Future Ready: One-to-one Support
The Future Ready: One-to-one Support programme is a mentoring scheme which matches you with an alumni supporter.
Through this partnership, your alumni supporter will help you to generate career ideas, prepare for work experience and provide insight into workplace culture. We will match you to your alumni based on your personality and motivations which will give you a solid base for a strong one-to-one relationship.
The programme will involve workshops hosted by the Careers team and the following four months you have exclusive access to your supporter.
What does the programme involve?
The programme will run from February to June.
February
A series of four compulsory skills workshops will be hosted by our advisers. You will be expected to attend one workshop per week. These workshops will prepare you for your one-to-one sessions with your alumni supporter. Topics will include:
- professional communication skills
- career planning
- setting goals
- connecting with your alumni supporter
To offer flexibility around your studies, each workshop will be repeated three times and will be offered on Monday evening, Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning. If you are unable to attend, we expect you to catch up on the content by watching the prerecorded webinar but you will miss the discussions and the opportunity to network.
An added benefit of the One-to-one Support programme is the peer-to-peer support network you will build. All students on the programme will be added to a private Microsoft Teams group where you will have access to resources, attend online drop-in sessions and interact with your peers and the Careers team using the 'Ask a question' facility. You can use the chat function on the group to share good news stories, ask for help and share your experiences of being on the Future Ready programme.
March to June
The one-to-one sessions with your alumni supporter will be held online and it is your responsibility to initiate contact and arrange the first meeting. We know this may seem daunting, but please don't worry, we will prepare you for this during the workshops and we are on-hand to support you every step of the way.
The supporters will vary in age and experience, but what they will have in common is a desire to help you think about your future career and build your career confidence.
A reflection workshop will be held at the end of the programme to help you think about your experience and your next steps.
How will the alumni support you?
Through the February workshops, the Careers team will help you to identify meaningful goals. For example, this could be around narrowing down your career ideas, preparing for work experience or gaining an insight into the workplace.
You will work towards these goals with the help from your alumni supporter. During your one-to-one interactions, they will listen to your goals and career aspirations, ask questions to help you think in more detail and may set bitesize tasks to help move you closer to achieving your goals.
Who can apply for the programme?
There are 50 places available open to first and penultimate year students who were in receipt of free school meals at school.
If you've not thought about your future career and haven't developed a strong network outside the university, this programme could be just right for you.
We are looking for students who want to begin their career journey and set themselves goals to help them move forward.
How to apply
Applications will open in mid-October and close in mid-November. More information about the application process will appear on this page and all successful applicants will be informed in early December ready for the February start.