Business and Management - Your Employability

Enhancing Your Employability

When you study for a business and management degree with us, enhancing your employability is one of our key priorities. A varied range of learning styles and learning outcomes, together with key skills and techniques in business research and practice, will equip you with powerful tools with which to pursue your chosen career. We will work with you to identify what that career path should be, through the structured programme of career development planning skills offered by Aberystwyth University’s Career Development Planning Unit, enabling you to create your very own Personal Development Programme.  Read on to find out more about how studying Business and Management with us will enhance your employability.

Career Development Planning

Career planning is an important part of your individual development. Each term you will be given a specific lecture on some part of career planning by the Careers Advisory Service - for example how to get a job, CV writing and presentation skills. As well as these timetabled lectures, numerous additional workshops and ad hoc drop-in sessions are also offered throughout the year.

Even when you have graduated from Aberystwyth this career service is still open to you. Employability - which Aberystwyth defines as “a set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace - to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy”, is an essential of our Business and Management degree schemes and is integrated into our teaching and modules.

Personal Development Planning (PDP)

On arrival at Aberystwyth you will be allocated a tutor who will be your personal tutor throughout your time here. A very important part of this process is your completion of a Personal Development Programme (PDP). This is created as a personal wiki and is only accessed by yourself and your personal tutor.

The PDP is a personal development planning tool developed in consultation with Aberystwyth University staff and students. By coming to university, you have already undertaken a plan for your future academic and personal development. This planning needs to continue so that you create the best possibilities for further study and/or your future career.

PDP is a powerful way of developing your awareness of the skills you are learning at university and elsewhere, even in any part-time job! Many employers use personal development planning processes like PDP to ensure the continuing professional development of staff. They will expect you to be able to tell them how you have developed your skills at university and through your other experiences.

A Year in Employment

You are also invited to participate in the University’s Year in Employment Scheme (YES), enabling you to gain valuable employment experience, as a break from your undergraduate studies. The School strongly encourages students to take up the YES scheme, as graduate recruiters make it clear that work experience can provide a valuable advantage in gaining that first job after graduation.

Ideally students enter a year in employment between their second and third year of study. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain experience, develop your professional skills and experience the exciting world of business, management, marketing, accounting and finance, before you graduate.

Once you have completed your second year of study with us you’ll receive support from the Careers Service and the School of Management and Business to help you find a suitable placement.

Find out more about our recent student successes