Kingston University's Careers and Employability Service nominated for prestigious TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Award

Posted Tuesday 3 August 2021

Kingston University's Careers and Employability Service has been nominated for a national award for its inclusive approach to ensuring students are prepared for the world of work once they graduate. It has been shortlisted in the best university employability strategy category in the annual TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards, with the nominees selected by a group of industry professionals.

Kingston is one of 10 universities in the United Kingdom to be nominated for the prestigious award. The University's Careers and Employability Service works with academic and professional teams across the institution to ensure students are equipped with the tools needed by employers and have the confidence to thrive in the job market after graduation.

Its work includes collaborating with community organisations and employer partners, hosting active skills workshops and arranging industry and alumni speaker events for Kingston students. The team has also increasingly used digital platforms to work with even more students as well as launching the ELEVATE programme – an initiative designed to help provide Black students from the UK with the support, guidance and tools to aim high and achieve their full potential.

The team have also continued to offer the Graduate Support Package which offers participants with support, alumni mentoring, e-learning and Graduate Internship opportunities through which graduates secure eight weeks of paid professional experience and a real assessment centre experience. Last year more than a third of eligible graduates signed up to the scheme, with hundreds of applications made for 100 summer internship places.

The University's Head of Graduate Outcomes and Employability Skills Ali Orr said the award shortlisting was a reflection of the commitment and effort from the whole team put in to everything they do. "We are delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award for the strategy we have developed over the past couple of years," he said. "This has included strengthened relationships with academic staff through our Faculty Employability Partners and Employability Community of Practice, introduction of our biannual Careers Festival and Employers@KU events, the launch of the award-winning Elevate programme, co-creation and delivery with our Student Careers Coordinators and an enhanced Graduate Support Package. The nomination is richly deserved recognition for the fantastic work of the whole team and the support and collaboration of colleagues across the institution."

The award will be voted on by a panel of graduate employers and will be one of 30 given out at a gala dinner at Grosvenor House in London on 1 October. The ceremony will be attended by almost 1,000 guests from institutions and employers across the United Kingdom