Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) welcomes employers to take up the last remaining spaces at the WIT Department of Science Careers Day taking place on Friday, 28 February, 9am to 1pm, at the WIT Arena.At the event, final year students of the Land Sciences (Horticulture, Agriculture, Forestry, and Agricultural Science) and the Lab Sciences (Pharmaceutical Science, Physics, Molecular Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science, and Food Science) gather to meet employers in the region and as was the case in previous years, some students will be lucky enough to secure their first job after college from some of the exhibitors attending.

Pictured at the 2019 Waterford Institute of Technology Science Careers Day are Graham Fallon, Dublin, and David O'Neill, Wexford both students of the WIT BSc. in Horticulture with Jennifer Byrne Organics Trust. Picture: Patrick Browne

Pictured at the 2019 Waterford Institute of Technology Science Careers Day are Graham Fallon, Dublin, and David O'Neill, Wexford both students of the WIT BSc. in Horticulture with Jennifer Byrne Organics Trust. Picture: Patrick Browne


A list of employers who have already confirmed their attendance at the event can be found on the WIT website and include MSD Clonmel, West Pharma, and Source Biosciences from the lab science contingent, and Grassland Agro, Agri-Lloyd, Veon Ltd., and Iverk Produce from the Agri-Horticulture-Forestry sectors. Hartley People, Matrix Recruitment and Sigmar Recruitment are just three of numerous recruitment companies who have already booked their places. This year the Science Careers Day committee are pleased to welcome sponsorship from Uniplumo, MSD Ballydine, Irish Forestry Unit Trust, ENGAGE Education, Eurofins, and many more. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.

Employers who would like to exhibit at the Careers Day are invited to contact Dr. Tony Woodcock on 051-302623 or by emailing twoodcock@wit.ieMuch of the Careers Day will involve a networking event where employers will meet students to discuss career options. Each employer attending will receive a Careers Day Graduate Handbook containing information on approximately 300 students, including a short biography and contact details. These final year students will be available to take up full-time positions in June 2020 making it a timely event for employers to attend.

Arrivals to the WIT Arena for the WIT Department of Science Careers Day can hear the hubbub of negotiation, optimism and energy as soon as the front doors open.
The number and diversity of land and laboratory science employers in the region is apparent; large companies with a global reach stand alongside local SMEs. All have at least one thing in common – they want to recruit highly skilled and knowledgeable WIT graduates.
In an economy at ‘full-employment’ and a forecast of continued growth, employers know that finding a qualified person for a role is growing increasingly difficult, so the opportunity to chat to company representatives in an informal setting is usually the gentle push a student needs to apply for a position.

Dr Kathleen Grennan, the WIT Pharmaceutical Programme Leader says “The WIT Department of Science Careers Day is a fantastic networking opportunity for our students, enabling them to directly engage with representatives from industry often for the first time. Both students and employers really enjoy these exchanges, and many valuable contacts are made.”