Employability statement

This statement underpins employability and employment related services delivered at the University of West London (UWL).

Developing our students

At the Career University, the development of employability skills, interactions with employers and being led by industry are key facets of the student experience.

The Careers Education Framework embeds measurable employability and employer experiences into the curriculum, supporting our vocational portfolio of courses. The flexible extra-curricular support offered allows for 1:1 advice guidance in-person or online, including evenings and weekends. Our digital support tools mean that students and graduates can use modern technology at a time that suits them. Critically, our lifetime careers guarantee means UWL graduates are always entitled to employability support.

Throughout their course, students are encouraged to plan their careers by understanding their skills and motivations and developing employability skills through work placements, part-time paid work and volunteering activities. Students are also supported in developing the ability to make effective applications and learning how to present themselves effectively to employers.

Working with employers

We screen the employers that we work with to ensure that we only present suitable opportunities to UWL students that meet our values. We screen to ensure that organisations are legally recognised, meet specified pay requirements and have not been involved in activities which do not meet our values. These checks are also extended to the organisation’s representatives. We actively highlight employers who pay the London Living Wage and who give guaranteed hours contracts via our Part-time Promise initiative.

We ensure we understand employer needs in a fast-changing and volatile business environment and strive to have our graduates equipped to make a positive contribution to local, national and international employers. With a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship, some students will go on to develop businesses of their own, and the University provides a specialised incubator space, the Westmont Hub, alongside help and support to allow these students and their businesses to flourish.

The University has a long history of working effectively with employers, driving innovation, enterprise and economic growth across the London and Thames Valley regions. We are proud of initiatives such as the Graduate Internship Programme which funds paid work in the West London area and enables us to be a key regional skills hub. Targeted work with sector-leading employers that complement our portfolio, enables us to support our graduates in meaningful and successful graduate outcomes.