If you’re an engineering grad, you’re hotter than Kerry Katona’s nostrils, but you’ll still need a bit of help finding a job. Horray then for the re-launch of Gradcracker.com designed to encourage more interactivity between job seekers and employers - including a stream of new jobs and placements in the industry. Over 40 of the major engineering graduate recruiters have committed to the site through to 2010 so bookmark it and sign-up for updates. Or don’t, and go hungry.

Tags: job seeking in engineering

In addition to RateMyPlacement, thousands of internships are to be made available to help school leavers and graduates find work during the recession. The Graduate Talent Pool website will show about 2,000 internships at first with more promised within months. There will also be work placements for non-graduates - including 10,000 places for 18 to 21-year-olds who have not been to university. Under the banner of Building Young Britain there is £40m of government funding for a network of mentors and job clubs. Use it!!

Tags: Graduate placements, Graduate Talent Pool, student placements, Work Experience

The Government wants to create 21,000 apprenticeships across the public sector, so its no surprise that Europe’s largest employer, the NHS, is to treble their number of apprenticeships by creating 5,000 new places. These will include clinical support roles such as dental nurses and pharmacy support workers, and non-clinical roles such as IT support, estates and facilities management and catering.

Tags: graduate careers in the NHS, Working in medical health

It’s like Dragon’s Den just to get a placement: PricewaterhouseCoopers has launched an academy for first-year university students to develop the employability skills of future graduates. The five-day business programme will consist of personal and professional development programmes as well as group activities where participants will pose as board members of a fictitious international transport business. As the teams face the harsh realities of the business world, it is hoped the students will learn how to deal with issues like rising oil prices and trade union negotiations. And sexual harassment cases. Successful participants will be awarded a place on the firm’s paid summer internship scheme in 2010.

Tags: accounting and finance, Audit, PWC, student placements in accounting and finance

The impossibly named Ener-g is a Salford-based renewable energy technology group whose new careers programme is aimed at turning the best engineering graduates into the senior executives of the future. The company, which employs 700 people worldwide, and has a reported turnover of more than £90 million, will give graduates an opportunity to work in the low carbon sector. Boss Derek Duffill says: “High calibre engineers are at a premium and we believe the environmental technology sector will continue to generate explosive growth for many years to come. It offers the long-term career goals and financial rewards that ambitious engineers are looking for. Crucially, it also gives them an opportunity to design, develop, manufacture and operate the technologies that can make such a positive difference to society on a global level.” Each graduate will be mentored by a senior manager and there will be an off-the-job development programme over the first two years to look after them. Nice one Derek.

Tags: Graduate engineering programmes, working in Manchester