On Thursday 9th February 2023, Hull University hosted a careers event for penultimate and final year Geography, Geology and Environmental Science (GGES) students. The aim of the event was to educate students on what career options may be available to them once they graduate. Hull University and Local Transport Projects Ltd (LTP) have an established relationship, therefore LTP was invited to speak at the event. Given my progression through being a GGES student at Hull University to now being a Senior Transport Planner at LTP, I volunteered to represent LTP at the event.
The event started with a buffet lunch over which staff, students and guest speakers, all of which were alumni, had the opportunity to network. This was followed by an introductory presentation made by Joe Hancock of the Student Futures team to kick-start the afternoon, to introduce to the circa 60 students in attendance what they could expect from the event. The first careers presentation of the day was made by an alumni who has since gone on to work for Ordnance Survey, with my turn to present following. My presentation provided a focus on my career journey to date, and what LTP do as a Transport Planning and Highway Engineering company. Then followed a number of presentations made by Hull University alumni who now work for the following companies;
- Accountabl;
- Lincolnshire Housing Partnership;
- Yorkshire Wildlife Trust;
- CPW;
- WSP;
- Mott Macdonald; and
- East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
After each presentation, students had the opportunity to ask any burning questions they had on the information they had just received, although given nerves and the somewhat overwhelming situation for students, questions were in short supply! That being said, Joe Hancock made sure to step in and ask each presenter some questions of which the answers the students may have found helpful. The questions directed my way were based on how I find it working at a Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME), given that the majority of the companies represented at the event are national or international corporations. In my response to this, I iterated the fact that I love working at an SME as you feel heard within the company, the opportunities for training and progression are vast, and everyone knows each other!
After the presentations were complete, the speakers formed a panel whereby students could ask any further questions. To round off the event, the key pieces of advice that came out of the afternoon were summarised, and are reproduced below:
- Undertaking extra courses, regardless of the skills you develop, shows characteristics that will attract employers (e.g. the willingness to learn new things and continue to develop yourself).
- Utilise LinkedIn and the network you can make.
- Don’t be afraid to ask to meet up with people in the sector for an informal coffee/chat to find out how they got into their current role. This might not lead to a job opportunity but you will be surprised what connections can lead to.
- It does not matter if you have no idea what you would like to do after university, and it may not be straight forward but it will fall into place.
- You are a unique person, with unique skills to give. Have faith in yourself.
Overall, the event was a great opportunity to showcase what career options could be available to students graduating within the next few years, including the potential career paths within the Transport Planning and Highway Engineering sector.
Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash
