As the end of the UK one-year postgraduate programme approaches, it is a prime time for international students in the UK to seek career development.
In order to provide a valuable opportunity to integrate into the local job market, gain practical experience and take advantage of bilingual talents, EFEC & CognateUK has partnered with GBA (Great British Automotive Logistics), a leader in optimising the supply chain for vehicle logistics, to create an exclusive internship programme for Chinese students.
A presentation was held on Sunday 5 March 2023 at the University of Lincoln, the aim being to help students to find their ideal career path through comprehensive guidance. The event attracted international students from a variety of backgrounds including business, media and data analytics.
On the day, students had direct face-to-face communication with technical directors and career guidance from senior experts in career planning and talent development. Former students with many years of work experience in the UK, were available to share their experiences.
EFEC <Challenges make the difference>
In order to help you better prepare students for upcoming internship programme and to integrate efficiently into the local community, Lily, EFEC’s CEO of CognateUK, used her years of experience in cross-cultural exchange to guide them in finding career opportunities from their own perspective, showing to use EFEC&CognateUK’s professional platform to provide more planning and consultation services for international students.
Since its establishment in 2006, Excellence First Enterprise Consultancy (EFEC) has made significant achievements in technical, cultural and educational collaboration between the UK and China. We are guided by four principles:
(1) organic collaboration based on more meaningful and diverse systems;
(2) successful partnerships based on trust and shared values;
(3) continuous learning and development to add value to ourselves and our partners; and
(4) equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) to define our approach to leadership and support.
Vision：Highly successful international platform, connecting businesses and institutions to help them realise their potential.
Mission: Help people and organisations learn, develop and innovate through inspiring partnerships.
Organisational culture: Creating excellence by enabling and challenging.
Guided by these values, EFEC offers a wide range of consultancy services:
- Education and Training – over 17 years of experience in curriculum development, leadership/coaching training and skills certification support;
- Business Innovation – active partner network resources and full innovation support with companies, universities, research and development organisations and training providers;
- Talent Development – supporting individual learning and development to help achieve a smooth transition from campus to the workplace.
Lily said that academic success is not enough to guarantee success and happiness in life; a clear career plan is also needed to take you on the path to your future. Career planning first requires you to understand yourself, your knowledge and skills, your likes and dislikes and the values that drive you as an individual. Immersion in British culture as well as workplace culture will enable you to become an effective communicator in the British workplace. Actions amplify words and you need to take action and work towards your goals. To help on the journey, EFEC has top coaches, mentors and business advisors – and strong links with the UK business community. This supports our work both with innovative business services and supporting for top talent from around the world to enter the UK jobs market with success..
At this event, EFEC brought in a leading UK company, GBA Group, to create an exclusive and highly prestigious 10-day internship programme for Chinese students, offering these opportunities to the University of Lincoln and other Chinese students.
GBA <Leading business in the UK, great training platform>
The GBA presentation explained the culture and business of the GBA Group, helping students to explore different career fields, network with technical directors at the presentation and build professional networks and relationships in advance, for future job searches. The event also provided more information on internship programmes and helps Chinese students to showcase their professional knowledge and career skills and enhance their career competitiveness through prepared questions and networking sessions.
As a leading provider of supply chain optimisation for vehicle logistics, GBA handles over 2.5 million vehicles per year and has achieved a leading market position with its unique technology and management model, with a footprint across the UK. Andrew takes a look at the Group’s supply chain services and takes the audience through the technology company’s overall business model and core products, with a step-by-step analysis of the key aspects of supply chain management, how it provides end-to-end services to leading car companies such as Porsche, Bentley, Honda, Toyota, Volvo and other well-known car companies with end-to-end services.
Large business volumes and growing orders have created a need for efficient management systems and GBA now has an end-to-end operations platform with a fully integrated IT vehicle management system that is constantly being optimised and made more efficient. The supply chain is managed digitally, fully integrated and system-driven, providing customers with a comprehensive solution.
The applications Priority Vehicle Checker and Terminal Inspect developed by the company provide an efficient and reliable route to digitise vehicle transport assembly and terminal processes, and introduce vehicle care plans and vehicle e-passports to make vehicle information transparent and increase visibility throughout. Backed by a strong data analysis and technical support platform, the internship programme will take interns on a hands-on experience of the system maintenance and data analysis systems within the Group, where they will learn about industry logic and analysis methods and learn about industry-leading data systems.
GBA also takes full advantage of technology in corporate management and business operations, using the OneView portal to provide customers and their distributors with 24/7 information services, complemented by Reporting PowerBi to provide OEMs with critical data to effectively manage plant and complex logistics. With technology and data as the underlying support, and quality and sustainability at the core of its operations, GBA is making an outstanding social contribution to energy management and environmental protection.
Andrew introduced the students to professional industry knowledge and also encouraged them to try out different fields from his own experience of working across different disciplines, and not to shy away from the technology industry just because they don’t have a background in a technology-related subject. As a technical director, Andrew said that what he values most in students is their ability to learn quickly, solve problems and their enthusiasm for their work, which is a core competency for international students who lack experience in the workplace.
Grace <Ten years in the UK, looking at the future from the present>
At the end, we glad welcomed Grace, who is from the international office of University of Lincoln to give us an very inspired closing remarks.
Grace further explained the value of the programme and that for university students, the ability to seize opportunities, learn and interact with people is a must, and that it is by turning every possibility into real experience that you can create your own future on the ground.
In thanking the students for their participation, Grace hosted the subsequent raffle and Lily presented the prizes together, giving away music speakers, chocolates, headphones and other prizes to the registered students present to celebrate the success of the presentation together!
The end of the seminar is just the beginning of the next phase of the internship programme. EFEC and GBA Group will follow up to further understand the needs of international students and help explore the comparative advantages of Chinese students, so that the training programme can be put into practice and help talents to embark on an international career path.
The online application will be published in website and WeChat and job ads will be published via these media. For more information, please follow EFEC and CognateUK on WeChat to provide a full range of career planning guidance and more vacancies information.
Work smarter, not just harder!