Cardiff Met student, Deniece Cusack gives us her reasons for undertaking the Cardiff Met Award this year and why it's going to stand her out amongst the rest when leaving university.
By Deniece Cusack
This Wednesday was the official launch of the Cardiff Met award. I decided to take up the award as being a “mature student” I will be 29 when I get my degree. Most 29 year olds going for the same job opportunities as me would have years of experience behind them so I feel it is important for me to have something that makes me stand out and the Cardiff Met award is the perfect opportunity to do that.
In case you haven’t heard of it the Cardiff Met Award is an employability initiative designed to give Cardiff Met graduates a head start. The award will allow more students to prepare for their future alongside their studies and recognise the extra skills and experience they gather on the way.
The award involves
Ø 100 hours’ work experience
Ø 7 hours of an activity where you have used communication and teamwork skills
Ø Attend 5 workshops
Ø Write a reflective report (1000 words)
Ø Attend a mock interview and deliver a reflective presentation
All the hard work will be rewarded at the end of year awards ceremony and the Cardiff Met award will also appear on my degree transcript!
This is not just something to look good on my CV. It interests me because it is designed to improve you as a human being. There are plenty of opportunities for me to volunteer with charities and give back to my community. Doing something positive for others gives you a great perspective on life and empowers you giving you motivation to succeed.
Am I worried about the extra work load? Well yes of course! Apart from Uni work like most students I have a part time job but it’s all about good time management. Which I have discovered is the title of one of the workshops I can undertake with UMAX as part of the award. Also I have discovered I can put my extra-curricular activities such as my course rep work and my journalist internship at the SU towards gaining the award so I am already on my way.
So the launch was our first opportunity to get to meet other Cardiff Met Award applicants. There were also several stands with companies where we had a chance to meet people from the working world and find out more about employment and volunteering opportunities. These included a hearing awareness charity, a charity which helps asylum seekers seek refugee status and an initiative which helps troubled 16-18 year especially those with criminal records find a place in society and help them gain employment.
Later in the day there was a guest speaker from The Federation of Small business’ who gave an encouraging speech on why the Cardiff Met Award is a fantastic opportunity.
“In the current economic environment, the University experience has to be about more than just the pursuit of academic qualifications. In Wales recent statistics have shown around 50% of graduates move on to full time employment with a further 24% mixing part time work with further study. Despite the harsh economic climate, SMEs are creating jobs in Wales with 13,600 created in 2012/13 alone.
In recruiting staff, SMEs value rounded candidates that can display employability skills. For this reason, FSB Wales supports initiatives like the Cardiff Met Award that allow students who put in hard work and show their initiative be recognised through the academic process. It was clear from the launch that many of the students taking part have a clear sense of direction and a commitment to show their ability.”
Hearing this excites me all the more about participating in the award. I want my University experience to be a well-rounded one. When I finish University I want to be able to walk into an interview with confidence knowing I have something that makes me stand out from the crowd.
My next step is to decide which work volunteering opportunity I want to go for. At first I was a bit nervous about taking on this extra work load but there are so many amazing opportunities available and all are opportunities which will help make a difference to someone’s life. Now the hard part is choosing which one to undertake.
After Christmas I hope to get started on signing up for UMAX workshops. I have to take 5 and the ones which look appealing to me so far are CV writing skills as I feel this is often an area over looked by job applicants. It is the first thing an employer sees about you and it needs to stand out. Also Principles of Success looks like a good work shop, I think like most people I find it hard to self-promote. I have plenty of skills an attributes which employers would be interested in but I don’t know how to distinguish and promote these.
I take this opportunity to wish the rest of the Cardiff Met Award applicant’s good luck and for those of you interested in applying for it next year I will keep you updated on my progress throughout the year. Hopefully my experiences will encourage you to go for it.