Employability Programme for Education BA students

The Education BA(Hons) employability day is an annual event organised for second year students prior to their eight-week placement. This year’s event took place in February and included a number of guest speakers from both inside and outside the university.

The aim of the annual event is to help ensure students are fully prepared for life after graduation; that they have the skills and knowledge to secure their dream job and that they are confident and ready for work.

Throughout the day a series of sessions took place covering topics such as optimising employability opportunities through placements, identifying and demonstrating employability skills, understanding competencies and what employers look for, examining job specifications and application content and enhancing application success. The sessions were interactive and involved students putting theory into practice by shortlisting candidates for a post.

Industry guest speakers included a local college principal, the south east area manager for an education recruitment agency, a former student who is working as a child support caseworker for children in care, an HR Director and one of our placement hosts from a Brighton non-formal leaning College.

In addition, third year students spoke about their placement experiences and a number of graduates returned to discuss how they secured employment as well as share the experiences and challenges faced to date in their careers. Members of the university’s Active Student Volunteering Service also attended the day.

The event was greatly received by both students and guest speakers alike and principle of BHASVIC, Chris Thomson, told us he was “very impressed with the level of engagement and quality of questions on the day”.

Work placements and a focus on employability is a vital part of the Education BA course and this annual event highlights the level of support students can expect from our dedicated team here at the University of Brighton.