Graduate Careers Australia
The Graduate Grapevine - Number 2, December 2005
‘Get Ready – Get Set: Careers for the New World’
Sydney was the scene of the recent 2005 Tripartite Conference which brought together over 300 graduate employers, university careers service staff and professionals, all with an interest in graduate career development and recruitment.
‘Get Ready, Get Set: Careers for the New World’ was by far the largest of the Tripartite Conferences to date. These triennial conferences are jointly organised by Graduate Careers Australia, the Australian Association of Graduate Employers and the National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services. Conference attendees came from all over Australia as well as Canada, GB, NZ and the USA.
Delegates heard from a range of keynote speakers and could choose from over 27 workshops, many of which were repeated to enable them to attend sessions they would otherwise have missed. ‘Talks at Two’ provided an opportunity to sit and discuss a range of issues of mutual interest including the ever popular Careers Fair dates! Conference keynote and workshop presentations will soon be available on the GCA website, make sure to watch out for them!
Trade exhibitors presented a wide range of useful products and services relevant to careers and graduate recruitment and, to the lucky few, prizes were awarded. As the conference Platinum Sponsor, Graduate Opportunities(GO) was showcased and delegates raced GO yellow walking stars along the ‘recruitment and retention track’ to compete for the grand prize.
The Tripartite social entertainment was, as ever, most enjoyable and included a welcome drinks reception and a laughter-filled (and occasionally mind-bending!) trivia night. The gala conference dinner was held on the Harbour where there was no shortage of great food and wine, awards were presented, the band played up a storm and Sydney’s skies did too!
And, of course, the major benefit that people take away from the conference was networking! The chance to catch up with colleagues or meet new faces in the careers or employment game. The conference is one of the few opportunities that we have to meet in a relatively relaxed forum and swap information, experiences and ideas.
We do hope that all delegates enjoyed the conference and gained a greater insight or fresh ideas to assist them to progress their work in 2006. Any feedback you have (in addition to your evaluations which we trust you filled out!) is greatly appreciated. We wish to thank the conference organising committee for their tireless work throughout 2005 to bring the conference to fruition, including our conference organiser, Doreen at On Q.
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