Graduate Awards 2011: Searching for Stars

Click here to enter the Graduate Awards

Graduate civil engineers are facing increasingly uphill challenges in the jobs market as public sector spending cuts bite.

Career confidence suffers a bashing when these highly qualified graduates, with four years’ expensive academic training under their belts, find themselves competing with up to 130 applicants for every new job.

If this scenario sounds familiar, yet your enthusiasm and determination to be a civil engineer has won through, pay attention. Recognition and reward for your efforts, including valuable cash prizes, could be just an entry form away.

NCE has teamed up with 16 of our industry’s leading companies to launch our unique Graduate Awards.

As the chief executive of one of our sponsors puts it: “Graduates are vital members of our design and construction teams and bring to the table fresh, exciting ideas. They are our profession’s future and it is essential we continue to support and encourage them.”

So if you, or someone in your team, graduated last year with a civil engineering or related first or postgraduate degree, let us know.

All round flair and ability is the key to getting noticed by our judges. Enthusiasm and pride in your chosen profession are as important as engineering skills.

Entry is free. For more details visit: www.nce.co.uk/graduateawards now. Complete a simple online entry form, including a short essay on the pros and cons of nuclear power stations.

Entries are marked by our high powered panel of judges comprising senior directors from our sponsoring companies − so everyone has the chance of getting noticed.

Six finalists will be invited to convince the judges of their star qualities at the ICE in London on Friday 11 November.

And all six will be rewarded at the awards’ presentation lunch in early December.

On offer is a share in over £3,300 prize money; the opportunity to be centre stage in a room packed with industry leaders, plus the chance for loads of praise from your colleagues and bosses.

The overall winner will receive £1,250 plus a trophy.

Extra perks include an interview with the construction minister and the opportunity to contribute to NCE’s analysis pages.

Two runners up will each win £600 and three highly commended finalists will be handed £300 cheques. NCE pays all expenses so the competition really is free all round.

Winners’ employers will also be highlighted; so company bosses, team leaders and training managers take note.

The closing date is 20 September, but enter now − and you will have longer to dream of prizes and praise.

• To enter online, and for further information, visit: www.nce.co.uk/graduateawards or contact Graduate Awards Secretary David Hayward on 01325 461149. email: hayward.david@virgin.net

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