Employers offering top-flight work placements to students have been honoured at a University of Ulster gala awards ceremony.
Employers in the public and private sectors and Ulster students and staff were invited to nominate ‘placement partners’ who had provided exemplary student experience for the fifth Ulster Placement Employer of the Year (PEOTY) awards.
Senior officers from the university and leading industry representatives presented awards to winners in the competition, which attracted more than 160 nominations.
University of Ulster Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Barnett said: “This university provides graduates with the knowledge, skills and confidence to take on challenging graduate-level jobs, and then to contribute to the further development of their chosen profession.
“In these challenging times it has never been more important to give students work experience and we thank our partners in industry for providing these invaluable opportunities.”
One of the winners, Sue Divin from Derry City Council Community Relations Team, said: “A lot of young people in the Derry area are finding it difficult to get work placements so we decided to do our bit.
“We’ve been involved in the placement scheme with the University of Ulster for two years now and we’re delighted how things have worked out. It’s an excellent resource and a mutual exchange of learning.”
Seamus McConomy, work experience development manager at the University of Ulster, said: “This annual ceremony is a showcase of both long-standing and most recent partnerships which engage students in developing their professional qualities.
“We aim to expand approaches which support the broadest range of employers to recruit Ulster students into diverse industry sectors.”
Winners included:
Placement Employer of the Year, more than 50 employees, Liberty Information Technology;
Placement Employer of the Year, up to 50 employees, BSG International Hospitality;
Placement Employer of the Year Public Sector, Western Health and Social Care Trust Corporate Communications Department;
Placement Employer of the Year New Partner, Derry City Council Community Relations Team;
Placement Employer of The Year as nominated by a University of Ulster Student, Diageo Northern Ireland Ltd;
Placement Employer of The Year as nominated by a University of Ulster staff member, 8over8.