First Presentation of the Lancaster Award
The Chancellor Sir Christian Bonington is to make the first presentation of the Lancaster Award at LUMS on June 15th.
The Lancaster Award prepares students for the job market by ensuring they develop the skills employers want, whether through work experience, volunteering or social activities.
A hundred students have already completed the Award, with another seven hundred signed up to the scheme, which is administered by the Centre for Enterprise, Employability and Careers (CEEC).
Rachel Duffy, a third year Psychology in Education undergraduate, said: “When I was told I had passed the Award my emotion was one of sheer joy and a little pride! It was pleasing to know that my efforts had been recognised by others. More importantly, it gave me confidence to know that potential employers would see that my hard work had been recognised by the university in addition to my degree grade.”
The students are first asked to complete a skills audit and job application before appearing before a mock job interview panel of an employer and careers advisor.
Pro-Vice Chancellor for Colleges and the Student Experience, Professor Amanda Chetwynd, said: “Lancaster students are involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities but employers told us that the students were not always able to articulate how these activities give them the skills that employers are looking for. The Lancaster Award prepares our students for the demanding graduate employment market.”
Employers have been involved from the initial design of the award through to the final assessment panel and companies which currently endorse the Award include HSBC, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Npower, PepsiCo, KPMG and the Co-operative Group.
As part of the Lancaster award students are asked to take part a two day Insight course offered by CEEC. Courses include: Insight into Teaching, Insight into Business and Management, Insight into Creative and Media Careers, The Certificate for Enterprise and Commercial Awareness and Insight into Enterprise and Employability.
John Morewood, European Graduate Recruitment Manager for HSBC, said: “Graduates face a greater challenge and more competition for jobs than ever before. The Lancaster Award helps students demonstrate that they have developed and possess the personal, social and employability skills that are invaluable to HSBC and other graduate recruiters across all sectors.”