University is up for national employability award this spring

The University’s range of student employability support initiatives has received a nomination for a national award.

The nomination is for Best University Employability Strategy at the Targetjobs Awards alongside other Universities including Anglia Ruskin, University of Leicester and Goldsmiths, London.

It recognises the activities and opportunities at the University – led by the Changemaker team, pictured – that ensure students are as fully equipped as possible for future career success, such as:

• A busy online careers platform, with more than 37,000 individual visits in 2019
• Access to more than 2,000 organisations providing volunteering placements
• The in-house Employability Plus Awards programme that allow students to develop personal and professional skills outside of their academic studies, for instance improving their digital literacy and public speaking
• The Northampton Employment Promise which ensures students who meet eligibility criteria and haven’t found full-time employment 12 months after graduating, can secure a paid internship.

It’s not the first time Changemaker have been nominated for national awards.

In 2017, they ensured the University was ranked the 16th best university careers service at the Student Crowd University Careers Service awards and were named Overall Winner for Developing Employability by Abintegro that same year and again in 2018.

Wray Irwin, Director for Employability and Enterprise, said: “We are up for an award against some strong competitors which in itself is a reflection of the quality and strength of the employability service UON offers.

“It’s a big result to be nominated, so I’d like to say a big thank you to the Changemaker team for their energies and to our colleagues and students for engaging with them.

“The University is 100% geared toward improving the employability chances of our students. We know we have a lot to shout about, so it’s fingers crossed for further recognition at the Targetjobs ceremony in the spring.”

The Targetjobs Awards will be held in London on 2 April. See the full list of awards and nominees on their website.