There are often newly qualified graduates posting on this site looking for a first step on the career ladder. For those living in Wales you might be interested in looking at the Go Wales website http://www.gowales.co.uk/ which offers students and graduates an opportunity to get placement opportunities. I've just done a quick search and it appears that there is currenlty a placement opportunity for a safety technician in Monmouthshire. (But get in there quick, as I am led to believe that postings are normally only displayed for a week or so!). Some of the placements offered via Go Wales could lead to ongoing employment, but must surely offer an amazing opportunity to get some real, practical experience under the belt and onto that CV. Worth a look! (For those in England, I seem to recall that there was a 'Shell Step' scheme for students on placements (but it's a long time since I was at University and I never participated in the scheme itself as places were extremely fierce)).