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  CAREERS ADVISORY SERVICE

UNIVERSITY OF KENT

STATEMENT OF SERVICE

Introduction

The Careers Advisory Service (CAS) at the University of Kent offers a range of information, advice and guidance (IAG) services free-of-charge to undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University. See Appendices 1-4 for other categories of user. These services encompass many aspects of career development and planning and provide the opportunity for students to realise their vocational potential. Facilities will be available to encourage students to analyse their values, interests, skills and abilities, supplemented by information about employment opportunities and further study, enabling them to make rational career decisions. A full copy as well as a summary of this statement is available at the CAS building. A full copy of this statement is also available for all students to see on the Careers Advisory Service homepage at http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers

The CAS aims to:

 

What we offer

We offer, free-of-charge, all of the following services to full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University, as well as to graduates of the university within three years of their graduation (after completion of a registration form):

Careers Guidance Interviews

Careers guidance by appointment with a Careers Adviser and lasting anything up to one hour (typically 30 minutes).

Quick Query Advice

Drop-in sessions for careers information and advice available between 10:30am - 12:30pm and 2:00pm - 5:00pm during the normal working week at the Canterbury campus (referred to as on call). Sessions for drop-in interviews at Associate Colleges arranged locally.

Careers Advisory Service Web home page

With links to employers and educational institutions @ http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers

Careers Information Room

Containing employer files and directories, careers information reference books, files and booklets, occupational casebooks, prospectuses outlining courses of postgraduate study in the UK, stand alone inter-active computer careers guidance tools and, to a more limited extent, international information. The information held is predominantly in English as it is a requirement of the university that students are able to conduct their studies in English. There are, however, exceptions made when certain careers material, especially employer information, covers employment in other countries and the text is presented in the original language of that country. Additional formats, such as large print/Braille/audio can be provided with two weeks notice in conjunction with the Disability & Dyslexia Support Unit of the University. The information will be made available in three main ways: for reference only; for limited borrowing; for taking away free of charge. The only charges will be for photocopies made at a rate of 5p per copy. Careers information is also available on the Associate College and Medway sites.

DVDs and CD-ROMs

Information from employers in a range of career areas available at the CAS

Careers Education 

Arranged in conjunction with subject staff for a number of departments

Careers talks and workshops

For specific groups of students - available each term on either an appointments or drop-in basis

The Careers Network

Offers students the opportunity to contact Alumni and discuss career options

The Careers Fair

Either a commercial careers fair or an Alumni careers fair will take place on campus for one day each year to offer advice/information about opportunities to students

Vacation Bulletins

Produced monthly to provide details about career-related work and courses and jobs during the vacations

Vacancy Database

National and local job vacancies for final-year students and recent graduates. Utilizes the Prospects Net vacancy database system.

Destination Information

Destinations of University of Kent graduates and postgraduates are available to departments upon request and are displayed on the CAS website

Employer links

Contact is maintained by letter, Email, fax, telephone and by visits

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; through departments; in campus newspapers; in occasional publications and within the Careers Information Room) clearly explaining who the services are for and how they can be accessed.

How to contact us

The address, telephone and fax details for the CAS are:
Careers Advisory Service
University of Kent
Canterbury
Kent CT2 7ND
Tel. 01227 (UK) or +44 1227 (International)
823481 / 823480 direct lines
764000 for University of Kent switchboard   Fax. 823165
WWW: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers
Email: careerhelp@kent.ac.uk or see individual email details for staff on the following page.

The CAS is located at the entrance to Keynes College driveway on the main Canterbury campus. It is open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday throughout the year. These opening hours apply in both term-time and vacations (except when the University is closed over the Christmas period). The CAS is also normally closed for other public holidays and bank holidays. During the lunch hour (12.30 - 1.30) the Careers Information Room will remain open but will not be staffed during vacations – a member of staff will be on duty during term-time.  

CAREERS SERVICE STAFF

Here are details of the staff at the CAS. Their roles and responsibilities are outlined and contact details given. The nine staff members at the University of Kent each have extensive experience of work. Six staff have more than 20 years of experience in careers at the University of Kent. The Director ensures all staff comply with this Statement of Service as well as the Guidance Council’s Code of Principles.

John Greer Director of Student Services (within which the CAS is located). (MA Dublin; DipPM Strathclyde; DipCG) . Email: jwg (or J.W.Greer@kent.ac.uk) Telephone ext.7593.

CAREERS ADVISERS PROVIDING I.A.G.:

Bruce Woodcock Careers Adviser (BSc Sheffield; DipCG) - actuarial science, biodiversity conservation & management, biosciences, chemistry, comparative literary studies, computer systems engineering, computing, electronics, English, forensic science, maths, microbiology, physics. Email: bw [or:B.E.Woodcock@kent.ac.uk] Telephone ext.7594. Book appointments with reception on ext.3299. Duty times: usually Tuesday (and occasionally Thursday) mornings, and Wednesday and Friday afternoons.

