I’ve been reading this week’s special reports in the Evening Standard about youth unemployment and it’s sad to see that graduates have a tough job ahead of them finding employment in today’s jobs market. However, I was really impressed when I caught up with Ian Dunn at Coventry University to speak about some of the things they are doing to give its students the best start to their future.
Ian told me that an impressive 94% of Coventry University’s graduates go on to employment or further study, which is a fantastic number considering the competition out there. He also mentioned a range of initiatives the University has set up to help make students more employable.
First up, the University has created links with a range of businesses enabling students to take on work placements and summer internships, part of which involves students being set live briefs which gives them real-world experience before leaving university. It has also set up a scheme called Add+vantage, a range of courses and initiatives to help equip students with valuable employability skills. Students can do anything from volunteering, to taking a course in leadership, right through to learning a new language or how to use digital tools such as Adobe Photoshop. What a great way to boost their CV’s and job prospects!
With the topic we’ve all been talking about for the last year soon set to become a reality, the increase in tuition fees, Coventry University is also introducing four pay-bands across its degree courses to reflect the level of teaching and facilities that students will have access to. In some of the more vocational degrees, such as Media & Communications, students will receive free Macbook Pro laptops with Adobe software pre-installed which will help students develop industry standard skills!
Is your university helping students to find employment through creative initiatives? If so, we’d love to hear from you!
