the uel professional development award. the pda – what is it? a flexible employability development...
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The UEL Professional Development Award
The PDA – what is it?
A flexible employability development programme offering you certification for your involvement in employability-activities. The award will:•Prepare you for the challenges of work •Help you develop the skills and attributes employers seek in addition to a degree•Help you become familiar with the recruitment process•Sell you to employers more effectively •Demonstrate your commitment to professional development.
Why do it?
• Employers increasingly want more than a degree
• Grade Inflation• Good grades do not necessarily mean good
employees• They want the skills to perform in the workplace• They want the right attitude• You need to stand out!• And it’s free!
Why an award?
• Employers have recognised such awards as meaningful and desirable e.g. DofE
• http://www.stockport.gov.uk/2013/2982/9325/638379/thevalueofthedukeofedinburghawardtoemployers
What is involved?
• The award consists of four streams for which you will have to collect evidence
SkillsExperienceNetworkingSelf Assessment and Self Marketing
Skills Development
Skills can be developed formally and informally. CaSE will be running half day training sessions in November, December, March and June to assist you gain credits for skills development. Sessions include:•Communication Skills•Presentation Skills•Building Confidence•Negotiation Skills•Management and Leadership•The Likeability Factor•Networking Skills•Commercial Awareness•Handling Difficult People and Situations•Workplace Etiquette
Experience
The most important element!You will need to collect evidence from at least 35 hours of experience. This could include:• Part-time work• Work Placement• Internship• Volunteering• Work Shadowing• Students’ Union/Students’ Rep. activities• Working as a LAA or a LAM• Careers Champion – in development
Networking
You need to provide at least two examples of where you have networked with professionals. This could be:•Attending a Careers Fair•Attending a Professional Bodies/Employer Event on campus e.g. Employability Week•Having a Mentor•Creating a LinkedIn profile
Self Assessment and Self Marketing
Self Assessment can include:•Taking a Psychometric Test or Personality Assessment•Assessing your career preferences•Producing an up to date CV•Producing a Personal Development Plan•Completing a Competency Based Online Assessment (Gradscore – going live soon!)
Reflective Logs
You will be provided with:
•Blank Reflective Logs for each stream
•Sample Reflective Logs indicating how you need to complete them
How much work is needed?
• Certain elements of the award are compulsory accounting for 75% of mark:
5 Work Experience Logs 2 Skills Development Logs 2 Networking Logs Production of CV Production of Personal Development Plan• To gain the remaining 25% you need to complete
another 5 activities of your choice e.g. a 3rd Skills Development activity, a Psychometric Test, create a LinkedIn profile or put forward your own suggestion!
Your Portfolio
You will need to collate your logs- at least 10- along with your CV, Personal Development Plan, test results, evidence of attendance at skills sessions in a portfolio. There are two options:•Download the logs from CaSE website and submit electronically once completed•Create a Portfolio either through Mahara or your own system
Mahara
Mahara is UEL’s chosen e-portfolio system available through Moodle under the MyPortfolio tab. It will allow you to:•Create a portfolio where you can store your evidence and more•Join the UEL PDA Group and share your experience with other users•Demonstrate to employers your creative talents!
What support is available?
• Everyone signing up to the PDA will be assigned to the relevant Careers Consultant for support with undertaking the award including advice on activities and completing the logs
• Support for those choosing to use Mahara will be available from the IT Services team who will run weekly drop in sessions to help you compile your portfolio. User manuals are also available online.
• A sample portfolio with sample completed logs is available through Mahara- mine!
Why do it now?
• CaSE has a full calendar of events for the new academic year starting now!
• These include:• Skills Academy Sessions• Employer Events• Networking Opportunities• Access to experience through our work experience and
volunteering teams• External careers fairs – check out www.prospects.ac.uk• You still have time to be part of the first graduation
ceremony in December!
Graduation Ceremony
• Everyone completing their logs to a satisfactory standard will receive the award and graduate at a special ceremony which will be held twice a year – December and June
• Additional awards will be offered to students completing their portfolio to a particularly high standard – 5 separate awards and one overall winner of “Most Employable Student/Graduate 2015”
Questions?