Tim Reed Careers Adviser (MA Kent; BA Warwick; DipCG) - American studies, anthropology, architecture, business administration, classical & archaeological studies, contemporary arts, cultural studies, drama & theatre studies, European arts, film studies, health & social care, history & theory of art, industrial relations & human resource management, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, social work, social policy, sociology, urban studies, visual & performed arts. Email: tmr [or:T.M.Reed@kent.ac.uk] Telephone ext.7595. Book appointments with reception on ext.3299. Duty times: usually Friday (and occasionally Thursday) mornings, and Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

Jennifer Keaveney Careers adviser/information officer (MSc Birkbeck; BA Hull; PgDip Librarianship) - accountancy, BAPS, criminology, economics, European studies, history, law, management science, modern languages, politics & international relations, P.P.E., war studies. Email: jak3 [or:J.A.Keaveney@kent.ac.uk] Telephone ext.7600. Book appointments with reception on ext.3299. Duty times: usually Monday and Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.

Jenny Walters Careers Adviser for HNC,HND, Certificate, Diploma and degree courses at the University of Kent at Medway and the Associate Colleges (BA Reading; PGCE; DipCG) - Business Studies, Fine Art, Visual Design and Advertising, Furniture, Fine Craft and Restoration, Multimedia Design, Electronics with Manufacturing Engineering, Building Studies, Care Practice, Early Childhood Studies, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Plant & Process Engineering, Fashion and Textiles, Certificate in Management Studies, Diploma in Management Studies, Certificate in Complementary Therapies, Leisure, Public Services, Tourism, Media Production, Music Production, Theatre, Animal Management, Computing, Construction.  Email: J.Walters@kent.ac.uk. Book appointments by email.

INFORMATION AND SUPPORT STAFF:

Information and Support staff are often the first point of contact at the Careers Service. They can help with general enquiries, provide information from the Careers Library and outline the facilities we offer. They do not provide advice or guidance. They are all highly experienced in providing support for a university careers service. They have all undertaken customer liaison training as well as university staff development programmes in university systems and IT facilities. They are:

What you can expect from us and what we can expect from you

You can expect from us:

 

In addition the CAS has a Feedback Mechanism and Complaints Procedure as detailed below:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/feedback/feedback.html

What we expect from you:

The Careers Advisory Service expects clients to:

How we can act on your behalf

We can act on your behalf in each of the following ways:

The limitations of our service

The Careers Advisory Service at the University of Kent provides a service aimed mainly at the current full-time and part-time student body studying at the university. We do not normally provide IAG to individuals who are not currently studying at the University of Kent or indeed to non-graduates. We will only provide guidance to our own graduates, and in certain circumstances graduates of other UK universities, for up to three years after their graduation. Individuals who are uncertain about their eligibility to use the service should contact us in the first instance.

The opening hours of the CAS, as detailed in How to contact us, indicate that the office is only open on weekdays (Monday-Friday). Other facilities, such as the CAS webpage, are available 24hrs a day.

The CAS at Canterbury is located within one building on the university campus. In order to access hard copies of reference material students need to visit us in the first instance.

There are four careers advisers, the Director of the CAS, and four support staff (two of whom are part-time employees). These staff numbers have not radically altered since the 1970’s.

How you can help us improve the service

You can help us improve the CAS in each of the following ways:

John Greer is responsible for the monitoring and evaluating of staff adherence to this Statement of Service as well as ensuring that the statement is updated on an annual basis.

A summary of this statement of service is also available for all students to see on the Careers Advisory Service homepage at http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/statementsummary.htm

This statement is reviewed annually and was last reviewed in September 2009.

 

APPENDICES TO THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT CAREERS ADVISORY SERVICE STATEMENT OF SERVICE

APPENDIX 1 – UNIVERSITY OF KENT GRADUATES

All of the provision made to existing students applies to graduates of the university for up to three years after their graduation.

APPENDIX 2 – GRADUATES OF OTHER UNIVERSITIES

Graduates of universities other than the University of Kent (within three years of graduation) will be offered services free of charge as follows:

 

APPENDIX 3 – UNIVERSITY OF KENT STAFF

The guidance services of the CAS are not designed to be used by members of staff of the university. However, at the discretion of the Director of the CAS, these services may from time to time be made available to staff, but on an individual and case by case basis only.

The services primarily available to staff include the following:

 

APPENDIX 4 – EMPLOYERS

The guidance services of the CAS are not designed to be used by graduate recruiters. The services primarily available to employers of graduates include the following:

These services are free of charge, with the exception of some presentation facilities where these are either booked through the university’s hospitality unit or where refreshments are provided.

 

  Careers home page
Employability skills
Work experience
Choosing a career
What career would suit me?
Postgraduate
What can I do with my degree
I want to work in ....

International Students
Careers events on campus
Applications & interviews
Example CVs

Practice interviews
Aptitude tests
Vacancies
University home page

© 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.