In today’s competitive market, building skills and experiences to make yourself stand out to employers is becoming more and more important. While your degree prepares you with technical skills employers are increasingly looking for graduates that are proficient in ‘softer’ transferable skills in addition to specialised knowledge from a degree.
In response to this need we have created The BU Graduate Skills Programme, which is free and available to all current BU students. It provides a structured approach to your career development and helps you build confidence in the personal and professional skills that employers are looking for. It also helps in how to apply these to a job, placement, or graduate position.
Attend employer-led Graduate Skills Masterclasses
Free and open to any BU student to attend, the CareersBU Graduate Skills Masterclasses are a great chance to network with employers and other students whilst developing the employability skills that will make you stand out when applying for placements and graduate jobs.
These in-person sessions are run throughout the year and are co-delivered with industry speakers and academics to provide insight into different industries. Topics covered in our masterclasses are based on skills that are in growing demand within these industries.
A full list of Graduate Skills Masterclasses open for booking is available via our website. Each session has a limited number of spaces so don’t delay and book today!
Gain your Graduate Skills+ Award
The employer-endorsed Graduate Skills+ Award is your extracurricular skills award. This award is designed with employers in mind and will give you a structured way to develop and articulate the employability skills you gain whilst at BU. Employers endorsing this award include BCP Council, 3 Sided Cube, Marriott, University Hospitals Dorset, LUSH, Mazars and IBM.
To gain your award you will attend Graduate Skills Masterclasses, take part in a diverse range of extracurricular experiences, engage with group challenges and network with employers.
You must complete three activities per stage including attendance at one Graduate Skills Masterclass per stage to receive your Graduate Skills+ Certificate. You will also be invited to our end-of-year awards ceremony to celebrate your achievements.
Explore the “My Graduate Skills” tab on Brightspace
Browse the “My Graduate Skills” tab on Brightspace, where you can access a variety of e-learning resources, events and LinkedIn Learning pathways. Resources in this section are mapped to nine key skill groupings and are organised so you can learn at your own pace and effectively fit in development around your studies.
You can find more information about the Graduate Skills Programme and hear from other students who have been involved with the programme on the CareersBU website.
