|
|
|||
The Careers Advisory Service's Statement of Service, which is updated annually, defines the University's careers education, information and guidance (CEIG) policy, and lists students' entitlements and responsibilities. It defines the range of information, advice and guidance (IAG) services offered free-of-charge to students at the University, by the Careers Advisory Service (CAS). These services encompass many aspects of career development and planning and provide the opportunity for students to realise their vocational potential.
The range of facilities on offer encourage students to analyse their values, interests, skills and abilities, supplemented by information about employment opportunities and further study, and enables them to make rational career decisions. The Careers Advisers work with academic staff on many CEIG activities.
The operational objectives of the Careers Advisory Service are:
(The CAS achieved the Matrix Quality Standard in 2004. As part of our continuing membership of AGCAS we will be seeking re-accreditation every 6 years. A full copy of the Statement of Service is available on the Careers Advisory Service homepage at www.kent.ac.uk/careers )
Information about the services on offer, and the links between them, are widely and effectively publicised, (on notice boards; by the use of electronic media; via departments; in campus newspapers; in occasional publications and within the University of Kent Careers Information Room), clearly explaining for whom the services are intended and how these services can be accessed. The CAS Marketing Rationale outlines these services.
CEIG services are impartial and confidential interactions between a member of the CAS staff and the client. These include:
This complies with the Guidance Council Code of Principles; the Standards of the Kent Guidance Consortium; the AGCAS/AGR/NUS Code of Conduct and the Student Charter. The University’s equal opportunities policy underpins all aspects of our provision of services to undergraduates and graduates.
The work of the CAS also complies with statutory requirements and relevant UK legislation. A file containing this legislation is updated and circulated to staff annually.
The Careers Advisory Service collaborates with student support units within the University, by exchanging information and referring clients to those units which are able to offer the most appropriate guidance, support and information. This is most likely to occur within the University or to either the University of Kent Alumni Network (contact with alumni involved in an occupation of interest to the client).
A range of careers material aimed at minority groups is freely available in the Careers Information Room and in the HE Resources rooms in the Associate Colleges, and these groups also have dedicated sections on the CAS web site. The 24 hour availability of IT-based careers information guarantees part-time students access to CAS resources. A review of the facilities available within the CAS for students with disabilities, was carried out in the Summer of 2001 by the Disability Support Coordinator and appropriate adjustments and improvements made by the CAS.
A Careers Adviser for University of Kent students who are studying at South Kent College and Canterbury College, provides a range of services to these colleges. Students of both colleges may also access any of the facilities available to University of Kent students on the main campus. A careers adviser is based at the University of Kent at Medway and provides a range of services at this site.
CEIG provision is subject to the institution's quality assurance procedures. This involves the presentation of an Annual Report to the Student Services Committee, and then to Senate and Council.
The Careers Advisory Service is part of Student Services at the University of Kent, and as such contact with other support services and collaboration with them is an inherent part of the daily provision.
The Careers Advisory Service works with academic departments to ensure that students are properly prepared for a successful transition to employment or further study. A range of CEIG activities ensure that students are well prepared for their future careers. These include:
Members of the Careers Advisory Service are involved in many different forums with their academic colleagues. The Director of the Careers Advisory Service was a member of the Key Skills WP and a Careers Adviser is a member of the Key Skills Group. The Director is a member of the Equality Promotions Group and the Student Services Committee. A Careers Adviser is a member of the Personal Development Planning Working Group. Careers Advisers are members of the Equality Network Group and the Staff Development Network. At least one Careers Adviser was involved with each academic department, prior to, and during QAA subject reviews. Since September 2002, the Director has been a co-opted member of Senate.
First Destination Information is available to all departments for quality compliance purposes (both internal and external) and regular contact is maintained when the HESA First Destination Survey is undertaken by the CAS.
The Marketing Rationale document outlines the purpose, scope and responsibility of a variety of strategies aimed at informing students and staff about the range of CAS services available to them. A dedicated web page is available for staff on the CAS web site.
Information on the services available to students is provided through letters to all students, posters, the CAS web page, emails and via departments. Numerous points of contact with the CAS are easily accessible (by e-mail, telephone, fax, letter and personal visit). Information and advice to help users of the CAS decide what services would be appropriate to use are provided through the Career Planning Guide and other pamphlets, the home page on the WWW, at the reception desk in the Careers Advisory Service, talks or by using the Quick Query service offered by Careers Advisers. A list of the services of the CAS and how they are advertised is contained in the Marketing Rationale document.
Information Technology has been used by the CAS since the early nineties to inform students about careers and employment. The CAS received European funding through the Interreg Programme in order to develop an IT based, interactive careers guidance system called CAROUSEL in 1996. The content of CAROUSEL has now been transferred to the comprehensive CAS website which offers students the opportunity of finding out more about potential careers as well as offering extensive links to employers. Students may also use the PROSPECTS website, the graduate careers site produced by the HE Careers Services Unit, an agency of UK Universities. IN 2006, the CAS introduced an online vacancy database using Prospects Net software.
Employability and skills development is promoted through the CAS produced booklet on 'Career Management Skills' which is available to all first years. This offers advice on how to acquire the appropriate skills necessary for employment.
The CAS provides guidance to University of Kent graduates, and offers them free internet access for employment purposes on the University of Kent Canterbury campus. In certain circumstances, graduates of other UK universities may access the CAS for up to three years after their graduation.
The CAS works with external organisations on behalf of students by:
(The Director of the Careers Advisory Service is a former Chair of the Kent Guidance Consortium Governing Council, a member of the Kent and Medway Information, Advice and Guidance Partnership.)
The CAS documents Networking Policy and Procedure and Referral Policy and Procedure outline the current scope of networking practices within careers information, advice and guidance at the university.
Information, advice and guidance at all levels of provision is staffed and delivered by qualified, competent and committed practitioners.
The CAS has devised its own Record of Induction to be used as a local addition to the centralised university induction procedure. This ensures that all new staff are made properly aware of the correct standards and procedures employed by the CAS. Each member of staff is regularly appraised.
Appropriate training is offered to all staff, who regularly attend updating courses such as Disability Awareness and IT training. Careers Advisers visit employers and professional bodies to update occupational knowledge.
Academic staff who are involved in CEIG activities keep in regular contact with Careers Advisers, so that their knowledge can be updated. During internal and external reviews, meetings are held with members of the academic staff to provide information about careers activities within specific departments.
Each service offered to students is monitored on an annual basis. This is achieved by distributing questionnaires at the conclusion of talks, seminars and interviews; by encouraging questionnaires about the Careers Information Room to be completed by student users; by using built-in monitoring procedures for the IT facilities on offer. Daily interviews with clients, in the normal course of business, also produce information about the services on offer. This information is discussed at weekly meetings of the Careers Advisory Service's staff. The information provided helps the Careers Advisory Service (CAS) at the University improve its services to students. This information is used to determine both what the CAS is doing well and to consider areas that students wish to have improved.
Any complaints about the services offered by the CAS should in the first instance be raised with the member of staff offering that service. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the result of the response given by the member of staff, to whom the complaint was made, then a written complaint should be lodged with the Director of Student Services within ten days. If a reply is not received within ten days, then the complainant may raise the matter with the Secretary of Council.
© These pages are copyright of the University of Kent Careers Advisory Service.
The information and advice given in these pages is primarily for
the benefit of University of Kent students and graduates.
You are most welcome to link to these pages but should not use content in other ways without our permission.
Page maintained by Bruce Woodcock
Please email
me if you wish to make any suggestions which would improve our services.
