School of Architecture Introduction to the Careers and Employability Service and wider employability initiatives.

Nicola UrquhartEmployability Adviser

What we will cover:• What is

employability?

• What employability skills are graduate recruiters looking for?

• How the Careers and Employability Service can help you.

• Wider University initiatives

• Action points

• Questions

What is Employability?

‘A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace – to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy.’ (CBI, March 2009)

What employability skills are graduate recruiters looking for?

Communication

Report writing

Team working

Leadership

Planning and organisation

Project management

Enterprise

Problem Solving

Reflection

Adaptability

Energy

Drive and resilience

Integrity

Reliability

Enthusiasm/passion

Self awareness

Confidence

Contextual/cultural awareness

Capacity to develop

NumeracyPositive attitude

Business and customer awareness

IT skills

Why are employability skills so important?

• Increased competition – over 400,000 graduates leaving university each year.

‘Our latest UK recruitment campaign closed having attracted c.24500. The bank will offer c.475 places in 2012.’ HSBC newsletter April 2012

Why are employability skills so important now?

Changing world of work:

• Global economy

• More career changes

• New technology

• Roles change

What employers say…

• "Few students are able to articulate what they have gained from their experience in higher education." (Association of Graduate Recruiters, 1995)

How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

Through your course:

• Numeracy

• Problem solving

• Written work

• Research

• Presentations

• Working in groups

• Using ICT skills

How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

Through gaining work experience:

• Part-time work

• Internships/placements

• Company events

How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

• LinkedIn

Business and customer awareness, confidence

• Twitter

Communication

• Blogging

Communication, drive, resilience, positive attitude, self awareness

www.kent.ac.uk/ces Telephone: 01227 823299 Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.uk

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9 to 5 including vacations

Drop-in times (no appointment needed): 10.30 to 12.30 & 2 to 5 pm

Careers and Employability Service

• Drop In - Quick Query

• Careers Guidance Interviews

• Careers Talks and Workshops

• Careers Library: Employer Directories, Occupational Profiles, Books etc

• Comprehensive Web Pages

• Careers Employability Award (CEM) on Moodle

• Vacancy Database

• Alumni Careers Network

• Annual Careers and Recruitment Fair

Speak to an Adviser:

• Quick query, drop in and speak to an Adviser 10.30am -12.30pm and 2pm-5pm Monday to Friday.

• E mail @careerhelp and an Adviser will respond to your query.

• You can also book a longer career guidance appointment over the phone or pop in.

Attend Careers Talks and Workshops. Examples this term included:

• Job hunting workshop

• Career planning for your second year

• How to achieve success at interview

• More information available at www.kent.ac.uk/calandar

Use the Careers Library and Publications

• Graduate Directories

• Postgraduate Prospectuses

• Various books and publications

• Career Planning Guide for Undergraduates

Careers and Employability Service Web Pages

• What can I do with my degree in Architecture. http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/architecture.htm

• How to create a portfolio http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/portfolios.htm

• Interview Reports http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/ivreps/ivrepsmenu.htm

• Interviews (includes assessment centres and psychometric tests etc.) www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm

• Example CVs & Covering Letterswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm

• Spelling and punctuation http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/spelling.htm

• Prospects http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_architecture_contacts_resources.htm

Moodle Careers Employability Award

• Assessed by a range of quizzes and assignments

• Will greatly improve your career planning and job hunting skills, giving you strategies to make career choices and will increase your chances of getting a graduate level job.

• Takes about 12 hours to complete

• On completion you will get a University of Kent Careers Employability Award to add to your CV

• Get 40 Kent Employability points for successful completion of the module.

• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

• “I liked the fact that the assignments relate to how you would fill in answers on a graduate job application step by step and provides examples of how to fill it in.”

• “I really enjoyed the quizzes. They effectively highlighted the gaps in my knowledge, as many of the answers surprised me. I also found the module on creating my own CV very useful, these skills will be invaluable for tailoring my CV to particular jobs.”

• “There is a wealth of information about everything; I especially liked the individual information about specific job types and the advice given about interview skills.”

Comments from students who have completed the award.

On successful completion you receive a University of Kent Careers Employability Award.

You can then add the following to your CV to show to employers.

"On my own initiative I enrolled for and successfully completed the University of Kent Careers Employability Award which covered identification and development of employability skills, self-awareness, identification of relevant career options, researching opportunities, CV preparation and interview skills."

The Careers Employability Award

Careers Network

• Helps current students gain an insight into careers through contact with alumni.

• Information and advice by letter/phone/email, work-shadowing. 

• Visit the Careers Centre and ask to use the Careers Network.

Vacancy Database

• All vacancies sent to the Careers and Employability Service by employers, whether for graduate jobs, sandwich placements or vacation work/internships are entered on this database which offers:

• A personalised search facility

• Email alerts of new vacancies which may interest you

• Employers notifying vacancies are often specifically targeting Kent graduates, so competition for jobs is lower than on other vacancy sites www.kent.ac.uk/careers/jobs/index.htm

Kent Grads

• KentGrads - database of companies in Kent who employ graduates, and who may, from time to time, have vacancies. It is not a list of current vacancies, but a resource to help you find possible employers.

• The site can list all the companies in the database grouped in one of a number of ways:

• by location in Kent , by the criteria you specify or by keywords. For example: if you can remember the surname of a particular contact at a company, but are unsure of the company name.

Employer events and information

• Employer talks on campus e.g. IBM, Coca Cola, Bloomberg, European Commission.

• Careers and Recruitment Fair 1st November Eliot Great Hall

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

www.kent.ac.uk/employability

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

Kent Union:

Kent Student Certificate for Volunteering

Stand Out Training

Job Shop

Clubs and societies

KSCV Bronze

25 hours of volunteering

KSCV Silver

50 hours of volunteering 15 minute review with a

member of staff

KSCV Gold

100 volunteering hours Review 2 training sessions 750 words

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

Student Ambassador Scheme

Peer mentoring schemes

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

• Learn a language with the Centre for English and World Languages

• Work/study abroad

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

Employability Points Scheme

Employability Points 2011/2012

• Over 200 rewards

• Internships, work experience, training

experiences, project placements

Employability initiatives at the University of Kent

• MyFolio

• Employability Toolkit

Use MyFolio to begin to record your expereinces

• Record your thoughts, feelings and reactions when carrying out a task – Did you enjoy doing it? https://myfolio.kent.ac.uk/myfolio/

• Use MyFolio as a space to reflect on your values – what is important to you salary, status, working hours, location etc.?

• Use MyFolio to learn to write reflectively. Record what you have learned, activities undertaken, what would you do differently next time?

• Build up information which will be helpful for CVs / application forms.

Employability Web Pages

• Careers and Employability Service

• Volunteering (Kent Union)

• Student Ambassadors Scheme

• Employability Points

• Opportunities to learn a language

• Information on working/studying abroad

• www.kent.ac.uk/employability

Stay up-to-date with what is happening

• www.kent.ac.uk/ces

• www.kent.ac.uk/employability

• Employability Newsletter

• Follow us on Facebook at University of Kent Student Employability www.facebook.com/UKCES

• Follow us on Twitter at @unikentemploy

• Check out your School website.

Action Points

• Take advantage of all the initiatives the university has to offer. www.kent.ac.uk/employability

• Make use of the Careers and Employability Service. www.kent.ac.uk/ces

• start NOW!

The University of KentCareers and Employability

Service

You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm