NPIAs 2013

I spent yesterday afternoon in the company of the great and the good of the placement industry. The National Placement and Internship Awards is Rate My Placement's annual celebration of the work done by employers, universities and students in the field of work experience.

Held at the particularly swanky etc. venue on aldersgate road opposite the museum of London, this was an opportunity to catch up with fellow placement professionals, network with leading placement and graduate recruiters and make face to face introductions with a number of people I've come to know through writing this blog and hosting #placementchat.

The event began with a very interesting presentation from On Campus Promotions, going through the findings of recent research conducted with the student population. This included a section on how employers can put together successful campus marketing campaigns, including a student led critique of advertising from kelloggs, coca-cola and bodyform.

After a break for a glass of champagne (courtesy of drinks sponsor Wikijobs), the event continued with words from the chairs of AGCAS and AGR, before keynote speaker Nick Holzerr (entrepreneur and The Apprentice finalist) entertained the audience with tales from the tv series and trials and tribulations of starting a business.

The awards ceremony itself was slick. University of Birmingham picked up the award for Best Placement or Careers Service, with Andy Newnham being recognised for Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience. Exeter University also received an award for Most Improved Commitment to Employability.

There were a number of awards for students, societies and brand managers, and the ceremony finished off with the employer awards. I'm sworn to secrecy on who received the coveted title of Best Placement or Internship Employer. You'll have to wait for Rate My Placement to publish their Top Employers Guide later on the year.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, particularly being able to put some faces to names I've become accustomed to over the last year. It would have been nice to walk away with an award, but missed out to a thoroughly deserving winner. And I didn't leave completely empty handed, taking home a fantastic slinky!

Thank you Rate My Placement for putting on a great bash. Hope to see you again at the NPIAs in 2014