Our Ethical Careers Policy
Swansea University Employability Academy (SEA) is the University’s central careers service, and is committed to upholding and promoting ethical careers and recruitment activities in accordance with:
• Swansea University’s Strategic Vision & Purpose 2020
• Sustainability Policy 2020
• Sustainability & Climate Emergency Strategy (2021-2025)
• Swansea University Careers & Employability Strategies
This commitment is underpinned by the following key goals:
• The climate emergency
• Wellbeing and human health
• Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales)
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
SEA’s 10 Core Ethical Careers & Recruitment Principles:
- We will not knowingly devise marketing campaigns advertising career and employability related roles which contribute to the detrimental effects of the fossil fuels, mining, arms and tobacco industries. Such roles may be uploaded by third parties onto SEA’s digital jobs board and may be discussed at careers fairs and within careers guidance interviews (where impartiality is contracted at the start of each interview), should students seek this. Furthermore, we will not upload and will decline to approve any roles on our jobs board that are uploaded by third parties that require manual approval in oil, gas, tar sands, and tobacco companies and those that produce tobacco-based products. Oil, gas, tar sands and tobacco companies and those that produce tobacco-based products will also be unable to access our careers fairs and employer events.
- Instead, we will actively promote ‘green jobs’ through a new section of our digital jobs board via email campaigns, social media campaigns and similar.
- All opportunities listed within our digital jobs board are thoroughly screened to ensure that they are legitimate opportunities, that their working environments are safe for our students and graduates and that employers are abiding by current employment law. All parties involved in SEA-funded internships must sign a tripartite agreement, including thorough risk assessment, prior to commencement of the role.
- We promote best practice in employment by ensuring that all internships funded by SEA are fully funded and paid at the Real Living Wage as well as any screened, unpaid internships endorsed by SEA remaining under 70 hours of work, as beyond this point the law moves into a grey area in terms of exploitation of staff.
- SEA actively favours the funding of employability activities within organisations, particularly local organisations, committed to the betterment of people and the planet. Organisations within which we have recently fully-funded internships include: Fabric, Friends and Families of Prisoners, Discovery SVS, Street2Boardroom, Public Health Wales, and The Gower Society.
- We are also specifically committed to funding projects which ‘level the playing field’ as we recognise that certain industries perpetuate access for students/graduates from more affluent backgrounds only, with existing employment networks, thought continually offering unpaid, long-term work experience. We work closely with change-makers within these industries to break these detrimental trends, goods example being our award winning iBroadcast collaboration, and RE:ACTION 24/7 programme.
- SEA is committed to actively funding employability activities which directly and indirectly support Sustainability. For example, summer 2022, SEA is bringing beehives onto Swansea University’s Park and Bay Campus under our ‘Bee Together’ project with a view to offering ‘green prescribing’ to students and staff who feel adversely affected by the pandemic. The project is designed to rebuild confidence through developing new skills, getting outdoors and meeting other new beekeepers in the hope that once confidence is improved as well as wellbeing through contributing to Sustainability, students will feel energised to re-engage with their career development. This new commitment will be largely facilitated via close partnership working with third party providers such as Bee1 as well as the University’s own Sustainability team.
- All merchandise produced by SEA staff for promotional activities to our target markets must be sustainable, for example, made from recycled materials. All merchandise brought onto campus for SEA events via third parties must also be sustainable.
- SEA operates a paperless office, wherever possible, printing for example only where students may have a need for a reasonable adjustment or where paper is the best method of advertising an essential service to students. We will make full use of more sustainable methods such as digital notice boards, chalk pen advertising boards, e-campaigns, social media campaigns and similar.
- SEA is committed to transparency to promote continuous improvement through feedback. Full SEA staff contact details including name, role and email address are present and easily found within our SEA webpages. For feedback on this policy, please contact Lucy Griffiths, Head of SEA, on 01792 606362 or lucy.j.griffiths@swansea.ac.uk
These principles will be reviewed annually with a commitment to expanding our contributions to this area.
Swansea University Employability Academy is not part of a combined careers service. We currently work with the following third party providers to supply services:
Achievements to date:
• People and Planet University League 2021/22: 1st Award Class
• NQA ISO 14001 Registration for Environmental Management
• Carbon Trust Standard for Reducing Waste Year on Year
• Healthy Working Wales Silver Excellence Award
• Hedgehog Friendly Campus
• We Are Cycling UK Cycle Friendly Employer, Gold
• Santander Cycles Partners
Last reviewed:
6th June 2023 - Signed off by Lucy Griffiths, Head of Swansea University Employability Academy. To be reviewed annually.
