Throughout the day, students were able to visit the Advice Clinic to ask their most pressing questions about their future careers, connect with like-minded young engineers and experienced professionals, and gain invaluable industry insights from the wide array of organisations present at the event.
Hosted at the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, MENE introduced a ‘careers corner’ for the first time this year, emphasising the need to connect industry with its future workforce.
Our regular columnists – John Parkes, Head of Charity at Enginuity and co-founder of Get my First Job, and Paul Gibbens, UK & Ireland Engineering Director at Hays – were on hand to answer all of the questions that the students had.
Discussions ranged from ‘how to network’ and ‘how to best prepare for an engineering job interview,’ to practical work experience advice and considerations of the most ‘future-proof’ engineering sectors.
Students were also able to receive real-time feedback on their CVs, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, with Parkes and Gibbens emphasising that all three need to be polished and prioritised.
“It was such a pleasure to spend the day with Paul, listening to him share his knowledge of recruitment in the sector along with the team from The Engineer who put so much into the event,” commented Parkes.
“The big take aways for me were: How do we support students in gaining more practical work experience? How do we encourage more links between industry and education? And why are so many talented and enthusiastic young people struggling to secure interviews, let alone job offers?”
Looking ahead, The Student Engineer is set to continue to offer a blend of news, careers advice, interviews with leading employers, inspiring profiles of successful graduate engineers and - of course - information on the latest job opportunities, in our monthly newsletter.
MENE 2025 will take place at the same venue on November 27, 2025. More information on the event, and the opportunity to register early interest, can be found here.
The Student Engineer is a special channel of The Engineer aimed at educating and inspiring engineering undergraduates about the career opportunities in engineering and also offering practical advice on how they can access these opportunities.
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