GO Wales

GO Wales: Student Employability

The new employability project is run by Swansea University Employability Academy with funding from HEFCW to provide targeted support to students from under-represented groups and from lower socio-economic backgrounds to reach their potential and to achieve their goals and aspirations. This project builds upon the activities of the previous GO Wales: Achieve through Work Experience programme.

Local employers can benefit from work experience opportunities of various lengths including:

• Unpaid work experience (Up to 70 hours)
• Salary-subsidised internship (Between 70 and 210 hours i.e. up to 6 weeks full-time)

Work experience opportunities are aimed to assist students with developing new and essential skills in specific industries and to provide employers with support from hard-working and enthusiastic students.

We will also be supporting students with other opportunities including:

• Taster days: opportunity for a small group of students to visit your business premises to learn more about the work you do, your brand, your opportunities and to demystify your recruitment process.
• Employability bursaries: up to £250 available for training and CPD activity. After receiving this training, students can bring this fresh knowledge and utilise it to grow your business.
• Employability events for students focusing on developing students’ skills and preparing them for their future careers. Local employers are invited to ‘round table’ discussions with students where they can impart their essential careers hints and tips, and there will be networking events with hiring companies.
• Mentoring opportunities (in collaboration with the University’s Alumni Mentoring team): Swansea University alumni in graduate roles can help students to build their confidence and grow in a personal and professional capacity so they can explore and create their own opportunities.
• Employability, Enterprise & Entrepreneurship support: we are supporting students to become more entrepreneurial and providing them with the mindset, experiences and skills to start their own business, freelance career or social enterprise. We welcome employer-lead workshops and initiatives that provide valuable experiences and help to create opportunities for our students to become entrepreneurial.

Interested in getting involved with the project? We’d love to hear from you!

*This is referred to as Career Boost by our students.