Employer engagement opportunities

Raise your profile to attract our enthusiastic and diverse students
Employer Engagement OpportunitiesAttract the brightest talent - supporting you to access our students and graduates

Contact one of the team today to discuss how we can support your recruitment needs or how we can help raise the profile of your organisation on campus:

Telephone: +44 1752 587729

Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk

We look forward to hearing from you!

A warm welcome from the Employer Engagement Team

The Careers Service provides a range of activities aimed to help connect employers with our talented students and graduates. 
Our dedicated Employer Engagement Team work in partnership with employers, offering a tailored service depending on your business requirements and objectives. 
Explore this page for an overview of our activities and we look forward to talking these through with you in more detail. With a wealth of experience between us you are in safe hands and we’re here to help. 
If you would like to find out more about any of these activities, please contact us.
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729

Discover employer events and activities

Advertising vacancies
myCareer is our online platform where you can advertise your vacancies free of charge to all University of Plymouth students and graduates.
The types of vacancies you can advertise through this service include paid part-time/casual roles, short-term internships, placements/year in industry and graduate jobs/schemes. Please see our vacancy terms and conditions for more details.
To make your vacancy more appealing, include an ED&I statement and show that you welcome applications from international students/graduates.
Log on now or register for an account to add, preview, update and delete your job postings as required. 
 

Promote your vacancies through myCareer

Placements
A placement (also known as a placement year, sandwich-year, year-in-industry and work-placement) is an excellent opportunity for an employer to welcome an undergraduate student into their team for up to one year. Plymouth has a long history of supporting businesses (big and small, locally, nationally, internationally) with recruiting undergraduates into placements and will often use this effective talent mapping recruitment method for filling graduate level roles.
Key benefits to a placement host:
  • identify talented individuals early
  • bring in fresh and innovative ideas
  • bring in a new perspective
  • extra resource for busier times
  • no long term commitment
  • helps to raise the profile of your business within the student network
  • students can complete part time hours in the final year.
We have a dedicated team of Placement Advisers, providing you access to our students' current knowledge and enthusiasm and giving you a fresh perspective on the talent available. If you would like to find about recruiting a student on a placement as part of their degree programme, please:
And speak to:
  • Lindsey Marshall: Employer Engagement Officer specialising in placements for psychology, biomedical sciences, chemistry, biological and marine sciences. 
  • Nikki Reid-Foster: Employer Engagement Officer specialising in placements for built environment, business, tourism, digital arts and criminology.
  • Andrea Kemp: Employer Engagement Officer specialising in placements for computing, maths, engineering, environmental science, geography and geology. 
  • Lois Dyer, Myla Serdiuk and Haydon Anstis: our brilliant Employer Engagement Assistants.
Internships
Micro-internships
Each year we deliver a micro-internship programme open to undergraduate students from all courses and stages. The micro-internships are voluntary work experience that will last between 3-10 days (maximum 37 hours per week). It is a great way for a business to benefit from our talented students who will assist you with a short project or a collection of defined tasks, whilst giving students the chance to develop their employability skills before securing a placement year or graduating into the world of work.
  • Spring cycle: Monday 25 March – Friday 12 April 2024​ (application closing date, 15 Feb)
  • Summer cycle: Monday 17 June – Friday 2 August 2024 (application closing date, 8 May)

Examples of previous projects offered include:
  • Animator
  • Market and Competitor Analyst
  • Marketing Media Developer
  • Publishing Marketing Assistant
  • Procurement Assistant
  • Social Media Assistant
  • Finance and Sustainability Intern
  • Engineering Researcher
  • Student Engagement Researcher
  • Video Editor and Marketing Content
  • Education Project Researcher
  • Resource Developer
  • Business and Manufacturing Assistant
  • Digital Content Creator
  • Oxygen Concentrator and COVID 19 Intern
  • Seagrass Research Assistant
  • Sustainability and Science Research Assistant
  • Data and Evaluation Analyst
  • Cybership Assistant

To register your interest, find out more or discuss project ideas please email internships@plymouth.ac.uk.


Hannah, Make SW, Summer 2023:
“The micro-internship programme has, once again, been a hugely beneficial experience for us. We tasked an intern researching an environmentally-friendly alternative for a widely-used textiles printing technique – and I am very pleased to say that it was great success. Working with our intern, Hermione, has been great: she is self-sufficient, hardworking, and proactive. A big thank you to her!”
Robert, Elements of Pattern, Spring 2022:
“Our intern joined us in April 2023 and his brief was to help publicise and promote our pattern making app Elements Of Pattern through social media. In the short time he worked with us our intern proved to be a great asset fulfilling the task in hand with efficiency, generating an encouraging amount of interest in the project and collecting a number of followers on social media.”

