University of Ulster : Careers Service

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Information for Students

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Information for Staff

Tel: 028 9036 6280

Fax: 028 9036 6821

Email:
workexperience
@ulster.ac.uk

Comments: Feedback Form

Statement of Service - Students & Graduates (08/09)

Introduction
This statement of service outlines the type and level of service you can expect from the Career Development Centre. It is subject to revision on a regular basis and any comments or suggestions regarding the content are welcome. Copies are available as a link on our website or in hard copy in our Careers Centres. It can also be provided, when requested, in alternative formats.

The Career Development Centre is part of the PVC portfolio of Teaching and LEarning. There are offices on each of the main campuses, Coleraine, Magee and Jordanstown. The Belfast Centre has an information area in the Learning Resource Centre.

The CDC is managed by a team of professional Career Development Advisers and Information Staff who will offer advice and support on career-related issues throughout your time at Ulster and for a period after you graduate.

- Mission	- International Students
- Our aims	- Confidentiality
- Who can use the service?	- Referral
- What you can expect	- Compliments & Complaints
- What we expect of you	- Equal Opportunities
- What we can offer	- Contact Us
- Students with disabilities

Mission
The Career Development Centre aims to provide comprehensive, first-class resources and services that are complementary to and integrated with, the academic provision of the University, enabling our students and graduates to develop, evaluate, and implement career decisions and employment plans for the mutual benefit of themselves, employers and the University community.

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Our Aims

To help students and recent graduates understand the process of career choice and develop their capacities to devise and implement short and long-term career plans.
To provide access to a wide range of quality information to help students to identify appropriate opportunities
To provide, both centrally and in conjunction with Faculties and others, opportunities for students to develop the skills and attributes which will strengthen their employability, including career management skills.
To support the University with work experience activities, including work-based and work-related learning.
To support staff in all departments of the University, keeping them informed about changing labour market trends and graduate destinations.
To promote the University’s students, graduates and programmes to employers and provide appropriate services and facilities to assist in their recruitment processes.
To make full and effective use of ICT to support the delivery of the Service.
To recruit, support and develop staff in a way, which maintains high levels of professional standards and expertise.

This statement sets out to clarify how we deliver our Mission and the standards and principles we observe. It informs you of what we have to offer, how you can contact us and what you can do to help us offer the best possible service. Further details available in the Career Development Centre Student Charter.

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Who Can Use The Service?
All students of the University of Ulster (part time, full time and distance learning) have free access to the Career Development Centre.

You are welcome to use the service for up to 3 years after graduating.

You may choose to access the service at any point during your time at university or may be referred to the service by a member of academic staff including course director, advisor of study, placement co-ordinator or student counsellor.

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What you can expect
The Career Development Centre follows guidelines laid down by our professional bodies, AGCAS and GCI. (Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and Graduate Careers Ireland). This guarantees a quality service that is impartial, confidential, approachable, client centred and delivered by professionally trained staff. We work with a Code of Practice that deals with Best Practice in Graduate Recruitment and Equal Opportunities. You can expect:

Staff to be professional and friendly.
All students to be treated fairly and, where appropriate, support offered to those students who may be disadvantaged in entering the work place.
To be kept informed of services and events available via the Career Development Centre website http://careers.ulster.ac.uk and other media.
To be provided with information and advice to help you decide what services would be appropriate to use.
To receive information and advice that is appropriate, accurate and impartial.
Direct consultation with a Career Development Adviser either during the daily ‘quick query’ sessions or for longer guidance interviews.
Matters discussed in individual guidance sessions to be confidential and only discussed with others with the permission of the student or graduate.
An exchange of information with and referral to other organisations that will provide the guidance, support and information most appropriate to your needs.
To be able to take-away self help leaflets and other careers literature, notably in the AGCAS & AGCSI series, and borrow certain other items.
On request, make special arrangements for access to guidance and information for students with disabilities.
Access to Career Development Learning Programmes.
Levels of satisfaction with the Career Development Centre to be monitored.
Access to Ulster GradNAV, an online resource of career development learning material.

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What we expect of you
To enable us to provide the best possible service to all of our users we expect you to:

Make use of the Career Development Centre early in your university experience.
Use the careers information resources with respect i.e. do not remove ‘Reference only’ material.
Recognise that your career is your responsibility – we can help you come to a decision and will support your plans but we cannot make the decisions for you. Attend careers education programmes and events appropriate to you.
Let us know if you are unable to attend your careers interview, so that we can offer the appointment to someone else.
Register in advance for seminars and other careers events and let us know as soon as possible if you cannot attend.
Keep up-to-date with regular publications and web site and to check your email for careers-related notices.
Notify us of any requirements or specialist needs relating to the provision, in alternative formats, of careers education, information and guidance.
Let us know your views on the Centre to help us improve. Occasionally this may involve completing an evaluation questionnaire to put in the ‘Comments Box’ held in the Careers Centres.
Take part in the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey after you graduate and provide us with accurate information.

