Canterbury

Careers and employability

Employability and skills

Find out more about the careers-focussed courses, guidance and opportunities we offer on our Employability and skills page.

Employers are looking for more than just academic knowledge: they expect you to use your time at university to gain employability and life skills. The University of Kent is committed to enhancing the employability of all our students, to enable them to flourish in a competitive, fast-moving, knowledge-based community.

Building on Kent's success as the region's leading institution for student employability, we offer many opportunities to gain worthwhile experience and develop the specific skills and aptitused that employers value.

Careers advice

Paid work

Paid work through temporary or part-time jobs helps to meet your living costs and gives you the opportunity to gain practical experience and work-related skills while you are studying.

The Careers and Employability Service is available at any stage of your studies for advice and information on your options after you graduate. These options may include employment, further study or time out before making a career decision.

The careers advisers at the University of Kent are not here to tell you what you ‘should’ do; our role is to provide a full range of information, advice and guidance to help you come to your own decisions. We believe that choosing a career is a process, not an event, that all aspects of your time at University contribute to that process and that it should begin as early as possible.

We start to work with you from your first year onwards to help you to develop the employability skills that will help you to stand out in your job search. During Welcome Week, you receive a careers pack that introduces the Careers and Employability Service and the support that we offer throughout your time at University.

This support includes:

  • an extensive website which includes introductory information on over 100 popular graduate careers and also covers topics such as career choice, employability skills, work experience, and postgraduate study
  • an online vacancy database with a wide range of local and national employment opportunities
  • a well-stocked Careers Resources Room, providing reading material on occupations, employers, job-seeking skills and much more
  • personal advice and guidance from careers advisers including in-depth vocational guidance interviews and a ‘drop-in’ service to help students with quick queries
  • careers education programmes and information linked to specific degree subjects
  • Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to keep you up to date with news and events
  • talks and seminars on general topics related to choosing a career and opportunities for graduates
  • help with developing employability skills through work experience (including career-related internships and vacation experience), extra-curricular activities and other interests
  • The opportunity to achieve a Careers Employability Award, open to all students and delivered through Kent's virtual learning environment, which offers a flexible and interactive way to help you to assess and develop these skills and to present these to employers
  • talks and workshops on job-seeking and selection, with advice on making successful applications and honing your interview technique
  • visits and talks from graduate employers, including the annual Careers and Employability Fair
  • help with CVs, application forms and interview preparation
  • information on graduate destinations
  • an Alumni Careers Network that puts you in touch with Kent graduates for a first-hand insight into careers.
 

Publishing Office - © University of Kent

The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T: +44 (0)1227 764000

Last Updated: 12/04/2013