Employability and Careers Services

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the scheme involve?
To achieve the Skills for Work Certificate you must:
attend a 60 min briefing session delivered by Employability and Careers Services complete a minimum of 50 hours of work experience between the date you attend your briefing session and submission(this can include internships, full-time or part-time work, voluntary work or a mixture of all of these. Work shadowing cannot count towards the 50 hours, as you need to be taking an active role)
undertake an occupational study, which is assessed
complete a skills record sheet based on the work experience, which is also assessed.
 
Finding work experience
 
It is your responsibility to find your own work experience. Start to think about a graduate job you would like to do when you finish university. What experience do you need in order to apply for the role? Can you find some experience that lets you develop skills relevant to that job? Is your CV written in a winning way that will really sell you? Do you know where you are going to start looking for this experience?
 Employability and Careers Services can help you, please contact us.
Support throughout Skills for Work We have online support in place, whilst you are working towards the Skills for Work Certificate. This will help to answer any quick questions you may have, or voice any ideas / thoughts to others working towards the certificate. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and the website.
 
What counts as work experience?
 
You can count any part-time work, vacation work, volunteering, internships and placements within your course. You just need to have completed at least 50 hours of experience. You are welcome to use a blend of all experience. For example, if you work part-time and volunteer you can use both pieces of work experience.
 
Can I use volunteering or placements from my course to count towards the Certificate?

Yes! Simply think about the skills you are developing and how you can evidence this from your tool kit of experience.
 
Can I only count experience once I have enrolled onto the Skills for Work Certificate?

No, you can use experience gained during the academic year in which you enrol. So, you can count hours right back to the start of the academic year.
 
What if I don’t have enough work experience by the submission deadline?

We would hope that you will enrol and submit your Certificate documents in the same academic year. However, if you have having trouble reaching the minimum 50 hours, do let us know so we can discuss this.
 
What if I miss a submission date?

Submission dates run on a termly basis. You have the opportunity to submit your completed work to be assessed once a term. For example, if you miss the December deadline, you can submit your work in readiness for the next deadline. You are not committed to one deadline; they are set in order for us to manage assessing the submissions collectively.
 
When will I get feedback on my submitted work?

We only assess work once a term to ensure that it is assessed consistently. Thus, your work will not be assessed until the termly deadline has passed. You can usually expect feedback within two weeks of the deadline.
 
What if my part-time work is not related to a job I want to go into after University?

It is quite possible that you are currently doing part-time work to support your studies and you have no intention of continuing this once you graduate. Employers recognise and expect students to be undertaking work that supports their studies. What they look for in an application is your ability to reflect on your transferable skills and make them relevant to the job you are applying for.
 
What skills could I talk about?

This completely depends on your situation. What skills are you developing while you are undertaking work experience? What skills will you need to demonstrate when you are applying for a graduate job? Some of the top graduate recruiters look for the following skills: communication, teamwork, leadership, time management, commercial awareness, professionalism, critical analysis – research others, there are many more.
 
Can I use work experience from outside the UK?

Yes. You would include this work on your CV so of course, you can include this work within your Certificate as long as it has taken place within the academic year which you are enrolled in.
 
The word assessment makes this sound academic, what is the assessment like?

All work is submitted via turnitin on Blackboard. Your work is then assessed by an Employability Adviser who will review how well you sell your skills and experience.
 
Is there a grade for this work?

The result is pass/fail. However, the term fail is not appropriate here; more that there is room for improvement around your ability to effectively sell your skills and experience. After all, you’ll be doing this for personal development and we want you to have the best possible chance when you are applying for actual graduate jobs. Thus, you would have full feedback and the opportunity to tweak your responses and resubmit.

This sounds great, how do I take part?
 
-Book onto a Skills for Work intro session at www.canterbury.ac.uk/careers/events
-Read more on Skills for Work Certificate www.canterbury.ac.uk/skillsforwork-Speak to Employability and Careers Services about Skills for Work careers@canterbury.ac.uk

 follow @RDouglasSkills

add 'Employabilityand Careers' as a friend.   We have a Skills for Work group

Alternatively you can see us in the usual ways, at our daily Drop-in or by appointment.