Employability

In this Employability section, you will be introduced to the core principles and areas of focus for supporting students for their future, during and after their studies. The pages address the Student Futures Framework and Skills for Success, and support you to embed employability in the Curriculum.

The content aligns to the Professional Standards Framework (PSF 2024) overall requirement for ‘effective and inclusive practice’, and in particular to Professional Values V2: promoting engagement in learning and equity of opportunity, to V4: the wider context and to V5: collaborate with others to enhance practice. It is also a key consideration in A1: Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes.

It supports the Cardiff University Strategy ‘Our Future, Together’ by offering ‘flexible, tailored, lifelong learning to our students that gives them choices, agency and a voice, and provide future-proofed knowledge and skills that they can apply in the real world to fulfil their aspirations’.

Student Futures

Access the Student Futures introduction video transcript here

Student Futures provides specialist support across careers, employability, enterprise, entrepreneurship, placements, work experience and global opportunities.

We work with academic colleagues to develop programmes, modules and learning opportunities that help students build the skills, experiences and confidence needed to transition into the world of work and succeed in their careers.

From employer networking events and integrated placements to enterprise hackathons and global projects, we provide practical advice, resources and support.

Structure of the employability theme pages

Mirroring the working and collaborative process for programme approval and revalidation, we have divided our resource and guidance into the following categories:

• Student Futures Framework
• The 9 Skills for Success
• Programme Approval and Revalidation (PAR)
• Embedding Employability in the Curriculum

Embedding Employability in an inclusive and sustainable way

One of three themes, Employability is interlinked with the other two themes presented in the toolkit. It’s important to explore employability alongside inclusivity and sustainability.

When approaching any theme, it’s a worthwhile exercise to explore one theme and how that naturally links and flows into the other themes. For example;

Where you’re embedding employability into a module / programme, have you considered if this is something all students will be able to achieve? Is the opportunity equitable and inclusive?

Is embedding employability a sustainable (manageable) project for your team and those who will be leading the module? EG, can you realistically source 150+ placements for your cohort?

For students who are unable to secure a work placement on their programme, are they able to gain those relevant skills, knowledge, and practice in an alternative way? Is there provision to support those students?

For more information, support and guidance please contact the Student Futures Business Partner for your College:

AHSS                  Jon Forbes                       ForbesJ3@cardiff.ac.uk
BLS                     Anneka Bisi                     BisiA@cardiff.ac.uk
PSE                     Llinos Carpenter             CarpenterL1@cardiff.ac.uk