• Students from seven UK universities met Chinese employers – and discovered career opportunities in China - at the China Careers Fair, hosted for the first time by University of Warwick
• Fair included 25 employers with graduate roles in China, many of whom had flown over from China
• Over 1,500 students from Warwick, Manchester, Leeds, Lancaster, Liverpool, Aston and Birmingham attended the Fair with all student places being booked up within 24 hours
• Fair included 16 employer presentations about how to be globally employable plus innovation and entrepreneurship skills workshops for students

Students from seven UK universities got the chance to meet Chinese employers – and discovered career opportunities in China - at the China Careers Fair, hosted for the first time by the University of Warwick this month.

A joint initiative between the Universities of Warwick and Manchester – and including Birmingham, Leeds, Lancaster, Aston and Liverpool – the fair featured 25 employers with roles in China, and attracted over 1,500 students.

Major employers gave presentations about their organisations, and how to become globally employable - including Jeff Hughes, the Chief Operating Officer of CPA Australia, one of the world's largest accounting bodies, and sponsor of the fair.

The fair - which took place in Warwick’s new state-of-the-art teaching and learning building, The Oculus - also included three presentations on Innovation Skills to boost students’ careers and support student entrepreneurship.

Students were able to network with representatives from a wide range of Chinese organisations, and a free photo booth was available – allowing students to have their photo taken to use to help build their online professional profile, to attract potential employers.

The Warwick China Careers Fair App was available for students to use at the Fair and up to a week beforehand – enabling them to download information about the employers, to filter the organisations according to the opportunities offered, and to find out more about the presentations, all in an environmentally-friendly, paperless way.

A wide range of organisations and employers attended including: CPA Australia, Hays Asia, British Council China, Nu Skin, Hisense, KPMG, Wind, Decathlon, FDM Group, Xinglung Group, Tong Digital, Youngs Investment Group, Inditex, HNA, ICAEW, WeCultureConnect, Web International English Education, Lockin China, TPP, UVIC Ltd, Societe Generale, REForce Group, Digital Applications International, Entrepreneurs Global and Bigfoodie.

Many of the employers flew in to the UK especially for the fair, which took place on Saturday 4th March.

Professor Lawrence Young, Academic Vice-President at Warwick and head of the University's China strategy, comments:

“We are delighted to host the China Careers Fair at Warwick to provide students with valuable opportunities to meet and network with a wide range of employers with roles in China.

“It is also a fantastic demonstration of our ability to partner and work effectively with other UK institutions. The Fair is clear evidence of our commitment to support students seeking roles and experiences in China.”

Jade Kong, Warwick undergraduate in English and Comparative Literary Studies, comments:

"The China Careers Fair held at Warwick was a fantastic opportunity to meet with a variety of Chinese employers and organisations and learn valuable tips for CV and job applications which I am certain will be helpful in my search for a future graduate role.”

Eric Xu, Warwick Undergraduate in the School of Engineering, comments:

"The China career fair was not only an opportunity for me to reinforce the understanding of my future career options but also a great platform to speak to different employers and gain some valuable feedback on my applications. This experience will surely guide my job planning in the future."

Colleen Schooling, from CPA Australia, comments:

“We were delighted to sponsor the China Fair and to have worked so closely with the Warwick team to deliver a Fair which offers students a unique opportunity to meet with a wide range of employers and organisations like ourselves, who have key employment links in the China job market.”

Wei Wei, recruiting employer at Hays Asia, comments:

“As an international company with global resources, our International Internal Recruitment team saw the Warwick China Fair as an opportunity to source bilingual Chinese student talent. The China Careers Fair gives us the perfect opportunity to meet with students face-to-face, which is much more valuable for both ourselves and the students, than reading a CV.”

9 March 2017

Further information, contact:

Luke Walton, International Press Officer

+44 (0) 7824 540 863

+44 (0) 2476 150 868

L dot Walton dot 1 at warwick dot ac dot uk