On 13 June over 250 students, colleagues and employers attended the annual University of Westminster Employability Awards Celebration at St Mary’s Church, Marylebone.
Hosted by Caroline Lloyd, Director of Student and Academic Services, Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Bonfield and colleagues from across the University, the event celebrated student engagement with key employability activities, including the Westminster Employability Award, Future Ready Mentoring, Talent Bank, Placements, Volunteering, Work Based and Placement Learning, Explore Teaching, WeNetwork and many more.
At the event attendees were offered a variety of food, a range of entertainment and the chance to network. Over 100 winners in different categories were also announced, celebrating outstanding contribution to both the University of Westminster and to personal and professional development.
The 2023-24 academic year saw a record-breaking 3016 students successfully complete a level of the Westminster Employability Award, with over 38,000 activities being completed. There were also over 1500 Careers Consultant appointments, 760 Placement teams appointments attended and 1,663 students enrolled on Forage experiences with 1,472 completions between the beginning of August 2023 and May 2024.
Along with this there were 60 employer-led events with over 2,000 student and graduate attendees as of April 2024, and 192 and 542 students took part in long-term and short-term placements respectively.
Through the Future Ready Mentoring programmes 2,400 mentoring relationships were created. The initiative has given students the opportunity to connect with an experienced professional to help develop their skills, build their network and gain an insight into the world of work.
Westminster’s WeNetwork programmes have seen over 1500 students attend, while more than 300 students have taken part in the University’s Westminster Working Cultures programme, where students have undertaken week-long employability experiences in the UK as well as major cities around the world.
Also, this year The Big Idea competition saw 130 applications and is set to award £50,000 in funding to the winner later this year.
Caroline Lloyd said: “It was my absolute delight and privilege to host our eleventh WEA on 13 June. This is my seventh time, and it just gets better and better. It is a true joy to celebrate with so many of our students and the organising team. A huge well done to one and all!”
Victoria Schafer, Westminster Employability Award Coordinator, added: “Congratulations go to our student and employer winners for 2023-24, while we offer thank you to all those who supported this year’s event.”
Find out more about employability opportunities at the University of Westminster.
Photo Credit: Callum Fernandes-Clarke
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