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Fun of the fair a “hit” for thousands of graduates

March 30, 2005

Leece Rhonda thumb.jpg
More than 15,000 students from across Australia and New Zealand accessed the annual Virtual Careers Fair, (VCF) co-ordinated by the University of New England.
Organiser of the fair, Ms Rhonda Leece, said she was “thrilled” with the success of the fortnight, round-the-clock “virtual” event.
“This year we had on-line 90 exhibitors, representing major companies employing graduates,” Ms Leece said.
The VCF took about six months to organise and already Ms Leece is turning her attention to next year’s fair, in which she hopes to build on the this year’s success
A key part of the success of this year’s Virtual Fair was a series of radio interviews between graduates and employers, a feature that attracted more than 1000 visitors, Ms Leece added.
“This innovation allowed students to hear from employers and other graduates about opportunities and experiences in the graduate recruitment market,” she said.
This is the fifth year that UNE has operated the VCF, the largest collaborative event of its kind in Australasia. It started on Thursday (March 10) and ran live until last Thursday, March 24.
While last year’s fair attracted more than two million "hits", Ms Leece said she was confident that figure would be exceeded this year with 11 new exhibitors and the innovative series of radio interviews.


Said Ms Leece: "The VCF was originally established as a response to the needs of regional students who were studying at a distance from the campus. It has evolved, however, to be relevant to students from both metropolitan and regional locations and is complementary to the other campus-based events that university careers services offer their students."
During the VCF, students interacted with employers in a chat-room, inquiring about job opportunities. It was sponsored by Defence Force Recruiting, Gradlink, Graduate Opportunities, NAGCAS, Seek, Testgrid, tUNE FM and Stomp Pty Ltd.
For more information phone Rhonda Leece on 6773 3408.

Posted by Lydia Roberts at March 30, 2005 01:55 PM