Get What You’re Worth

Bad news uni students, it’s nearly over, your years of questionable decisions that you’d never want your mum to know about are coming to an end and now comes the worst bit, what to do next.

Some of you will know what you want to do and if so, brilliant, go you, but for the rest, now is the time to make sure you get what you’re worth.

While your mate may know that they want to come straight out of uni and go be a teacher, the reality is, and many of us have been there, most of you will want to explore your options and decide what to do.

Fortunately, that is where the Isle of Man Graduate Fair comes in, with more than 60 companies and organisations from across the island all under one roof, all looking to give you what you really want, good advice and a free pen. Maybe a job too.

Among the companies at the Graduate Fair will be PwC and KPMG.

Nick Halsall, PwC’s territory senior partner, told us: ‘People starting their careers have exciting opportunities available to them at PwC, including summer internships, undergraduate placements, student programmes for trainee accountants, and support roles across the firm.

‘Our career pathways open the door to making a difference in the world while working with a diverse community of solvers. The Graduate Fair is a useful event for networking and hearing first-hand from professionals across the Island’s business community. Our team is looking forward to chatting with students about what PwC has to offer in professional services, as well as sharing career insights in one of the afternoon panel sessions.’ 

Lynsey Harris, Head of People, KPMG in the Crown Dependencies added: ‘At KPMG, we have lots of exciting opportunities in tax, audit and advisory. Our trainees can work flexibly, earn while they study towards a professional qualification, network with top financial leaders and do meaningful work for clients. We’ve partnered with industry bodies like BPP and ACCA to provide our trainees with study and exam support – meaning the majority don’t pay a penny toward their tuition. All this while making friends for life in a friendly and sociable work environment.’

But if hospitality is more your thing, you could also chat to Andrew Jamieson, General Manager at the Comis Hotel and Golf Resort, who said they are ‘very excited’ to be at the Graduate Fair this year.

He said: ‘The hospitality industry is a great industry to be in, yes it's hard work but the reward is high – you meet so many interesting people and you can rise through the ranks very quickly. As we’re a large resort we have a wide range of roles available, including traditional hospitality roles like chefs as well as office-based roles – a role in hospitality isn’t always what you think, there’s a lot of variety and every day is different.’

Away from the stalls, there are also a number of speakers at this year’s fair, Isle Listen will be discussing ways to build up your mental resilience and preparing for the transition into work, while industry leaders from four sectors covering finance, digital, business and hospitality will provide insights and advice into careers in these areas.

You can also hear from people who decided to return to the rock and the opportunities coming home gave them, workshop sessions and the ExtraGrad Student Night, hosted by Jamie and Drew at Kiki’s in Douglas.

The Graduate Fair is on Wednesday April 12 at the Comis Golf Club from 1pm, register your place here.