Double celebration as two students land Mitie good jobs before they’ve even graduated

Two University of Northampton students from the Criminal and Corporate Investigation programme have secured jobs before they’ve even graduated.

Students Chloe Aley and Harriet Alexander, both from Milton Keynes, have secured jobs with Mitie, the UK’s leading facilities management and intelligence-led security business. They will be working within the Northampton-based Mitie Security office in one of its specialist Security Operations Centres (SOC), working with a national retailer.

Speaking about her decision to study the course, Harriet said: “My Dad was a police officer, and his career was a big inspiration for me. I always knew I wanted a career disrupting criminal activity. The Criminal and Corporate Investigation course at Northampton was exactly what I was looking for from a University experience.

“From the first moment I listened to the tutors at an open day, I knew this course was for me. I think the course perfectly blends the academic and practical skills you need, developing your knowledge to help you see the big picture of how criminals operate, and how to detect, deter and disrupt criminal activity. The teaching team all have excellent backgrounds in major investigations and are extremely knowledgeable about what they’re teaching.”

Chloe and Harriet, join the intelligence and technology-led security team, which is manned 24 hours a day by highly skilled security specialists, monitoring for potential threats and security risks for Mitie’s retail client.

Chloe, who has already been working with Mitie for a month, credits her studies with giving her a competitive edge when she was applying for the role with Mitie. She said: “The course has lots of practical and role-play scenarios to develop your investigation skills. When I was applying for the role with Mitie, I was able to share lots of examples of the kind of work I’ve been doing on my course. I believe, it was these experiences and opportunities, and the confidence it gave me, which helped me to land the job.

“Now I’ve started working, I feel even more confident, I’m using so much of the things from the course in my job, and I’m really enjoying working for Mitie.”

Partway through their studies, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and they’ve finished their University studies largely online and remote from the University, but that hasn’t stopped them.

Speaking about her experience, Harriet said: “Studying in a pandemic has been a bit odd, and I was initially a bit worried about what it would be like studying at home. The tutors have been extremely supportive, and I’ve coped better than I expected to. I feel fortunate that the teaching team encourages you to be your best, and you can tell they want you to succeed.”

The University of Northampton’s Criminal and Corporate Investigation programme has been specifically developed to create the skilled, graduate-level, investigation professionals needed to manage these corporate crime risks within the security sector. Throughout their studies, students work closely with Mitie, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which forges links between industry experts, students, and academics at the University to enhance the student experience.