At UONL we are committed to developing graduates who are not only qualified to get their first graduate job but who have also developed the skills and attributes they need to progress their chosen career. With a strong set of employability skills, a UONL graduate has a secure base for their future. At UONL Employability is embedded into the curriculum and this is further supported by the extensive range of extra and co-curricular initiatives to enhance students’ employability and entrepreneurship skills.
Experiential learning is important to our students as a valuable part of their development. Working in a business or community environment alongside their studies provides them with the opportunity to apply the professional skills they have acquired, and contributes to their career progression.
Employability at UONL
The Employability Service at UONL supports our students to achieve career success through progression into a rewarding graduate role, postgraduate study or setting up their own enterprise.
Employability support is tailored to our programmes and embedded within the curriculum through:
- Classroom visits from Employers and Careers Consultants with specialist programme knowledge delivering sessions co-designed and co-delivered with academics. These sessions include sector insights, routes into graduate careers and strategies for success with the application process for programme-related roles
- Module content that promotes successful progression into related graduate careers, including embedded resources from the CareerHub platform and specifically tailored multimedia resources
- Assignment briefs and learning, teaching and assessment designed to develop the skills graduate employers require
- Academics with recent and current industry experience, some of whom may offer mentorship to small groups of students
- Internships, work experience or part-time work will provide opportunities to apply their learning and evidence their skills
- Our students are introduced to a diverse range of relevant graduate employers and postgraduate programmes which enables them to explore positive destination options that make the most of their degree.
Employability Award
UONL is proud to offer the Employability Award to all its students.
Throughout the year, our Employability team organises the extra-curricular programme which equips students with skills to manage their career, such as developing a personal brand, identifying career options aligned with their values and transferrable skills, creating a tailored CV , preparing for interviews and networking effectively.
The Employability Award is differentiated, with the Bronze Award available from Levels 3 and 4 of study, Silver from Level 5 and Gold from Level 6. Business and entrepreneurship sessions are included that are equally relevant to self-employment or becoming an enterprising graduate employee. The Award also features Industry Exposure Sessions which offer an insight into careers students may not have previously considered and the opportunity to apply for graduate roles with prestigious public and private sector organisations with graduate employment opportunities. If students need support with the application process, 1:1 or group sessions are offered to enable them to fulfil their career potential.
Future Careers / Potential Career Prospects
Research suggests that employers find that many UK graduates are not yet ready for the world of graduate work. With this in mind, all our undergraduate degree programmes include an Academic and Professional Skills module to help build the attributes that contribute towards a successful future career.
Our scheduling of lectures and tutorials optimise the chance of meaningful part-time work. A part-time job in the right sector can help hone a student’s understanding of business and help develop the graduate skills employers want to see upon graduation.
The programmes offered at UONL equip students to progress into a wide and diverse range of employment opportunities, and some examples include:
- Accounting e.g. Auditor, Company Secretary, Finance Officer, Tax Adviser
- Administration e.g. Administrator, Office Manager
- Business e.g. Business Researcher, Management Consultant, Project Coordinator
- Enterprise e.g. Founder/ Co-founder/ Director of enterprise
- Health and Social Care e.g. Care Home Manager, Community Development Worker, Safeguarding or Quality Improvement Officer
- Human Resources e.g. Contracts Manager, HR Advisor, HR Officer, Office Manager, Recruiter
- Law e.g. Legal Executive, Paralegal
- Marketing and Advertising e.g. Advertising Executive, Marketing Executive, Market Researcher, Public Relations Officer
- Mental Health and Wellbeing e.g Mental Health Practitioner, Health Promotion Officer, Case Manager in the charitable sector
- Psychology e.g. Graduate roles in health, youth or criminal justice services, HR or business
- Sales e.g. Retail Manager, Sales Manager
- Progression to PG Study to access career opportunities in regulated professions: e.g. Nursing, Public Health, Social Work, Teaching.
For more information, please contact the Employability Team: Employability@london.northampton.ac.uk