Summer internships
A summer internship (also referred to as a summer placement) has all the benefits of a shorter internship, and more, as these can last between one and three months. An increasing number of students and employers are seeking/offering these opportunities each year because a lot can be achieved over a summer experience. This can be a very appealing option to students who will not always be able to undertake a year long placement. If you have a summer project in mind, that would provide invaluable experience to one of our students, please get in touch to discuss advertising this with us.
 
Funded internships
The Careers Insight Programme is our current funded work experience scheme and has a WP (widening participation) focus. We aim to provide a host organisation with a student for up to 100 hours; working on a clearly defined project.
A single bursary payment is made directly to the student, coordinated by the University, at the end of the experience.
The scheme is open to students who are defined as under-represented by the Office for Students (OfS); and we are keen to hear from potential hosts who have a strong belief in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). To find out more about the Careers Insight Programme, please see our social mobility page.
For more information on any of our internship opportunities, Melissa Worboys, our Employer Engagement Officer specialising in internships and short work experience opportunities will be happy to talk with you by:

Internship opportunities

Careers fairs
Exhibiting at a careers fair is a great way for businesses to raise their profile and promote opportunities directly to our students. Situated in our spacious Rolle Marquee, our careers fairs provide the ideal arena for you to meet and talk to a wide range of students from varying courses and all stages.*
Dates for 2023/2024 careers fairs
  • Part-time Jobs Fair: Wednesday 4 October 2023
  • All Sector Placement & Graduate Careers Fair: Tuesday 7 November 2023
  • STEM Placement & Graduate Careers Fair: Wednesday 8 November 2023
  • South West Placement & Graduate Careers Fair: Wednesday 21 February 2024
  • Geo-Environmental Placement & Graduate Careers Fair: Wednesday 28 February 2024
*Other than the Part-time Jobs Fair, students from nursing, midwifery, health professions, medicine, dentistry and teaching do not generally attend our careers fairs due to the nature of their courses. Contact us to discuss alternative ways of reaching these cohorts.
Quiet hour
During the first hour of our fairs, we try and create a calmer and quieter environment by dimming the marquee lights, turning off music and screens and asking those in the marquee at this time to be mindful of noise levels. This provides a more suitable ambience for any student who would benefit from exploring the fair in a calmer setting.
We are a diverse university which strives to be an open and accessible organisation; one that upholds the values of equality and diversity and actively stands against all forms of discrimination. You can read more in our Good Practice Guide.
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729
 

Raise your profile at one of our careers fairs

Employer insight panels
Could you share your career journey and offer insights into working in your sector?
Our Employer Insight Panels have been developed to be of interest to students on a wide range of courses and at any stage. For each panel we invite 5–6 professionals to talk about their career journey, the type of roles in their sector, the main skills and attributes sought and perhaps even an insight into jobs of the future! Once you have agreed to be a speaker, we will discuss in more detail what you could cover.
We are particularly interested to hear from University of Plymouth alumni, however that is not a prerequisite to apply to be a speaker.
The panel events are usually conducted on Zoom and last for 1.5 hours. However, speakers can choose to participate only during their allotted time if preferred, which typically lasts for around 20 minutes.
We have a variety of panels planned for 2023/2024, including:
  • Careers in the Public Sector: Tuesday 31st October 2023 1-2:30pm
  • Careers in Sustainability: Tuesday 28th November 2023 1-2:30pm
  • Routes into Teaching: Tuesday 5th December 2023 1-2:30pm
  • Careers in the South West: Tuesday 20th February 2024 1-2:30pm
  • Careers in Marketing: Tuesday 5th March 2024 2-3:30pm
On occasion, we also run panels for specific cohorts of students as part of their employability offer within the curriculum. Please see our section ‘Linking with the Curriculum’ for more details.
“As an alumni of the University of Plymouth I have been invited to present at an Earth Sciences/sustainability panel a few times. A student who attended the 2021 event, successfully applied and joined the Environment Agency in December 2022, three months after graduating. The Environment Officer role was advertised on the University’s internal jobs board which can be accessed by students and alumni for career opportunities. He becomes the 5th Environment Officer in Cornwall alone to graduate from university in the past six years, which says a lot for the courses and opportunities the University offer.” 
Jack Hale, Environment Officer – Land and Water, Environment Agency
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729

