An insight into working in the chemical industry
Event review: Kick start your career, Liverpool & North West Regional Group, February 2007
Following the merger
of SCI’s Liverpool and Manchester
sections in 2006, the annual ‘Kick
start your career’ student careers
event was brought to Manchester
for the first time on 15 February
2007 and was held in the John Dalton
building of Manchester Metropolitan
University (MMU).
Rather than a series of companies
pitching to the students, this
careers event seeks to answer the
questions running through all
students’ heads about starting their
career. Mike Pitts, acting chair of
the Liverpool & North West group,
opened proceedings by pointing
out how diverse chemistry-based
industries are in the North West
and gave a flavour of the range of
opportunities available. The speakers
then gave a personal account
of their careers and discussed their
decisions and experiences as they
moved through different jobs and
roles
- Zoie Cumming of On Assignment
Lab Support explained how she
ended up in recruitment after
spells in the laboratory and technical
sales;
- Malcolm Smith, managing
consultant of Access Resourcing,
covered pharmaceutical sales,
placing the roles in this area into
context;
- Jennifer Clark of Eastman discussed
her role managing health,
safety and environment for the
company’s Peboc site in Anglesey,
including her occasional forays into
fire fighting; and
- Malc Cleall-Hill (PGCE admissions
tutor, MMU) gave a very entertaining
introduction into teaching,
stressing the need for imaginative
chemists to enter the profession.
Finally, Liverpool & North West
Regional Group treasurer Caroline Cordery
detailed her long career with
Unilever, providing a big company
perspective, following which all
attendees were invited to take up
the SCI’s offer of introductory student
membership.
Judging by the number of questions
from the 90 students in attendance,
from all the region’s
universities – Bangor, Manchester,
Manchester Metropolitan, Liverpool,
and Liverpool John Moores – and
the feedback the committee has
already received, the event was a
great success. It will now be held
alternately in Manchester and
Liverpool on an annual basis.
Mike Pitts
Liverpool & North West Regional Group
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