The event brought together some fifty entities from the business network closest to the university campus.
The Employment Forum held at the Gandia Campus of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has once again become a strategic meeting point between companies, students and graduates looking for a job opportunity, an internship or a job change to improve their professional career.
During the inauguration of the 19th edition of this career fair, the rector, José E. Capilla, stressed the commitment of the Universitat Politècnica de València with “the effective connection between university talent and the productive fabric”, highlighting that the UPV “is the Spanish university with the largest number of active chairs and business classrooms, with 107, which reinforces a model of direct and continuous collaboration with the business environment”.
For the Vice Rector for Employment, Lifelong Learning and Languages of the UPV, Elena de la Poza Plaza, “the Employment Forum is one of the great best of the UPV to accompany our students in their transition to the professional world. Holding it on the three UPV campuses in Spain -Alcoy, Gandia and Valencia- allows us to be closer to the companies, the territory and our students, and shows that the public university must generate opportunities wherever it is present”.
For his part, the director of the Gandia Campus, Vicenç Almenar, has indicated that this forum responds “to the commitment of our campus with the immediate environment, giving prominence to companies and institutions of the territory. At the same time, we are able to attract companies beyond the borders of the region, which expands the range of professional opportunities for our students and reinforces the role of the campus as a pole of attraction for talent and employment”.
Meeting between students and companies
In terms of figures, this year’s edition of the Employment Forum has had “greater business participation, which confirms the interest of companies in the talent that is forged in the Campus of Gandia of the UPV, especially in areas such as environmental, technological, tourism and business,” said the deputy director of Chairs of Enterprise, Employment and Entrepreneurship, José Marín-Roig.
From the recruitment department of Ale-Hop, Adriana and Pau commented that “we are committed to this first connection with the Gandia Campus because of the proximity of our offices and because we want them to learn more about our company”. Alba, from Albir Experience, an entity that also participates in the Employment Forum of the Gandia Campus for the first time, has pointed out that “we are looking for students who are eager to work, with motivation”.
According to Marín-Roig, around fifty companies attended this career fair where “they make themselves known and can establish direct contact with university talent, and very interesting synergies also arise, especially between the university and the company,” he said, startups that offer innovative services and that find in the forum a propitious space to collaborate and generate new opportunities.”
University talent in search of its opportunity
For the students of the UPV Gandia Campus, the Employment Forum is “a key opportunity”. “For many students it is the first real approach to the professional world. Being able to talk face to face with companies, hand in a resume and resolve doubts about internships or employment provides security and guidance at a decisive moment in our training,” says Glen Hernandis, student delegate of the campus.
In order to help them, parallel activities are organized during the day, such as mock interviews, resume review with personalized advice or a free photography service to have an appropriate professional image.
“One of the most innovative aspects of the Employment Forum is that more and more students are actively seeking out companies to demonstrate their skills. They don’t just come to hand in their résumé, but are committed to presenting themselves to the labor market by showing work, projects and results developed during their training,” explains the campus director, Vicenç Almenar.
This year the Employment Forum “has exceeded all the limits of participation that we had registered so far,” said the deputy director Marín-Roig. “Our estimate is that between 700 and 900 students have visited the forum throughout this day, which shows the enormous interest aroused by this type of initiative on the Gandia Campus”.