Dundalk IT’s Health and Physical Activity students learn about careers pathways
Graduates spoke of the need to persevere in the employment industry
Dundalk IT recently held a Health and Physical Activity (HPA) Careers Event on campus. The Careers Event was held in conjunction between the Health and Physical Activity programme team and the DkIT Careers Department.
Dr. Sean Kilroy, Programme Director for the Health and Physical Activity degree, opened the session, followed by an overview of graduate employment opportunities by Graham Russell, Head of Sport at Louth County Council.
Graham’s key take home messages were that there has never been as many opportunities for employment in the sector as there are now and that the job that students will be doing in 10 years’ time, most likely does not exist yet.
Lecturer Fiona Hackett and Catherine Staunton, Head of Careers and Employability at DkIT, chaired the graduate panel discussion. The DkIT HPA graduate line-up included; Sarah Fagan, PhD student, Sarah Craig, a qualified Physiotherapist, Mark Garvey, Health Promotion and Improvement Officer at HSE, Louise Keane, Player Welfare & Inclusion Officer Camogie Association, and Brian O’Loughlin, Director at Movement101.
Graduates spoke of the need to persevere in the employment industry, saying yes to as many opportunities as possible and the importance of networking.
They emphasised the importance of the work placement module in gaining valuable experience and opening future doors, and the value of the research stream in the programme and how it helped them to develop transferable skills such critical thinking.
The event finished with a networking lunch where current students had the opportunity to chat to the graduates about their unique career paths and current roles. Undergraduate students described the event as inspiring and thought-provoking.
The event was supported by N-TUTORR and was recorded to create a reusable learning tool for future Health & Physical Activity students.