Working with University of South Wales Students An Employer’s Guide www.southwales.ac.uk/employers

Careers and Employability Service Call: 01443 482 080 Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/careers

Information in this flyer is correct at the time of print. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.southwales.ac.uk/employers. As part of its commitment to the Welsh language, the University provides information through the medium of Welsh. To find out more, visit www.decymru.ac.uk or e-mail [email protected]. Fel rhan o’i ymrwymiad at yr iaith Gymraeg y mae’r Brifysgol yn darparu gwybodaeth drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. I wybod mwy, ewch i www.decymru.ac.uk neu e-bostiwch [email protected]. Design: USW Print and Design 01443 482 677 The University of South Wales is a registered charity. Registration No. 1140312 Grad Edge is a registered trademark of the University of South Wales.

An Employer’s Guide

Work with Tomorrow’s Talent • With a diverse community of over 33,000 students based on campuses located across south Wales, the University of South Wales is a hub of skills, knowledge and experience that can add value to your business. • Our students are studying courses rooted in the real world. They can make a valuable contribution to your organisation from day one – whether you’re in the private, public or third sector.

Bringing Together Education and the World of Work

• The University’s Careers and Employability Service offers a range of services to support your organisation’s recruitment campaigns and plans for the future:

We know that finding staff with the skills your business demands can be a challenge. We want to help you to tackle this by ensuring our students graduate with not only an excellent degree, but also with the personal attributes and strengths you need.

- Advertise any type of job vacancy with us free of charge. - Offer work experience opportunities to our students or graduates. - Raise your profile by exhibiting at our large-scale careers events, conduct guest lectures or run bespoke workshops.

We encourage all our students to seek out opportunities to gain practical experience related to their chosen career or the degree they are studying. By offering work experience opportunities to our students, your organisation is contributing to a more switched-on graduate workforce.

Looking for other types of support? We’re always interested in new ways to build strong partnerships with businesses, get in touch.

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We aim to make working with the University a straightforward and rewarding experience, and offer flexibility in the ways we can support your organisation.

University of South Wales

www.southwales.ac.uk/careers | 01443 482 080

Talk to our Careers and Employability Service about offering students opportunities for: -

Sandwich/industrial/year long placements Summer internships Work shadowing Part-time jobs Live projects as part of their course Volunteering Have an idea? Let us know.

All employability activity at the University of South Wales is underpinned by the Grad Edge initiative. For more information, see page 8.

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An Employer’s Guide

What are the Benefits for my Business? How can a University of South Wales work experience student help add value to your business? Our students are looking for graduate level experience. This is not their chance to hone their tea-making and photocopying credentials, but the opportunity to put their technical know how to the test, and generate realistic solutions to real-life business challenges.

Business-related Benefits Working with the University will allow you: • Access to a diverse talent pool with a range of specialist skills • The opportunity to work with our academic staff, potentially to influence course content and address skills gaps, but also acquire the latest expert knowledge in your field

Work-related Benefits An additional member might mean: • Achievement of a project you haven’t previously had the time or resource to focus on • New ideas and a fresh perspective • An extra pair of hands at peak times of the year, without the commitment of a permanent contract

Recruitment-related Benefits Getting to know your potential future employees can: • Make a significant contribution to your talent sourcing strategy. Work experience students often end up joining their host employers full-time once they graduate

“One of my biggest achievements was implementing a cost-saving exercise, by moving six parts from one foundry to another. It's estimated this will save the company in excess of £32,000 a year. I was heavily involved in the whole business process from meeting with the supplier to managing internal meetings to make sure everyone involved knew what was happening and informed of any issues. Having this kind of experience on my CV will give me a huge advantage.” Elliot Davies, BA (Hons) Logistics and Supply Chain Management student, completed a placement as a Supply Chain Intern at Crane Process Flow Technologies in Cwmbran. At the end of the placement, Elliot was offered a part-time role with the company, which will run alongside his studies.

“Crane Cwmbran has always found the University of South Wales an excellent source of interns, Elliot being our fifth placement in as many years. We take great pains to emphasise that every intern placed with us is entering into a real job, with as much responsibility as our regular staff. Nobody to date has disappointed us with their willingness, application, timekeeping and all round ability.” Mike Gadd, Supply Chain Manager, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd

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University of South Wales

www.southwales.ac.uk/careers | 01443 482 080

For more information on the diverse range of cutting edge courses we offer, many of which are accredited by professional bodies, visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/courses

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An Employer’s Guide

Working with a S tudent:

Checklist

3 toCreaextepea clear job/project description so you and the

3 UnAdiLivertise the role to our 33,000 students for free on ct.

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Gaining Mutual Benefits: the DNA of Successful Work Experience • Consider the timings of the academic year when setting out your requirements and expectations. Our students are expected to maintain suitable levels of attendance throughout the academic year. Sandwich year placements generally commence in the summer and continue until September of the following year.

• As part of the University’s Grad Edge employability award, we recommend that students set themselves achievable aims and objectives before embarking on work experience. Identifying ways in which these can be approached during their time within your organisation will contribute significantly to their success.

