Your chance to guide the Games

Deloitte, the professional services firm, has launched a student competition to celebrate the firm’s involvement with the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Deloitte Business Competition challenges students to think about how London 2012 will provide a positive experience for those involved — from athletes and officials to the media, local residents, spectators and the Games’ workforce. Entries, in the form of a 2,012-word essay, will be judged in five regional heats, with finalists travelling to London for a tour of the Olympic Park. The judges, led by Lord Coe, will look for creative, entrepreneurial and constructive ideas that could influence the delivery of the Games. The overall winner will go to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games and have two weeks of paid work experience in the London 2012 sponsorship team at Deloitte. The closing date for entries is December 1.

Getting graduate careers on track

Network Rail has more than doubled its graduate intake over the past 12 months, as the company gears up to expand the national railway network. More than 200 graduates joined Network Rail this autumn, including 80 who completed an MSc in project management, tailored specifically for the company by University College London and the University of Warwick. “We have an ambitious programme to deliver a bigger and better railway for Britain and we need the talent to achieve this,” Adrian Thomas, head of resourcing at Network Rail, said. Graduate recruitment for 2010 has begun, with vacancies in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, finance, project management, strategic sourcing and commercial property.

Who, What, When, Which?

Which?, the consumer champion, is set to launch its first graduate scheme in its 52-year history. Beginning next September, the two-year training scheme offers a starting salary of £23,000 and includes a series of business-led projects in different parts of the charity, such as campaigning, policy, marketing, IT and operations. Applications for the scheme have opened and Which? expects to recruit four graduates to start work in 2010.

People’s Army to the rescue

Our graduate employment problems are dwarfed by the situation in China. According to the latest statistics from Beijing, 6.1 million graduates completed degrees this year, four times the number who graduated in 2002. Up to two million university-leavers are expected to be left without employment. Almost a third of those who graduated in 2008 also failed to find work. In what is said to be an effort to ease the mounting problem, the People’s Liberation Army is set to recruit 130,000 graduates this autumn.

www.deloitte.co.uk/businesscompetition

www.networkrailgraduates.co.uk

www.graduatesatwhich.co.uk

Times Recommends

• Inspirational leadership
• How to get a new job
• The reluctant CEO