Warwick Opportunity
Employability and Skills / Widening Opportunity / International Students - Foundation Programme / Finance - Helping You Cope / Warwick in Venice / Widening Your Horizons - Study Abroad
EMPLOYABILITY AND SKILLS
THE JOBMARKET
Warwick graduates are highly employable. This is partly due to the high academic content of our degrees but also to the emphasis we put on developing skills and ensuring that for every student the Warwick experience is highly productive. Warwick graduates go into all sorts of areas of work, from major finance, manufacturing and business organisations, to the not-for-profit sector and the creative industries.
- In 2009, over 80% of Warwick students who progressed into employment were working in graduate level jobs six months after graduating
- Warwick is one of only six UK universities in the ‘Inner Circle’ from which top city firms recruit
- Warwick is in the top three of the High Fliers group of universities highly targeted by employers
- Almost 70% of graduate jobs now don’t require a specific discipline: students are recruited on the basis of the skills they have acquired during their degree at Warwick to equip them for the world of work.
HELPING YOU START YOUR CAREER
Over 300 employers visit campus each year to present themselves and to market graduate opportunities. We host five major recruitment and information fairs at Warwick each year covering a broad range of career areas. Student Careers and Skills enhances the student experience at Warwick by providing a wealth of opportunities for you to develop skills and experiences to make the most of your time here and to prepare effectively for your life after Warwick.
We offer a portfolio of services both centrally and at departmental level for undergraduates and postgraduates, whatever career direction they might choose. There is an excellent information resource available to students 24/7, and our vacancy service covers opportunities for work experience, graduate jobs, internships and sponsorship for further study.
You can work with a Careers Consultant to help you to decide which direction is best for you. Also on offer is a vast programme of workshops including job seeking skills, mock interviews, and applying for work experience. In addition, we host visits onto campus by a wide range of experts in the field who offer insights to students into building a career in their sector, including tips on how to get started. And this help is available from the very beginning of your time at Warwick – it’s never too early to start planning your career!
PREPARING AND PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE
At Warwick you’ll be encouraged from the very beginning of your university career to take responsibility for developing those skills demanded by today’s employers.The student experience at Warwick offers you many ways to do this – through your academic courses which help to develop presentation, communication and writing skills, through work experience, through participating in running the Students’ Union clubs and societies, and through dedicated support offered by Student Careers and Skills.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
Skills development opportunities offered by Student Careers and Skills cover academic, personal and career management skills, and include workshops, one-to-one sessions, and a wide range of resources and information you can access remotely, 24/7. The workshops include academic writing, communication skills, career planning, self organisation, participating in seminars, interviews and assessment centres, critical thinking, revision skills, reading and note-taking.
The Students’ Union also runs its own training programme (IMPACT) which includes courses on Managing Your Money and Time Management.
THE WARWICK ADVANTAGE
We’ve also developed the Warwick Advantage – a combination of activities and resources leading to the Warwick Advantage Award. Designed for students to record, reflect and gain recognition for their achievements, the Warwick Advantage provides students with tools to help them clearly identify, translate and articulate their skills, motivations and experiences to graduate recruiters.
Because we recognise that our graduates will be entering a global jobmarket, we have also introduced the Warwick Global Advantage Award which recognises students’ development of their global capabilities through interacting with people from different nationalities and cultures – perhaps through a work placement or volunteering in an overseas country, or an international research project. It shows that you have acquired skills that are vital in a global employment market, such as the ability to communicate across cultures.
WIDENING OPPORTUNITY
The Warwick experience is about opportunity - the opportunity for anyone with the ability to benefit from studying at one of the UK's top universities, regardless of economic or social circumstances.
Working towards this aim starts with schools – long before pupils apply to university. One of Warwick’s leading initiatives is the Goal Programme – a national scheme that supports 800 disadvantaged gifted and talented pupils aged between 14 and 18 and helps them gain the knowledge and confidence to apply to the top UK universities.
Our ‘Pathways to Law’ programme for year 11-13 pupils and their parents gives guidance on studying law and careers in law, and organises mentoring and work shadowing. And every year we offer thousands of taster courses, master classes and campus visits to pupils of all ages.
DIFFERENT ROUTES TO A DEGREE
Many of Warwick’s undergraduates return to education after raising families, during a career break, or even in retirement. If you are in this situation, you will find a range of programmes to help
you fulfil your ambitions, with flexible entry requirements that recognise previous learning and experience.