• Think about the value of what you can offer to the student. Setting them a project with an agreed business objective is likely to challenge them to work professionally, and the result will hopefully provide a tangible benefit to your organisation.

• Matching students with a mentor or supervisor within your organisation will provide them with a useful day-to-day contact for any questions or concerns they might have. • Provide feedback. This is the best way to make sure both you and the student are getting what you need from their time with your organisation.

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University of South Wales

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Project Ideas Think about how completion of a project could make things simpler, better or cheaper for you and your customers. Examples include: • Conducting surveys, analysing data and producing reports • Completing market research into potential new customers • Creative projects, focusing on marketing or design • Investigating and implementing efficiency and cost-saving activity • Working with vendors and external stakeholders www.southwales.ac.uk/careers | 01443 482 080

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An Employer’s Guide

A course at the University of South Wales is more than just a degree, employability is at the heart of everything we do. This is the reason we created Grad Edge, our programme of activities and events designed to get students thinking about how to initiate successful graduate careers. From workshops led by employers like you, to enterprise

Completion of meaningful work experience • We ask for a minimum of 70 hours and insist at least 35 hours of this is directly related to the career path the student wishes to pursue or to the degree on which they are enrolled. • We recognise the value of other activities, such as volunteering and part-time work, in terms of students becoming more employable. We encourage them to consider what contribution they can make towards their graduate-level skills development. • Host employers and work experience supervisors are asked to provide a reference or LinkedIn recommendation.

support -- we provide students with a diverse range of practical tips, personalised career guidance and opportunities to build their professional network. At the centre of this initiative is the Grad Edge Award, which was designed and created by our students and academic staff, in partnership with key employers from a wide range of industries. The Award focuses on the three main areas below:

Development of graduate-level workplace skills We asked a range of employers what differentiates a good graduate from a great graduate. Their responses formed the basis of the skillset we encourage our students to assess themselves against and to develop.

Improvement of career management techniques Employers couldn’t emphasise strongly enough the importance of a range of key job hunting tools. We've taken this feedback seriously and integrated all the necessary practical skills into the Grad Edge Award. We anticipate that undertaking these activities and achieving the Award will significantly enhance our students’ and graduates’ employability and help them stand out from the job-hunting crowd. For more information, visit: www.southwales.ac.uk/gradedge

“Admiral is proud to be involved with the development of the Grad Edge Award. We believe it is an essential, proactive initiative with a specific focus on the desired overarching principles of work experience, employability skills development, practice of job application techniques and managing employer expectations. The programme will provide University of South Wales graduates with the very best grounding possible in preparation for the challenge of job seeking and the world of work.” Wendy Sleat, Executive Recruitment Manager, Admiral Group plc

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University of South Wales

www.southwales.ac.uk/careers | 01443 482 080

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An Employer’s Guide

Cost Effective Ways to Boost Your Graduate Recruitment Campaigns

Employers who Work with us:

Recruiting our Students and Graduates • Advertise vacancies and placements on our online careers portal, UniLife Connect. This is simple and free of charge. • Target specific academic cohorts to recruit for niche roles. We can put together a plan of action for you on how to best reach particular groups of students.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Work Experience Options • Sandwich placements • Short placements • Live projects • Work shadowing • Part-time jobs • Volunteering • Get involved in the Grad Edge employability programme. First-class Facilities • Use our facilities to conduct recruitment activities, team meetings or other group activities.

“Impeccable - well organised, and an exceptionally high calibre of students. This is my 12th fair since mid September and the percentage of students I'll be inviting to interview is higher today than any previous event. Thank you!" Mash Staffing (Part-time Jobs Fair attendee)

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“Sport RCT is indebted to University of South Wales (USW) student placements. The relationship between Sport RCT and USW is built on the strength and passion of the students. The student resource is invaluable and critical to our ability to run a comprehensive sports programme in Rhondda Cynon Taff.” Gethin Smart, Community Sport Officer, Sport RCT

Sponsorship and Endorsements • Sponsor key careers and employability activity across our campuses. • Provide content for case studies, video or interviews for use in our online and print promotional material. Raising your Profile on Campus • Attend Careers and Employability Service events on our campuses. • Run a skills session or careers workshop on our campuses. • Make a presentation to invite students to find out about your organisation’s graduate scheme. • “Employer in the Foyer:” set up a stand on one of our campuses to promote your organisation directly to students. • Online promotion via our student portal and social media platforms.

University of South Wales

Admiral Group plc AgustaWestland CGI Civil Service Fast Stream Deloitte Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Enterprise Rent-a-Car GE Aviation HMRC IBM Legal & General Lidl UK L'Oreal Kier Group plc Network Rail Office for National Statistics PwC Wahaca Wales Audit Office

“Excellent help from staff throughout the event and the students were active and engaging.” IBM (Opportunities Fair attendee)

“Students at the Opportunities Fair were excellent – very well prepared!” CGI (Opportunities Fair attendee)

www.southwales.ac.uk/careers | 01443 482 080

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