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Career Ahead is the University of Cumbria's Employability Award. It is designed to help you recognise and develop your employability skills, providing you with a greater opportunity to get the job you want when you graduate. To highlight the importance of this award, your certificate of achievement will be personally signed by the Vice Chancellor.

Watch our short introduction video.

Want to jump straight in? Download the Career Ahead Quick Start Guide.

  • What is Career Ahead?

    Career Ahead is a flexible points-based programme that rewards you for extracurricular activities and engagement with the Careers and Employability Service. It enables you to reflect on the skills you have developed and articulate these when making job applications.

    Have a look at the next section ‘What activities can I do?’ for a full list.

    Career Ahead is accessed via My Career Enriched, your career hub, and can be found under 'Pathways'. As you complete activities, Pathways will track your progress.

    Each activity you complete will provide you with points to reach the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of the award. You need:

    Bronze:150 points       Silver: 300 points     Gold: 500 points

    Once you have gained 500 points, you can apply for your Career Ahead Gold certificate. To do this, book a ten-minute Career Ahead appointment with a member of the Careers Team. This informal meeting is an opportunity for you to talk about your Career Ahead journey, reflect on what you have gained from the activities and discuss with us your next steps. Your Careers Adviser will then arrange for you to receive your certificate of achievement. To make a Career Ahead appointment, go to My Career Enriched.

    Career Ahead appointments can be via Teams, telephone or by request in person.

    Here’s how it works:

    Career Ahead,  

    Career Ahead is flexible to fit around your studies, you can take as little or as long as you need to complete the award, providing you are a current UoC student. It is completely free and you have ongoing support from your Careers and Employability Adviser. Best of all, you get to stand out from the crowd and impress potential employers when you graduate!

  • What activities can I do?

     

     

    Career Ahead gives you a choice of activities to complete – you choose how you want to gather points to reach each level. 

    You can choose from the following activities to be award the points shown: 

     Attend a Careers Appointment - 100 points 

    Book and attend a careers appointment through My Career Enriched to discuss any career-related information, advice or guidance. Once you have attended and participated, you will be allocated your points. 

    Gain some work experience – 100 points 

    Upload evidence of 100 hours of work or volunteering experience or submit a 500 word self-reflection. 

    Any activities you do outside of your course during your time at university can count towards Career Ahead. Activities such as volunteering, a part-time job, active membership of clubs/societies and internships all count. 

    To gain your points, record your hours on the recording template below and upload it to the Career Ahead pathway on My Career Enriched  

    Career Ahead Work Experience recording template [PDF] 

    If fitting in extra-curricular activities around your course is difficult, you can reflect on the employability skills you have gained prior to coming to university. A 500-word skills reflection can be submitted instead.  

    Career Ahead Work Experience reflection template [PDF] 

    CV/Application Feedback – 100 points 

    Learn how to effectively articulate your skills and experience in a job application. Start by finding a job that interests you and practice applying for it. We will provide you with tailored feedback to help you improve. Simply upload your draft CV and cover letter, or your draft application and supporting statement, to the Career Ahead pathway on My Career Enriched. You will receive personalised feedback and earn 100 points for your efforts. 

    Attend a Workshop* – 50 points 

    Career Ahead workshops will run either as part of your course (ask your tutor) or you can choose from a range of workshops and webinars available throughout the year on My Career Enriched – search for ‘Career Ahead Workshops’ 

     LinkedIn Learning* – 50 points 

    Earn points for Career Ahead by completing a LinkedIn Learning online training course. LinkedIn Learning is an extensive library of short digital courses covering business, creative, and technical subjects, all delivered through expert-led video tutorials. As a UoC student, you can access these for free! Furthermore, for every course you complete, LinkedIn Learning issues a certificate of completion. You can save these as a PDF, print them, add them to a portfolio, or add them to your CV and Linkedin.com profile. Discover more about LinkedIn Learning here. 

    Unsure where to start? 

    Consider beginning with a short digital capability course. These courses are designed to help you develop your IT skills, support your studies, and equip you with additional skills for your future career. Click here for our recommendations. 

     Pathways* – 50 points 

    Pathways offers free online learning to enhance your knowledge and skills.  

    Gain the insights you need to shape your career journey by learning directly from industry experts through videos, quizzes, and real-world activities. Topics include key employability skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, boosting commercial awareness, and many more. Additionally, explore career development pathways like finding career inspiration, making successful applications, and building connections on LinkedIn. For a full list of topics, click here.  

     Attend a Careers Event – 50 points 

    Attend a careers event as part of your course and providing we have proof of participation and attendance; you can claim points towards your Career Ahead Award. 

     *Please note that although you can attend as many workshops as you like, a maximum of 3 workshops and 3 online training courses count towards Career Ahead. All other career activities are counted once. 

     

  • How do I get started?

    Career Ahead is accessed via My Career EnrichedUoC’s careers hub and is in the Pathways section. You need to be a current student to complete the award and you will need to activate your account, by completing your profile.  

    Pathways will track your progress as you attend workshops, events and appointments and engage with other careers and employability activities. Each activity will provide you with points to reach the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of the award.

    Get started now by going to My Career Enriched, click on the Career Ahead Employability Award icon and start the 'Career Ahead' award!

    Career ahead employability award,  

    If you have any problems accessing Career Ahead or My Career Enriched, please contact careers@cumbria.ac.uk.

  • Information for academic staff

    Academic staff can download a Powerpoint presentation which can be used to introduce the Career Ahead award to students. It can be edited to suit the session, and includes supporting notes. 

    Download: Career Ahead lecture slide pack 2024 ver.

     

 

Keep up to date with all the news about the Career Ahead award by following us on Twitter @UoCCareers

Career Ahead Work Experience recording template (pdf)

Career Ahead Work experience reflection template (pdf)

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