GCCA | Graduate Careers Council of Australia

Graduate Careers Australia

ergo - Number 90 March 2003

The Vital Partnership Conference 2002 – A Wrap-Up of the Event

The Vital Partnership Conference took place in November 2002 and proved to be one of the most positive and upbeat graduate employment events of a sometimes difficult year. The triennial, tripartite conference of the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (GCCA), the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) and the National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (NAGCAS) presented a unique opportunity for networking with graduate careers experts from around the world, and was attended by some 230 delegates.

Reception at the Ian Potter Museum

The conference began with a reception on the preceding Sunday night in the Ian Potter Museum at The University of Melbourne’s Parkville Campus. Surrounded by Norman Lindsay’s risqué paintings and giant stained-glass windows, many of the conference guests made new friends and renewed old acquaintances.

The first morning saw the main lecture theatre thronging with delegates, who after being welcomed by the respective heads of the three organising bodies were soon immersed in a fascinating address from renowned demographer Professor David Foot, an ex-pat of sorts now resident at the University of Toronto. Professor Foot’s presentation on demographic shifts and their impact on education and work, was followed by an address on “systems thinking” from Alistair Mant, Chairman of the Socio-Technical Strategy Group in the UK.

The Conference broke into workshops during the afternoon, on topics ranging from “Career Skills in the Curriculum” to “Careers and Queers”, the latter focusing on building relations between employers and gay and lesbian students. As the infamous Melbourne weather seemed to be holding up, AAGE president Kimberly Marshall even moved her session outside onto the conference centre lawn.

The festivities continued in the afternoon following the NAGCAS and AAGE Annual General Meetings with a wine and cheese-tasting session, showcasing Victorian wines and Tasmanian cheeses to the approval of the many interstate and overseas guests. This was followed by dinner in a number of venues around Carlton and Southbank where networking continued less formally.

Trade Expo and Key Forums

The second day of the conference began with a Global Panel on graduate career development and recruitment, featuring speakers from the UK, Canada, the US and New Zealand; during this session the Trade Expo, featuring over twenty information stalls was assembled on the first floor of the venue. After browsing the Trade Expo stalls over morning tea, the conference resumed, splitting into two groups for the Key Forums. Focusing on issues related specifically to careers services and graduate employers, these forums dealt with global career development practices and graduate recruitment techniques respectively.

The afternoon featured workshops again, this time centred on global issues and innovations, while the rain which had been threatening to appear throughout the morning began to lightly fall outside. Afternoon tea was served at the Best Practice Fair, again held on the first floor, as delegates shared valuable best practice ideas and strategies with their peers in the spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit.

The Conference Gala Dinner

Before long it was time to get ready for the Gala Dinner, held this year in the spectacular Coral Atoll at the Melbourne Aquarium. An eventful dinner surrounded by colourful sea creatures in large glass tanks, culminated in the announcement that Irmgard Good, head of careers at Monash University was to retire, at which point fireworks promptly began to explode loudly from a platform on the river outside!

After taking full responsibility for the display, the conference organisers then presented a series of awards. These included the website and literature awards for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment Materials, which were accepted by Lisa Maloney from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The other two awards, namely the DEST Best Practice Award for Australian Careers Advisory Services and the NAGCAS Memorial Award, both went to Rhonda Leece from the University of New England for her organisation of the highly successful 2002 Virtual Careers Fair. The awards were followed by a thought-provoking address on the future of higher education from The University of Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor Dr Alan Gilbert.

The Last Day of the Conference

The final day of the conference featured more keynote addresses from Potentia Australia CEO Meredith Doig and the Executive Director of the National Association of Colleges and Employers in the US, Dr Marilyn Mackes. Workshops on employment preparation and retention were also held, and the program closed with an Issues Forum discussing the topics previously provided by delegates.

The closing remarks featured a tongue-in-cheek prize ceremony with categories such as “Best Dressed...”, followed by a de-briefing at the postgraduate lounge on campus. The success of the event in 2002 prompted many calls for it to be repeated with greater frequency in the future – whether or not this happens, only time will tell!