SOME of the country's top employers have taken part in a college careers fair.

Wigan and Leigh College welcomed companies such as BAE Systems, Network Rail, Seqirus and Sellafield Ltd as well as organisations including the army and the RAF to its careers fair.

Smaller businesses were also in attendance at the fair, which was held at all of the college's three sites.

Staff members told students about the variety of roles available and the steps they need to take to secure the best positions.

Car manufacturer Rolls Royce were there and gained lots of interest from students.

Engineer Project Manager for Rolls Royce Madeline McDonald said: “Students have been very keen to get involved and find out about our apprenticeship and graduate schemes.

“It’s important to speak to these learners as not everyone is aware of what we do.

"For instance, we build and design nuclear reactors for submarines, so it’s great to educate students with the aim of attracting interest and also more females getting into stem areas.”

The event was organised by the college’s Fab Futures team with the aim of stressing the importance of preparing students for careers.

Network Rail project manager Lauren Jones added: “We are working on the Wigan Depot Springs Branch at the moment and we are working with the local community and FE colleges to develop individuals and offer career opportunities.

“This event has been really busy and it’s great to be a part of it, we like to promote our opportunities but to show that we offer plenty of other roles other than engineering as we also have a great apprenticeship scheme”.

The NHS were among the organisations advising students how it can help them with their futures.

Julie Wilson, Vocational Learning Facilitator for NHS Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust said: “We work closely with the college on delivering programmes to widen participation and encourage people to work for the NHS.

We offer programmes such as public cector traineeships and pre employment opportunities which allows us to collaborate with local trust and the council.

"This event has been really successful and we like to raise awareness of the wide range of careers available in the NHS not just the medical routes."