Big on Student Employability
Friday, 11 December 2020
At Oxford Brookes Business School we pride ourselves on the employability of our graduates.
Students develop a range of skills and attributes
across their studies, and this year we have an enhanced programme of career and employability
activities to support our students as they prepare for the world of work. Tim
Vorley, PVC and Dean of Oxford Brookes Business School, commented “We are
committed to building the employability of our students, with a range of
opportunities available to prepare our students for their future
careers".
On Saturday 28th November over 650 students on our Business and
Management, International Business Management and Business, Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship programmes were involved in our first online Assessment Centre
as part of the final year module, Managing Careers. 61 final year groups
developed and ran Assessment Centre activities for small groups of first year
students, observed them, evaluated their performance in a range of competencies
such as teamwork and communication, and provided developmental feedback.
For the first time ever this took place entirely on Zoom and ran smoothly due
to the work put in by the final years, the support of eight tutors on the day,
the administrative assistance from two student module assistants, and the
advice and support of our two Digital Media eLearning Developers. Feedback from
the first years showed that they found the experience useful and with some
students commenting:
'The Assessment Centre assignment was an interesting task which I felt
really challenged us, was fun to organise and was very rewarding.'
'The assessment centre allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and it
provided a very different way of learning. It built up my confidence as we had
to overcome the challenge of doing it virtually which will be hugely beneficial
when I apply for jobs in the future.'
The Managing Careers students who developed and ran these activities in the
space of three and a half weeks, with the invaluable support and guidance of
tutors on the module, can be very proud of what they achieved. In leading
the initiative Louisa Lapworth said “the engagement and response of our
students has been truly fantastic, not only is it a great part of their leaning
as part of the Managing Careers module but is helping develop the employability
of their peers"
The Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience, Lindsay
Williams, said "This has always been a great employability initiative,
one which truly adds value to the learning experience, but to see it succeed
online at such scale is truly impressive and testament to our incredible
staff and students at Oxford Brookes Business School".
More information for students about career development opportunities at
Brookes see: /business/undergraduate/careers/
More information for employers wanting to work with us and our students
is available here: /business/employers/working-with-our-students/