Please contact the Centre for Lifelong Learning: email lifelonglearning at warwick dot ac dot uk or visit www.warwick.ac.uk/cll
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS - FOUNDATION PROGRAMME
Warwick Higher Education Foundation Programme (HEFP) is for international students who wish to continue their studies in the UK to take a Bachelor's degree (BA, BSc, LLB or MEng, BEng). It is a nine-month foundation course, providing and accelerated learning process that will benefit students through their university life.
Students acquire the academic, English and study skills necessary to progress onto a degree at one of the top UK universities. They can choose from Business Studies, Social Science, Science/Engineering, Law or Biomedical Science, all of which allow progression to a wide choice of university degrees.
Full support is given to students throughout each of the five subject areas, including advice and training on the UCAS application process. This includes our prestigious ‘Circle of Friends’ Fair which attracts top universities to the Warwick campus. The Programme is taught in two partner colleges, Warwickshire College (Leamington Spa), and Stratford-upon-Avon College. HEFP students can use the Colleges’ facilities as well as those of the University. All students are offered accommodation close to their college.
FINANCE - HELPING YOU COPE
At Warwick we are determined that no-one with the ability to benefit from a degree course here should be prevented from doing so by financial circumstances. To supplement the support available to students from the Government, we have set up the Warwick Undergraduate Aid Programme (WUAP)
The University wants to ensure that, wherever possible, financial circumstances do not become a barrier to studying at Warwick. We offer a substantial package of financial assistance to students at the point of entry and throughout their academic careers. Financial support for home students entering the University from 2010/2011 will be provided through the Warwick Undergraduate Aid Programme (WUAP), which will offer students support to supplement the government aid on offer for each year of their course.
PART-TIME WORK ON CAMPUS
Over 50% of all UK students take on paid jobs during their time at university. At Warwick we’re realistic about this and try to help you find part-time jobs on campus with flexible hours so that you do not get behind with your studies. We have our own employment agency, Unitemps, that offers a wide range of jobs on campus, including clerical work, webdesign, retail and bar work. You can work in the Students’ Union (bar staff, stewards, technical crew), in the Arts Centre (stewards, back stage assistants) or in the Library or the University offices. You might choose to work only in the vacations, helping with the organisation of conferences, or join the Warwick Welcome Service which runs activities to help prospective students make informed decisions.
As well as providing some welcome funds, all these jobs will add to your transferable skills and will stand you in good stead for your future career.
WARWICK IN VENICE
Our unique Warwick in Venice programme gives History and History of Art students the opportunity to spend the first term of their third year in this legendary city. Warwick has been taking students to Venice since 1967 and now has its own base in the city - the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava. It's here that classes are given by the Warwick staff who accompany students on the Venice term, and it also has a library and a computer room.
All students who have taken part in the Venice Programme agree that it is an amazing experience. You become part of the life of a unique city - our Venice administrator finds houses and flats for the whole term; you learn another language (you study Italian before you go to Venice) and, most important of all, you see the subjects you are studying in their original surroundings – an opportunity that only exists at Warwick!
WIDENING YOUR HORIZONS - STUDY ABROAD
At Warwick we offer you the opportunity to build into your degree a time of study or work abroad. We have long-standing exchange programmes with many prestigious universities and each year we welcome students from over 40 universities from around the world, including Europe, North and South America, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
We also take part in the ERASMUS exchange scheme – the European Union’s student mobility scheme that allows eligible students to spend between three months and two years studying in a European university or undertaking a work placement in an EU country. If you choose to study abroad through ERASMUS, you will not have to pay fees and you may also be eligible for a grant.
In many of our programmes you can also spend a period in business or industry – a ’placement’. This might just be a term, or it might be an entire year for which you will be paid a salary. It’s a great way to find out how business and industry work and what they expect from graduates.
“Teach First looks for exceptional graduates with the drive, resilience and creativity to really make a difference. We have been so impressed with the quality of applicants from Warwick to date which is why we keep coming back.”
Belinda Shufflebotham / Graduate Recruitment Manager / Teach First
“Through their University experiences, both through study and extra-curricular activity involvement, students from Warwick demonstrate the skills and competencies we look for in our potential employees and the passion we would expect from the future leaders of Deloitte.”
Darren Page / Graduate Recruitment Manager / Deloitte
“There are many opportunities for paid work while studying at Warwick. The nature of the Warwick campus opens up many opportunities for part-time jobs, and the University has its own recruitment centre, Unitemps, which can help match you up with potential jobs on and around campus. Part-time work does not have to interfere with your studies either. Most part-time jobs require approximately 5-15 hours work per week, which is very manageable. The work can also be very rewarding; for example, the University employs a team of students to make contact with Warwick graduates, raising money for scholarships, medical research, and community projects.”
Sam Lee / Third year / MEng
