FEB ready for Battle for Talent | Careers Company opens its doors

The Faculty of Economics and Business is working on the careers of its students. On 5 September the Careers Company will open its doors. This partnership between the Faculty and the student faculty association EBF and its subassociations MARUG, Risk and VESTING will help students to prepare for a successful future. Students can visit this careers café for careers advice, training, internships, consulting assignments, careers events and additional information.

‘The success of the Faculty also depends on the success of its students’, says Wijnand Aalderink, Head of Education and Communication Services and Director of the Careers Company. The Careers Company will prepare students to successfully enter the labour market after graduation.’

Consultancy assignments for companies

In the past, the various student organizations and the Faculty separately offered events and support in the field of career development. To enhance their visibility, all the activities will now get the label of the Careers Company. Aalderink: ‘We’ll put our common activities on display. And the students are also put on display. The Careers Company will have a networking function as well. Companies, for example, can hire students for consultancy assignments.’

Integrate in curriculum

The importance of the initiative is also stressed by student Matthijs van de Grift, candidate chairman of EBF and board member of the Careers Company: ‘The current gloomy labour market makes it increasingly important to properly match your academic skills with the everyday practice on the work floor. Cooperating with the Faculty in the Careers Company makes it easier to integrate careers activities in the curriculum.’

Career development hand in hand with education

The Careers Company supports students throughout their entire degree programme, from prospective student to alumnus. Aalderink: ‘It is important for students to make the best possible choice of programme. It helps if they find the answers to the questions what do I want, what suits me and what do I need by themselves. You have to make a choice of specialization very early on in your Bachelor’s programme, so it’s very important to know where you want to go. The Careers Company is there to support you in making the right choice.’

In Aalderink’s opinion, this focus on the labour market prospects of students has been neglected for many years: ‘The attention to career development can easily go hand in hand with high levels of science education as practised by FEB now and in the future.’

Battle for Talent

Aalderink is optimistic. He believes that the poor labour market will not last: ‘The economic downturn will pick up eventually. In combination with an ageing population, I foresee a Battle for Talent.’ By that time, the FEB will have such good relationships with businesses, and with SMEs in the region, that its students will be prepared for the labour market, and FEB alumni will win this battle.

Careers Company

The Careers Company will be opened during the official opening of the FEB-EBF Academic year. From then on, students will be able to go to the new Careers Company café on the ground floor of the Duisenberg building, in the corner of the Plaza, across from the repro facilities, for careers counselling, labour market training, internships, consulting assignments and careers events.

More information: Wijnand Aalderink