Abstract
The role of a PhD programme is to train students for a career in research – be it at university or in industry. In our experience, almost all physics students who begin a PhD hope for an academic career, yet the overwhelming majority eventually move into industry where they contribute hugely to the research and development of firms. Although this picture seems to be accepted by those now embarking on a PhD, many students still have little idea how they could exploit their physics PhD beyond the narrow confines of their research project. In 2008 – a difficult time for UK physics, which suffered funding cuts and department closures – nine university departments in the south east of England came together to form the South East Physics network (SEPnet). This collaboration helped revive physics in the region by focusing on outreach as well as student employability via a summer industry placement scheme. In 2013 SEPnet launched GRADnet to give PhD physics students greater awareness of opportunities outside academia and a broader set of the skills that are needed to exploit them.