Provision of Careers Education, Information and Guidance
Provision of Careers Education, Information and Guidance at the University of Nottingham
A. Specialist central provision
CEIG is provided centrally by the Careers and Employability Service. Its mission is to promote the employability of Nottingham students, their access to part-time employment and to work experience while studying, and their successful transition to the next stage of their careers after graduation.
A Statement of Service, available through the web site for the Careers and Employability Service at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers/index.aspx , sets out the activities of the Service, its position and reporting lines within the University, the eligibility and entitlements of its users, and its professional values and opening hours.
In line with the QAA Code of Practice for CEIG, the Careers and Employability Service is accredited with the Guidance Accreditation Board under the matrix Standard for information, advice and guidance services.
B. Access to specialist central provision
The University does not undertake to replicate the same level of physical facilities to support CEIG at each of its campuses on grounds of cost-effectiveness. Free bus services are provided between University Park, Jubilee and Sutton Bonington campuses to enable all students based at these campuses to access the physical provision.
The physical facilities of the Careers and Employability Service are located principally at University Park, with a more limited facility also at the Sutton Bonington campus. For postgraduate students in the Business School there are two specialist Careers Advisers on site at Jubilee Campus.
All registered students of the University have access from any of the University's campuses to on-line career development and information resources provided centrally via an extensive website (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers), and to information and advice provided by the Careers and Employability Service by email. Both current students and alumni of the University can also obtain passwords to access restricted areas of the website from off campus.
C. The role of Schools and of academic staff
The contribution which it is appropriate for academics to make in the delivery of CEIG will differ widely according to their experience and background, to the vocationality of their academic discipline, and to the needs and interests of individual students. In some cases it may be appropriate, for example, for academics to offer information and advice on careers related to a particularly vocational discipline such as medicine, or about a career field in which they have particular experience and/or contacts. Similarly, it may be appropriate in some cases for Schools to broker contacts between students and employers, and to organise events for employers or the distribution of employer information. It is very likely to be appropriate for academics to offer information and advice on postgraduate study and research related to their discipline, and on academic careers. A key role of personal tutors is to be able to refer students appropriately to other sources of help including specialist central service.
Each School is required to produce its own statement about its role in supporting CEIG for its students. These statements should address -
• details of any aspects of CEIG which students can expect to be provided by School staff
• steps taken to ensure that the stated role of the School in relation to CEIG provision is understood by School staff, and carried out consistently
• the arrangements in place as appropriate to ensure effective collaboration with the Careers and Employability Service in accordance with the guidelines in the University Quality Manual (see D below)
• steps taken to ensure effective and appropriate referral of students to the Careers and Employability Service.
D. Support for Schools from the Careers and Employability Service
The University Quality Manual, in a section on Career Development, provides a framework for effective collaboration between Schools and the Careers and Employability Service. A Careers Adviser is designated for each School to act as the point of contact and communication with the Centre, and to plan and co-ordinate the Centre's activities within the School. Schools are required to designate an academic careers contact to liaise with the designated Careers Adviser in planning and co-ordinating the Centre's activities within the School.
The Centre offers a range of activities to be run in Schools except in Medicine & Health Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Education. These are listed in the Student Employability Programme which is updated each year.
The Centre also provides mini-reports for each School on the First Destinations of its graduates, and an input to staff development for academic staff, provided by the SEDU, on the issues surrounding the provision of CEIG in higher education.