join their high-tech ventures.

‘We are very pleased with the high quality of companies coming to Southampton to employ our students', said Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science. 'They are taking part in the Fair because they are aware of the quality of our students and their ability to innovate and support the development of future technologies. There are very exciting careers to be built in these industries and we value our strong links with companies and the excellent relationships built up over time. Many of the stands will include Southampton alumni, demonstrating the contribution that our students and graduates are making to the UK’s industrial and business success.’

The Fair is the centrepiece of the annual careers and employability programme at in the Faculty. Students attending the Fair can expect strong interest from leading employers across the technology industries and from companies that are seeking excellent graduates with high-level competence in technology, including computer science, engineering, and the physical sciences.

‘The environment we have created here continues to ensure that companies want to promote their opportunities to our students,' said Professor White. 'For our part we do our best to increase our students’ awareness of career opportunities, right from their very first week at the University. We want to prepare them to find the job they want, and raise their aspirations of future achievement.’

Companies and organizations attending this year’s event are: Acano, Accenture, Altera, Amadeus Services, ARM, ASH Wireless Electronics, Avalon Sciences, Babcock, BAE Systems, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Betfair, Bloomberg, Cambridge Consultants, Captec, Centrax Gas Turbines, Chemring Technology Solutions, Cirrus Logic, Connectus, Davide Leone and Partners Investment, Deloitte, Dialog Semiconductor, ECM Selection, EDF Trading, EDT: The Year in Industry, EMC, Edif ERA, Ericsson Television, European Information Service Centre, FactSet, FDM Group, Fidelity Technologies, Fidessa, G-Research, Gradcracker, Haseltine Lake LLP, IBM, Institution of Engineering and Technology, IG, Imagination Technologies, ITDev, J P Morgan, Kongsberg Maritime, Lascar Electronics, Mayden, Micro Focus, Montagu Olsen Associates, MWR Infosecurity, National Instruments UK, National Microelectronics Institute/UKESF, Netcraft, NewVoiceMedia, Ocado Technology, OpenMarket, Opus Energy, Oxford Computer Consultants, PwC, QinetiQ, Schneider Electric, SCISYS UK LTD, Selex ES, SETsquared (The Innovation Zone), Snowflake Software, Sparx, SPI Lasers, STFC Technology, Sungard Financial Systems, Surface Technology International, TARGETjobs, Thales, Towers Watson, TTP Group, Ultra Electronics Nuclear Control Systems, Unboxed Consulting, Winton Capital Management

Innovation Zone - Mountbatten Building: Blupoint, Cascoda, ECS Entrepreneur, Korusys, Nquiring Minds, Parabola Research, REAPsystems, Redlux, Softiron, Tekever, Triggered Messaging, Xylostream

The Fair is open to all students and graduates of the University of Southampton. For further information about the Fair, or about the FPSE Careers Hub activity, contact j.k.lewis@ecs.soton.ac.uk; tel.+44(0)23 8059 5453.