12th June 1998

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Prospects for the province's 9,000 graduates who are expected to join the job market in the next few weeks are better than they have been for eight years.

That is the opinion of the organizers of this year's Northern Ireland Graduate Job Fair, which is being organized by the University of Ulster and Queen's University and will be held next week.

Almost seventy firms are expected to attend the Fair, most of them with a list of job vacancies to be filled. Deirdre Deery, a career adviser at the University of Ulster, says the marketplace for graduates is buoyant:

"Things seem to be picking up again after a lull over the last few years. A lot of the very prestigious firms have told us they are looking for good graduates.

"What is also rewarding is that the Northern Ireland firms seem to be back in the market for graduates too. As well as our usual stalwarts, several medium sized local firms will be coming to the Fair with posts available at management level. It is an exciting time," she said.

The range of jobs on offer at the moment reflect the growth in the software industry but firms in the manufacturing, financial and service industries will also be present at the fair to recruit graduates.

Among the positions on offer will be a range of vacancies with Belfast Hilton International which is opening a new hotel in September. A firm based in Ballymoney has details of almost 80 posts in the engineering and software sector. Another firm, also in the engineering sector, has more than 50 vacancies for graduates in both technical and selling roles.

Local firms include FG Wilson, Kainos and Norbrook Laboratories and Nortel, all of whom had a strong tradition of employing graduates, will be represented at the Fair. From the Republic, Ericsson Systems Expertise, Gateway 2000, Proctor and Gamble, Swords Laboratories and Xylinx will be represented. Some of the firms who will be attending the Fair represent inward investment in the province, including Lucas Aerospace and Fujitsu Telecommunications.

The Job Fair will be held on Thursday 18 June at the University of Ulster's campus at Jordanstown from 10.00am until 4.00pm.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk