The Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) held a Graduate Energy Engineering Event on the 26th of April and Cpl was delighted to be there to talk to the attendees. As the only recruitment agency offering advice to students on the day, we got to meet some really great people!
We attended the talks which were very interesting and gave some valuable insight into what is expected within the Renewables/Energy Engineering sector in the next few years. It was great to see Engineering professionals share their career experiences with the students and illustrate how diverse an engineering career can be. After the talk, we took the time to view the student projects that were on display and we were highly impressed with the level of innovation and a couple of projects stood out. The projects that caught our attention were the ‘M50 Shuttle’ – a commuter’s shuttle bus that ran up and down the M50 (on which you could bring your bike) and a home electricity meter App which graphically shows you how much electricity each household appliance uses.
There were number of notable figures who attended on the day including Pat Rabbitte (Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources), John O’Connell (Commission for Energy Regulation Representative) and Gerry Duggan (Vice Chairman of the Energy & Environment Division, Engineers Ireland). It was a great opportunity for students to showcase their hard work to Industry representatives and fellow graduates.
We engaged with the students who were interested to hear what the current jobs market is like for engineering graduates and we were able to offer some advice:
- Apply for summer internships to get relevant experience in your chosen field which will give you a head start when you get into the jobs market and are looking for permanent positions.
- Your CV is incredibly important:
- Include project work and make sure its relevant to the position you’re applying to.
- Tailor your CV for each application and leave the generic cover letter at the door. Every application should be focused on why you are suitable for that specific role.
- Graduate opportunities are still out there. Check the automotive industry; Jaguar and Intel have great projects in the UK. ASML in the Netherlands also have great programs however these roles companies will look for students with PHD qualifications or at least a master’s degree in Mechanical, Mechatronic or Electronic engineering.
- There are also other programmes for Mechanical design however, students looking to get one of these roles will need at least 6 months experience on design packages.
While the students got the opportunity to learn more about the industry there was also some learning on our part! Interacting with the graduates allowed us to get a deeper insight into the type of future candidates entering the market and what their expectations are. We were very impressed with the caliber of graduates at IT Tallaght and were delighted to attend the event. We’ve also been invited back to speak with the honours graduates from this year’s Mechanical Engineering class which we are really looking forward to.
If you’re interested in contacting us about your career prospects in the Engineering sector, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. You can connect with us through Facebook, Twitter or by phone (+3531 614 6000), we’d love to hear from you.
