Leading recruiters Deloitte, Thales and the Civil Service Fast Stream have been rewarded for their commitment to undergraduate employability at the National Undergraduate Employability Awards, held at etc.venues – 155 Bishopsgate on Friday 12th February.
This year saw accounting and engineering firms dominate the employer Awards, with Deloitte scooping the Award for Best Short-term Insight Scheme, and Thales, alongside their agency AIA Worldwide, taking home the trophy for Best On Campus Marketing Campaign.
Civil Service Fast-Stream were also successful on the night, winning the Best Diversity Initiative in Work Experience category, and seeing one of the previous employees crowned Best Intern.
The Awards saw over 400 nominations from employers, universities and students across 17 different Award categories. Winners of each Award were selected by an independent judging panel, made up of key thought leaders in the industry.
Gareth Cadwallader, Governor of University of West London, and head of the Judging Panel, said of this year’s nominations, “The standard of nominations was once again outstanding across the sector. The commitment of some of the world's highest profile employers to engage with undergraduates, as well as the dedication from universities and students to the employability agenda, is extremely impressive.
“In the student categories, there are some fantastic role models for young people looking to take their first steps on the career ladder. It is a truly inspiring event!”
The Awards ceremony welcomed thought-provoking guest speakers from the industry including Aimee Bateman from CareerCake.com, Sarah Flynn, Chair of ASET and Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of AGR to share their insights.
The most recent High Fliers report showed that over four-fifths of the leading graduate employers in the UK are now offering paid work experience schemes for students and recent graduates. These schemes are making students more employable than ever, and Stephen suggested we are returning to a “seller’s market” whereby employers are increasingly having to compete to recruit the most employable students.
Student winners on the night included Ben Kosky, winner of the prestigious Best Placement Student Award for his work at tech-giant Microsoft. His achievements are exemplary of the success students can achieve for employers on a work experience scheme; during his time at Microsoft he was able to triple his sales quota and supported and drove a staggering $2,541,000 of 2016 sales pipeline.
Ben said of his win, “Winning the Award for Best Placement Student is an incredible feeling and I feel honoured to be recognised for my achievements. My placement has been a fantastic experience and winning this Award has been the icing on the cake. I cannot thank Microsoft and Exeter University enough for the opportunities and support they have given me. I would highly recommend anyone does a placement - you won't regret it!”
Big university winners included Coventry University’s Engineering and Computing Careers Service, EC Futures, retaining the title of Best Placement Service for the second year running. Brand new for 2016, Best Collaboration between a University and Employer, was won by newcomers Ravensbourne for the partnership they have developed with advertising leaders Ogilvy. Partnerships like these continue to grow crucial work experience opportunities in wider and more varied industries, promoting more structured and better quality programmes for young people.
You can see the full list of winners and finalists at www.nueawards.co.uk.
The National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2016 Winners...
University Awards:
Best University Placement Service: Coventry University, EC Futures
Best University Careers / Employability Service: University of Birmingham
Most Improved Commitment to Employability: University of Leeds, Faculty of Engineering
Best Collaboration between a university and an employer: Ravensbourne and Ogilvy
Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience: Mike Grey, Coventry University EC Futures
Student Awards:
Best Placement Student: Ben Kosky, Microsoft
Best Intern: Jack Alexander, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Best Student Contribution to a Small to Medium‐sized Enterprise: Georgina Abraham, Taragenyx
Best University Society: Warwick Law Society
Employer Awards:
Best On Campus Marketing Campaign: Thales, submitted by AIA Worldwide
Best Innovation on Campus: EY, submitted by MSL Group
Best New Provider of Work Experience: IMI Precision Engineering
Best Short‐term Insight Scheme: Deloitte
Best Diversity Initiative in Work Experience: Civil Service Fast Stream
Top Small to Medium‐sized Undergraduate Employer: Golfbreaks.com