Loughborough Employability Award
In today’s competitive job market, employers are looking for those graduates who have both acquired knowledge and skills through their degree programme, and have gained a range of employability skills through work experience, voluntary and other activities which encourage personal development.
One definition of employability is:
A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations. (Yorke, M. 2004)
What are the benefits?
The Loughborough Employability Award can provide you with a framework through which you can receive recognition of your personal development gained through participation in skills-related activities outside your degree programme and which will help you to develop a self-awareness of your skills and competencies.
Completing the award will:
- Give recognition to your skills and personal development
- Demonstrate your commitment
- Help to prepare you for job applications and interviews
The Loughborough Employability Award will appear alongside your degree qualification on your Student Transcript.
- Find out what employers say
- Find out what students say
- Message from Loughborough University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shirley Pearce (PDF).
Find out more
We have 15 minute award appointments available on Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 1.15pm – 2.30pm and Thursday and Friday mornings from 10.00am – 10.45am.
To book an appointment, telephone the Careers and Employability Centre on (01509) 222039 or drop in from 9am on the day and ask at the reception desk. You can also book via Careers Online
Information sessions
In the spring term, information sessions will take place between 1pm to 1.30pm and again from 1.30pm to 2pm, in room K 108 (Herbert Manzoni building) on the following Wednesdays. There is no need to book for these sessions:
- Wednesday 15th February
- Wednesday 22nd February
- Wednesday 29th February
- Wednesday 7th March
If you would like to find out more about the award before you enrol, or if you have enrolled and are not sure how to proceed, we run information sessions throughout the term. No need to book, just turn up.
Alternatively contact the Careers and Employability Centre to see if we have another time free or you can email us on employabilityaward@lboro.ac.uk
How to enrol on the course
Enrolment onto the award scheme is open to first, second or penultimate year undergraduate students. There are limited places each year. Please note that enrolment for this academic year will be open from 30th September 2011 to 20th April 2012. We may close the scheme earlier if numbers are reached.
Enrol now for the Employability Award
Making the most of the 'Loughborough Experience'
If you are not able to join the award scheme, you should still take advantage of the many opportunities across campus to develop your skills. Take a look at the Students' Union Get Involved, Student Enterprise and the Students Helping Students scheme.
If you are looking for work experience visit the Careers and Employability Centre vacancy pages or the Loughborough Students’ Employment Exchange.
Anything you can do to enhance the skills you gain from your degree programme is a valuable way of spending your spare time and can only improve your employment prospects, so act now!
For general information about improving your employability skills, the Careers and Employability Centre page has some ideas. You may also be interested in seeing a list of the skills employers seek.
For university staff
If you are asked to endorse a student’s participation in an extra-curricular activity towards the award scheme, there are guidelines available here to help you with the endorsement of the student’s ‘record of activity’ form. A completed example is available here. Please provide a brief comment to verify the student’s participation but you are not required to allocate points unless previously agreed with the award team.
If you have a suggestion for an extra-curricular activity to be included in the award scheme or if you are interested in discussing how departmental activity outside the degree programme could be counted towards the award, please contact the Employability Development Adviser, Yvonne Hamblin: y.c.hamblin@lboro.ac.uk