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What we can offer

A comprehensive range of current information resources, in a variety of formats. If you have a disability we will endeavour to obtain the information required in a format that meets your needs.
A continually updated website http://careers.ulster.ac.uk – offering current and relevant careers-related information.
Access to vacancies for permanent employment, placement, vacation and part-time work with local, national and international employers.
Opportunities to meet employers at Careers fairs, forums, presentations and interviews on campus.
A structured programme of career development learning, appropriate to your programme and developed in consultation with your course director.
A series of open talks, workshops and forums to help you find out more about career options and develop career management skills.
Opportunities to gain valuable experience and try different working situations through work-based learning placements and voluntary activities. – http://workexperience.ulster.ac.uk
Assistance with preparing for and reflecting on work experience.
Support with Personal Development Planning and advice on how to make best use of the University’s PDSystem – http://pds.ulster.ac.uk
Daily one-to-one drop in ‘Quick Query’ sessions (10 minutes) with a professionally qualified Career Development Adviser in the main careers centres during term-time. Due to the setting, confidentiality cannot always be guaranteed.
Confidential longer one-to-one careers consultations (up to one hour) with a careers adviser are available on request – usually following referral from ‘Quick Query’ or after discussion with a member of the Careers team.
Guidance available online (http://careers.ulster.ac.uk/guidance) or via telephone where visits on campus are difficult.
Informed referral to other specialist agencies within and outside of the University
Access to the most up-to-date computer aided careers guidance system, Prospects Planner, for graduates and students in HE. Practice at aptitude tests used by many employers. (available from "mycareer" tab in the PDSystem - http://pds.ulster.ac.uk)
Access to Ulster GradNAV, an online resource of career development learning material. <

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Students with a disability
We aim to make our services accessible to disabled students and graduates. We are in regular contact with the University’s disability advisers through whom we can access advice about specialist services. Designated careers advisers are available on each campus to work with, help and advise you and together plan what would be the most appropriate career pathway that is best suited to you. Emphasis will always be placed on your ability rather than disability.

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International Students
The Career Development Centre is committed to providing careers education, information and guidance to all University of Ulster students regardless of their country of origin.International students will be supported in making and implementing informed career decisions and are entitled to access the Service provision set out in the Student Charter and Statement of Service.

Students may expect to be treated with fairness, respect and consideration. Although the information and expertise of the Career Development Centre is largely directed towards the UK and Republic of Ireland labour markets, staff will endeavor to provide help and resources to students wishing to establish careers in their home countries.

The Service is not permitted to advise on immigration/visa matters though students can be directed to relevant sources of information and referred to other agencies. The Service works in partnership with the University’s International Office, Student Support Services and the Student’s Union.

Further information is available in our leaflet Services to International Students, available on request.

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Confidentiality
The Career Development Centre offers a confidential service to all students and staff. We will not disclose anything about the nature or content of your contact with the Career Development Centre without your consent. When a third party has made a referral to the Career Development Centre (e.g. your lecturer) we will not disclose any further information to the referrer without the knowledge and consent of the individual concerned.

We will keep all written records in accordance with Data Protection Act 1998. Records are confidential to the Service and no one outside the Service will have access to any records without your written consent or except when required to do so by law. We will take all reasonable steps to safeguard the security of any information about you that we hold in electronic format. Electronic records will be deleted at the end of the academic year and written records at the end of your course.

Your Career Development Centre records are not part of your academic (students) or personnel (staff) records.We will ensure that all statistical information given to third parties (for example, for Career Development Centre evaluation purposes) is produced in an anonymous format so that individuals cannot be identified.

Further details are available in our Student and Graduate Record Policy, copy available on request.

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Referral
Careers Advisers may refer a student, if appropriate, to other services in the university such as Counselling Service, Disability Officer, Course Director, and Registry or to services outside the university such as DEL or EGSA. It is up to the individual student to take up the referral and use this opportunity.

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Compliments, Suggestions & Complaints
The Career Development Centre is anxious to provide the best possible services to users. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact us. You can do this in person, by telephone, in writing, by email or via the web site. You will have an opportunity to provide feedback on our activities in the following ways:
Feedback questionnaires provided for all of our major activities, including electronic versions;
Through student consultative committees; and
Informally, by discussing an issue with a member of staff.
If you have a complaint about any aspect of the Service then please speak to any member of our careers team initially. Failing this put the matter in writing to the Head of CDC, Damian McGivern, who will normally respond within seven working days. Alternatively the University also has a student complaints procedure for dealing with complaints about any aspect of the academic or other services provided by the University. No student will be disadvantaged because he or she has made a complaint in good faith.

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Equal Opportunities
We aim to provide an environment that is welcoming to all our users and are committed to providing impartial information and guidance regardless of ethnic origin, gender, disability, marital status, age, sexuality or religion. In accordance with the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy, Disabilities Statement and Career Development Centre Guidance Policy we endeavour to offer our services in a format and location to meet the needs of all our users. This Statement of Service and other Career Development Centre publications are available in other formats on request.

Career Development Centre staff work to and abide by the following national codes and standards, copies of which are available on request:

Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) Equal Opportunities and Code of Practice for Member Services.
National IAG Board Code of Principles and Matrix standard.
Best Practice in Recruitment: Joint statement by AGR/AGCAS/NUS
The Quality Assurance Agency code of Practice on Careers Education, Information and Guidance.

Contact Us
Phone numbers:
Jordanstown/Belfast: (028) 9036 6247 / 6427
Coleraine: (028) 7032 4381
Magee (028) 7137 5600

Daily Opening Times
Jordanstown 2F01: Monday – Thursday 10.00am – 4.00pm & Friday 10.00am – 1.00pm
Coleraine H214: 10 am – 1 pm, 2 pm-4 pm & Friday 10.00am – 1.00pm
Magee MF226E: 10 am – 1 pm & 2 pm – 4 pm & Friday 10.00am – 1.00pm
Belfast: LRC Level 2 and 82C01. Information centre open during LRC opening hours. 82C01: Monday 1.00pm - 3.00pm; Thursday: 9.00am - 12.00noon

Contact a Career Development Adviser

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