A careers event was held at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) recently, where third and fourth-year agriculture and agricultural science students benefited from talks by representatives of the agribusiness and banking industries.

Rob O’Keeffe, marketing manager for Glanbia who works specifically in the gain feeds/agribusiness section, was one of the industry speakers on the night.

Rob is a WIT marketing graduate, who targeted Glanbia as the company he wanted to work for. He set himself short-term goals to help achieve his long-term objectives. In this way, he managed to land his dream job.

Key to Rob’s talk was the message that while graduate programmes are a fantastic route to employment, other career journeys can also lead you to your ultimate destination.

Eanna Galvin, who is currently on the Dawn graduate programme, and who recently spent six months working in Britain, studied agricultural science before completing a Level 8 degree in Food Science and Innovation, both in WIT.

Having both qualifications meant that in interviews Eanna could discuss food production in detail, right throughout the food chain, from primary production to the point where the product appears on the supermarket shelf.

Dr Anne Marie Butler, agribusiness development manager with Ulster Bank, also spoke on the night.

Her career began in academia. After studying agriculture at UCD, she completed a PhD as a Teagasc Walsh Fellow.

James Cunningham, who works with Glanbia agribusiness, graduated with a Level 7 degree in Agricultural Science at WIT, before completing his Level 8 degree at UCD. Having finished his formal studies, James was offered three different graduate programmes and on the night shared the secrets of how to impress potential employers.

James chose the Glanbia programme and says he felt his key selling point in interviews was the consistency he has shown throughout his academic and non-academic life.

WIT offers two courses in agriculture, a three-year Level 7 BSc in Agriculture (WD126) and a four-year Level 8 BSc in Agricultural Science (WD191).