Careers and Employability Celebration Evening

I was delighted to attend the Careers and Employability celebration this evening. The event celebrated the amazing achievements of so many of our students who have engaged in a range of co-curricular activities this year, including acting as Student Mentors, participating in Enterprise challenges and completing the Cardiff Award.  The evening was hosted by the President of the Students’ Union, Elliot Howells, in Y Plas. As always, it is a joy to see the dedication and commitment shown by our students to activities that bring support and empowerment to others.

The programmes showcased tonight are examples of the University’s strategic commitment to producing graduates who are well-rounded, flexible mobile and highly employable:

• The Student Mentor Programme sees existing students providing valuable support for incoming first-years through the transition from school to university. During 2014/15 over 200 mentors supported over 1,800 mentees, making a real and practical difference to new students’ lives.
• The Enterprise Team supports students and graduates to start new ventures and to demonstrate their ability to seize an opportunity and put forward ideas, whatever career pathway they choose. Over 1,300 students participated in events run by the team this year alongside their studies.
• The Cardiff Award is a rigorous programme that requires self-management, motivation and determination to juggle academic work against its demands. This year, 215 students completed the programme, benefitting from the opportunities it provides to meet with and learn from employers and thereby to prepare to compete successfully in the jobs market.

Congratulations to all whose achievements were honoured tonight and many thanks to the teams of staff who help to make these programmes so successful.