Total of 213 hours

• 7 hours per week during Terms 1 and 2 (for 20 weeks)
• 36.5 hours per week during the final 2-week placement in June after your final year exams.

Please note that there will be mandatory training as part of the programme, and these will be built into your working hours. 

We welcome applications from AU final year UG students who are seeking to build confidence and skills directly relevant to career openings within professional services within the Higher Education sector.

To take part in this scheme, you must be:

• in your final year of study of an undergraduate degree, e.g. BA, BSc, MPhys, graduating in Summer 2027
• available to commit to the above part-time and full-time duration
• available to commit to the mandatory training sessions, mentoring meetings and reflective tasks provided by the Careers & Employability Service.
• able to provide evidence of your Right to Work in the UK for verification by the University's Human Resources department
• In addition, you should have limited or no work experience to date (including paid work, voluntary work and voluntary roles on university club/society committee roles) - you cannot take part if you completed a Year in Industry or the Year in Employment Scheme during the 2025-26 academic year.

If you are interested in applying for the Professional Pathways Programme ('26 - '27), please find further details and the application form here. 

If you want to apply for Professional Pathways '26-'27, you will need to:

• Submit a CV 
• Write a personal statement including how you would benefit from the programme
• Confirm your Welsh language ability 
• Confirm a declaration of all the requirements of the programme

Matilda: Centre for Welsh Language Services

“One of the most interesting aspects of my role has been helping to plan and create digital content for the Aberystwyth branch of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Instagram”

Eso: Information Services

“This challenged me in a positive way, using my critical thinking in a way I haven’t done before.”

“I know I can take these skills I’ve gained into a different environment and apply them.”

Gwen: Creative Marketing and Media 

“I’ve now had experience working in a corporate-ish setting, which has boosted my confidence in my abilities. “

*Tim: Human Resources

“I am much more confident, in fact this placement has provided clarity on my desire for a future career role and has narrowed it down to project management”

Lilia: Student Services

“I thought that it was an excellent opportunity to get ahead in my graduate applications, as well as gaining practical first-hand experience.”

Tayyibah: Supervisor Feedback

Communications, Quality and Marketing

“Tayyibah quickly became a driving force behind several of our initiatives. She coordinated creative book displays in the Hugh Owen Library to mark key events”

“Her analytical skills truly shone in her work on service evaluation and user experience.”

Kirill: Supervisor Feedback

Academic Engagement team

“Kirill developed a Python script for use to identify broken links across a range of resource types in Aspire Reading Lists which have now been fixed.”

“This was a really successful placement and Kirill was nominated and shortlisted for the Undeb Aber Student Staff Member of the Year Award 2025.”

Ewan: Supervisor Feedback

Digital Skills Team

“Ewan created a series of DigiTips to help students and staff develop their digital skills, Ewan’s DigiTips ranged from using graphs in Excel to being more effective in Teams through using commands.”

“Ewan was a great asset to the team over the last few months and made completing these projects possible with his expertise in Computer Science”