Environmental and Animal Sciences Connect Event creates network of students & employers

Close to a hundred ākonga and recent graduates met with eight employers and industry organisations across animal behaviour, welfare and management, biodiversity and conservation, and veterinary nursing at a recent Environmental and Animal Sciences Industry Connect Event.

Taking part were Franklin Vets, Conservation Volunteers New Zealand, Top Dogs Day Stay, The Whau River Catchment Trust, Veterinary Specialists Aotearoa, Club K9, Animates Vetcare and Wildland Consultants.

The career expo-style event held at Mt Albert Campus on Thursday in Te Puna gave students the opportunity to meet potential employers face-to-face, where they can explore career pathways, practise their networking skills and establish relationships.

But the value goes both ways.

Our students loved getting close to the dogs and chatting with the team at Club K9 Ltd who were both graduates.

Industry partners also get the opportunity to meet emerging talent, identify potential future employees, while strengthening their relationships with our organisation and contributing to the development of a work-ready workforce.

Industry Engagement Coordinator Duaa Belgacem says creating meaningful connections between students, graduates and industry is the key purpose of the event.

“The event gives students the opportunity to explore employment opportunities, build their networks, and gain a better understanding of the industries they are preparing to enter,” Duaa says.

“It also allows employers the opportunity to connect with emerging talent and contribute to developing work-ready graduates.”

Ms Belgacem says industry professionals who attended last year’s event valued the opportunity to meet and engage directly with students, providing strong encouragement for the event to continue and grow.

Employers find our Connect Events invaluable for meeting our students in a more relaxed in-person environment.

“Students will come to these events and meet us, and we get to meet them in person, as opposed to reading about them on a piece of paper or an email,” Toni Austin, Club K9 owner and 2019 Unitec alumna, says.

That personal connection can make all the difference, particularly for students who may lack confidence approaching employers.

“Some people may find it difficult to make that first connection with their placements or even for work,” Ms Austin says.

“I find these Connect Events are good for students because it’s easier to approach them and have a relaxed conversation where we get to see what they’re like and give them a few tips.”

For Toni, the relationship with MIT and Unitec has also translated into tangible opportunities for students.

After completing New Zealand Certificate in Animal Management – Canine Behaviour and Training, she established her own dog daycare business and approached the School of Environmental and Animal Sciences about taking students on placement.

“It’s really good to give them the experience that they need and then they genuinely move on or I hire them, or they come and work for me as volunteers.”

Toni now runs dog training company Da Vinci Dog with fellow Unitec graduate Alarna Pomare, further demonstrating how industry connections can continue beyond graduation.

Head of School, Environmental and Animal Sciences Associate Professor Laura Harvey, says the value of these relationships extends well beyond a single event.

“Connect Events are important for our students to be able to connect with our main industry partners and stakeholders, primarily around looking at job opportunities, but also for work placement, for internships, and also the longer term around where they’re expecting their career to go,” Laura says.

“These workplaces are incredibly important to us because most of our programmes have students doing work placements at some point during their study journey.

“Being able to continue to support those workplaces who want to take our students is invaluable to us. We wouldn’t be able to run the programmes without that support.”

The relationships also create an ongoing connection between graduates, employers and the School.

“We’ve got some really strong connections with workplaces. We’re lucky that we have a number of them here, where we’ve got graduates that are working in those places. So that just helps to strengthen those connections.”

Through Connect Events, Industry partners become part of an ongoing network supporting students throughout their study and into their careers.

“We’ve got a number of organisations here that have got our students on placement and staff who are our graduates,” Assoc. Prof. Harvey says. “So to have that ongoing support from them after they’ve graduated is really nice.”

The success of Industry Connect reflects the broader value of strong partnerships with industry and community organisations across the region – a meeting place for employers and our learners. These partnerships help to ensure applied education remains closely connected to the needs of industry and the communities it serves.