PlaceNet Conference - May 2012

Liverpool, that famous city in the North West. Home to two giants of English football, the birthplace of The Beatles, European Capital of Culture 2008. Last week the streets were lined with people who flocked to welcome some very special visitors. It transpired that this fervent hospitality was not intended for delegates of the PlaceNet Conference (apparently there was a visit from The Queen as part of her Jubilee Tour) but for my fellow placement professionals and I, Liverpool proved to be a perfect setting.

If you found that your Placement Office was somewhat quiet last week, it is probably because they were being represented at the conference. Delegates came from all over the country, from York to Portsmouth and just about everywhere inbetween. We all came together to reflect on our learning, share examples of good practice and debate the issues that affect our industry. In addition to Placement Officers, other employability stakeholders such as Rate My Placement and Graduates Yorkshire were in attendance, and recruiters from Enterprise and Jet Set Sports delivered insightful presentations.

Chaired by the tireless Matthias Feist (@matthias_feist), whose passion for Social Media saw a number of delegates tweeting questions to a panel of guests, this was a conference that managed to deliver interesting content while retaining an informal friendly personality. From the unsurpassable ‘Duck Tour’ to the evening socialising, there was very little pretention and from my observation everybody had a good time.

Liverpool Duck Tour - as used by HRH and PlaceNet

For a flavour of the conference, the hashtag #placenet12 provides a summary of the event, including the excellent Q&A session which included questions about student engagement, the views of a former placement student and what can Placement Officers do to encourage more students to take a placement year. The PlaceNet website provides the basic details about the organisation, key contacts and upcoming events, while the obligatory LinkedIn Group is a sounding board of ideas and information. 

To any Placement Professionals who have not been to a PlaceNet conference before, I heartily recommend signing up for the next event in 2013. Follow @PlaceNetUK for updates.