Students get valuable insight into electronics industry

Over 60 students attended Electronics Yorkshire's first 'Meet the Industry' seminar event, which provided them with a unique opportunity to gain an insight into what the region?s electronics industry has to offer. Students came from many of the Yorkshire and Humber region?s main electronics and electrical engineering universities, including those of Hull, York, Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford.

The event featured a series of informative presentations from electronics companies and support organisations based in the region that are keen to support students in their progression from graduate to gaining full-time employment in the region. The event was staged in partnership with the Electronics KTN.

Businesses provided students with useful insights into employment, ranging from BioDigital, a small, innovative electronics design company based in Bradford, to EchoStar Europe, a leader in satellite receivers offering cutting edge technology products for television, and multi-national ARM Holdings. In addition, students were given comprehensive information from organisations such as Graduates Yorkshire, The Year in Industry and Business Link, about the support and advice available to students and graduates.

Martin Edmondson, one of the keynote speakers at the event and chief executive of Graduates Yorkshire commented: ?The challenge is to bridge the gap for graduates in making the transfer into industry and full-time employment. This event was clearly successful in providing graduates with a greater understanding of the processes involved and detailed information about what exactly employers in the region are looking for when recruiting.?

Feedback from attendees was very positive, with comments from students and post-graduates such as ?very interesting?, ?extremely useful? and ?invaluable for getting a job in the electronics industry?.

Electronics Yorkshire also launched its new Student Membership at the event and many students and post-graduates took the opportunity to sign up on the day. Membership will enable them to post CVs on Electronics Yorkshire?s Job Board; attend networking events; access Electronics Yorkshire?s extensive website for vital support information and receive free updates and bulletins featuring industry news and events.

Allan Row, Electronics Yorkshire?s business development officer said: ?This was the first time we have organised an event like this and we were delighted with the number of people who attended and the positive feedback. Following the success of this event we already have plans for more events, as we intend to continue to support students in the region as they make the transfer from education to industry.?

Electronics Yorkshire is a not-for-profit organisation supported by Yorkshire Forward and European Union ERDF.