Pembrokeshire College’s ‘Employment and Enterprise Bureau’ recently hosted another successful Employer Lunch which was kindly sponsored by Dragon LNG.

The event provided 42 learners from Health, Childcare, Hair, Beauty and Hospitality courses, with an opportunity to meet with employers over a lunch within College’s student-run ‘SEED Restaurant’.

The learners had an opportunity to speak to local industry experts from Bluestone Resort, Gilmor Hair and Beauty, Seren Collect, Ty Hotels, Elliots Hill, NHS, Redhill School and Nursery, Portfield School and Hoop Recruitment.

Each employer talked about what it’s like to work in their industry along with discussing options regarding career prospects and job opportunities for learners to consider after completing their course.

Positive feedback has already been received from both employers and learners; work placements have been agreed, learner visits to the relevant employers have been arranged, learners are getting prepared for job interviews, and one learner has secured an apprenticeship. Thank you to everyone who was involved.

Feedback from employers included: “Lovely to be able to meet the learners and let them know what we offer and let them ask plenty of great questions – Great event!”, “Great opportunity to help learners decide on their career paths within the industry” and “Really enjoyed chatting with learners. Some great questions asked. Beneficial event.”

While learners commented: “I had a great time, good to meet potential employers and get a taste for what the jobs are like, thank you”, “This event has made me think more about my career path and helped me think about what I want to do in the future”, “Having multiple employers available to talk to was very helpful, I got the chance to ask lots of questions to them all. Very helpful event thanks” and “I met with a particular employer I am very interested in the job he offered and spoke about; I will be sending my CV and I am excited to hopefully begin my time there. Thanks to everyone who organised this!”

Dragon LNG has kindly sponsored nine Employer Lunches since 2018 with 345 learners benefiting from this great experience. Fifty-five employers have given up their time to attend and at least eight learners have taken up employment as a direct result of these lunches.

Following the lunch, Karen Wood, Stakeholder and Communications Manager at Dragon LNG commented: “We are proud to have been part of these unique opportunities for Pembrokeshire learners since inception in 2018. Each event has been a real buzz of conversation and positivity, testament to Pembrokeshire College’s hospitality and organisation. I would like to thank all the businesses for their support in making every lunch successful. We look forward to many more events, providing the platform for positive outcomes for learners and employers in the future.”

The College’s ‘Employment and Enterprise Bureau’, who organised the event, are a learner recruitment service which is part funded by Welsh Government. The ‘Employment and Enterprise Bureau’ team help College learners with CV writing, interview skills, work experience placements and developing entrepreneurial skills.

The team also offer a FREE Recruitment Service for employers who are looking to promote their vacancies to learners.

If you are an employer interested in utilising the FREE Recruitment Service then please contact us on 01437 753463 or email [email protected]

The team can also offer FREE Bespoke Recruitment Events for employers. If you are interested then please contact Susie Watts, Employer Event Officer on 01437 753379 or email [email protected]