Chinese students benefit from careers event

Posted 15 November 2012

The British Council, operating in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy, recently ran a series of career development workshops in the UK. 

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Harper Adams students from China attended a careers fair at Birmingham University.  A workshop gave the students an insight into the current job market in China and also offered practical guidance on job hunting and career development. 

A panel of HR Specialists from Microsoft China (R&D), Hewlett-Packard China, Baidu and Epson talked to students about the current employment market situation in China and gave the students first hand recruitment information about the best opportunities for career development. 

Sandra Turner,  Beijing Agricultural College (BAC) Course Manager at Harper Adams, said: “Students at the Careers Fair commented that they felt it was an excellent opportunity for them to see exactly what employers are looking for and how they can develop those skills whilst at Harper Adams”.

Several recruitment companies also participated in the event including Asia-info Linkage, BMW Brilliance Automotive and FESCO.  This not only gave students a fantastic opportunity to understand and discuss the requirements of China’s domestic employment market, but also provided them with a wealth of employment opportunity contacts.

Following the event, the British Council also shared the findings of recent market research on Chinese employers’ perception of graduates who studied in either China, the UK or other countries, via a Webinar. 

Maria Simpson (Careers Service Manager), Sandra Turner (BAC Course Manager), Lorna White (BAC Senior Tutor) and Pam Thompson (International Officer) took part in the Webinar in order to better understand the current trends in the Chinese job market, the perceived value of qualifications gained via UK-China joint programmes and the employment opportunities for UK graduates in comparison to graduates from China. 

The webinar highlighted the key criteria, skills and competencies recruiting managers are looking for, which included a graduate’s ability for team work, creativity, language skills and an international perspective.