Student employability supported by Annual Fund Bursaries

The College of Social Sciences and International Studies has been awarded £5,000 from the Annual Fund to support and develop employability initiatives.

The Work Experience and Employability Access Fund will provide a “mobility bursary” that will allow students from lower socio-economic backgrounds a greater chance to be able to participate in work placements, internships and to attend key employability activities. The fund also will also be available to student societies and groups who wish to put on their own employability activities.

“The ability of a student run society to access the necessary funds to host a careers event or invite an influential guest speaker is very limited. If the University were to offer this funding it would provide these societies with the opportunity to organise such events, with access to the necessary funding and publicity that the University could provide. Having the funding from the University would also assist in raising the profile of the events for prospective speakers or companies to visit, where an offer from a single society would not be sufficient.”

Peter Good, SSLC Co-Chair IAIS 2010-11

This fund can be accessed by any current Social Sciences and International Studies student, and we are especially keen for students at our Cornwall campus in Tremough and our PGCE students at St Luke’s campus to also benefit from the funding. Current projects include subsiding training for PGCE students to become Duke of Edinburgh Leaders, which will greatly enhance their CVs when applying for teaching posts. The fund will also pay for a field trip.

“The Primary PGCE course has links with the London Boroughs of Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets.  We currently run a field trip where 25 trainees have the opportunity to visit a school in Wandsworth.  This field trip is a perspective changing experience for some trainees and influences their future career choices.  Trainees who are happy to work in inner city areas have a greater chance of finding employment at the end of the PGCE course.”

Anita Wood, Primary English tutor, Graduate School of Education