NINETY-seven per cent of SERC students progress into employment, self-employment or onto higher level courseson completion of their course, guests at the recent college graduation were told.
Ken Webb, SERC principal and chief executive, was speaking at the further education college’s recent Get The Edge graduation ceremony at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
The event honoured over 250 graduates and nine local businesses, and featured addresses from construction graduate David Mace and guest speaker Kyle Gawley CEO and co-founder of Get Invited Ltd.
The event, sponsored by East Down and Lisburn Education Partnership, recognised the hard work and dedication of hundreds of full and part-time students.
Mr Webb said that the day’s events marked an important milestone in the lives of the hundreds of higher education students who had completed their course and he encouraged them to never stop learning and striving to better themselves.
“This year’s graduation celebrates our strong links with industry which provide every student with the opportunity to improve their employability skills in an increasingly competitive job market,” he added.
“Employers have informed us that a qualification is not enough anymore and students need to have much more in terms of skills and experience.
“In response we have developed educational partnerships with local companies including Coca Cola, Takker, Montupet, AB Pneumatics, Diageo and Royal Mail to help students gain vital skills including problem solving, communication and commercial acumen, whilst at the same time solving real-life business scenarios.”
HND computing and systems development graduate Nicola Watton from Lisburn said: “I am delighted to have completed my course at SERC.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my lecturers who were very supportive and encouraging. Throughout the course we got the opportunity to get vital hands-on experience which looks great on our CVs. I would encourage more women to consider IT as a career option.”