WRITTLE College has been hosting a series of talks and networking opportunities to help its degree and postgraduate students to be job-ready.

The Chelmsford-based land skills college’s Employability Week runs until today and included an ‘Employability Day’ with workshops and advice sessions to help students focus on their long-term goals. Sessions included ‘networking’ and ‘research’, and students were given the opportunity to showcase their work and hear from employers like Barclays Bank and Essex Wildlife Trust.

Dr Jeremy Strong, Head of Higher Education said it was a useful opportunity for the college to showcase to industry the work it does.

“Days like today are really important for our students and programmes as part of keeping us up-to-date,” he said.

“We’re well known for the quality of education that we offer, but visitors are often surprised and impressed by the range of research and consultancy that we deliver. Most importantly, our aim is always to link this work to the curriculum, ensuring that students get to see and learn from these commercial ventures.”

The College’s Employability Day welcomed businesses from environment through to agriculture. Business representatives left the Forum impressed with how Writtle College students could bring practical skills and creative ideas to their organisations.

Dr Strong said: “The college has a great track record of our students going on to important roles in the land-based industries. The education we provide merges the skills they need for their first graduate job with a broader set of abilities and knowledge that will serve them for their whole career. Many of our teaching practices and assignments are based on real-life situations that our graduates will encounter in their respective sectors.”