Panels

Employer promotional activities
Aside from our Career Fairs, there are other options to enable you to engage with our students throughout the academic year.
Employer in the Foyer drop-in stands
Our ‘Employer in the Foyer’ takes place at the heart of campus in the Charles Seale Hayne Library entrance foyer, adjacent to the Student Hub. Your stand positions you perfectly to informally engage with our students as they move in and out of the building and is perfect for organisations wishing to talk to students from a wide range of stages and courses.
Bookings can be made for Tuesdays or Thursdays through October/November and February/March. The cost includes the provision of a table, chairs, and the marketing of your stand. We invite you to bring pull-up banner(s) and any materials you may have.
To get the most out of this activity you need to be proactive in engaging with the students as they pass by.
Presentations
More and more organisations have now started to conduct presentation activities virtually and to universities collectively rather than individually. We are happy to consider promoting these events and would prefer to discuss the detail with you so we can ensure they are relevant to our students, not similar to the sessions we offer and there is the capacity on our events calendar to add them. Once confirmed, we will promote your session by adding it to our online events calendar. For an additional fee of £50 + VAT, we would also add it to our bi-weekly 'What's on' event alert email, display it as a slide on the screens in our Careers Hub, and send emails to our Careers Consultants, Placement Officers, and relevant academics.*
Alternatively, if you wish to present to a specific group of students, please refer to the 'Linking with the Curriculum' section.
*Please note that due to the high volume of requests we receive, we may not be able to accommodate your request during peak times.
Bespoke activities
Organisations come to us with bespoke activities which we are always happy to accommodate. In the past we have hosted outdoor gazebos and coffee carts. Hiring of space for these activities is £100 + VAT and we will work with you to find the best space on campus for your unique activity and promote your presence.
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729
 
Skills development activities
BOOST
BOOST is a skills development activity, launched for the first time in 2022. Open to students from all courses and stages, a business sets a real-life business challenge for teams of students to develop a business solution for. It has been designed to help students develop key employability skills and provide an opportunity for employers to engage with students in a unique environment that differs from traditional recruitment events. This is a great way to see students working in a team, undertaking workshops linked to the challenge, networking, pitching, leading a group and actively using their key transferable skills. 
If you would like to chat to us about collaborating on a skills development opportunity and benefit from students developing fresh, innovative and creative solutions for a challenge you’re currently facing, then please chat with us for more information.
“The Boost event provides an opportunity to work with others in developing and proposing a solution to a real business challenge. Our subject matter experts will provide some great guidance around some of the key topics such as marketing, project management and finance, which will impact your decision making; skills you will also need as you move into the employment market, whatever your background. You will have the chance to collaborate in a team and use and develop your creative skills! It’s a lively and fun day and provides some great networking opportunities with some of Babcock’s SME’s.”
Rosie Prout, Early Careers Manager, Babcock International
Skills sessions
If you have an idea for a particular skill development session you would like to offer to run, please get in touch. Your session should complement without replicating sessions we already offer internally or could be pertinent to specific industry sectors which would then enhance our students' knowledge and expertise.
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729
 

BOOST in action

Careers Mentoring Programmes
At the University of Plymouth, we believe that mentors play a pivotal role in helping to develop and refine a student's career skills, improve their personal brand and provide valuable insight into their career journey.
But why become a mentor? 
  • To give back to the next generation 
  • To provide advice and guidance 
  • To share knowledge and support others 
  • To maintain and develop networking links 
  • To gain new perspectives and fresh ideas 
All we ask is that you can offer 4 sessions across a 6-month period. 
All our programmes include optional training, events, a digital handbook and support throughout. For more information, please see our become a mentor on the Careers Mentoring Programme page. 
For more information, please speak to either Francesca Canale-Dow, Student Engagement Officer or Sam Dillon, Student Engagement Administrator. 
Connect with Francesca and Sam on LinkedIn. 

A two way process

Linking with the curriculum
Supporting employability development
As part of the Careers offer within the curriculum, our Careers Consultants design and deliver a range of activities where the input from professionals is a key component. There are various ways to engage with students, such as speaking on a panel in person or virtually, setting a challenge relating to your business for the students to solve or networking with the students for them to practice that skill.
Regular activities include the Careers in Psychology Conference, Biological Sciences Panel, Business & Marketing Challenge, Maths Conference, and Criminology Volunteer Showcase.
Presenting
Organisations often ask if they can link with specific courses or subject areas to deliver a targeted talk. One of the ways to do this can be through a timetabled session in the curriculum, either with our Careers Consultants, Placement Officers or we can link you directly with an academic. You will work with the person delivering the session to plan your allocated time slot and content to enhance the session.
Please note, these sessions are limited and will be offered to those who will be of most benefit and interest to the students and will enhance the subject being delivered.
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729
 
Sponsor our women’s development programme, Bounce!
Bounce! is a free two day personal and professional development programme aimed at current University of Plymouth students who identify as a woman. 
The aim of the programme is to build:
  • confidence in recognising their skills and strengths
  • personal power
  • assertiveness and impact when speaking
  • sense of mindfulness and wellbeing
  • ability to make personal and professional connections.
It’s interactive and each day guest speakers join the group to share their own experiences and invite participants to ask them questions. 
What are the benefits of sponsoring Bounce!
We deliver Bounce! three times a year and participant feedback confirms that many have benefited greatly from the two day programme. 
As a sponsor you will … 
  • contribute to building a talent pool/ pipeline of confident and ambitious women
  • access students who may not yet have considered you as an employer
  • raise the profile of yourself and/or organisation on campus and engage with the University in a unique way; featuring on the website (logo, organisation details) and associated marketing materials
  • contribute to your organisation’s corporate social responsibility and diversity/ inclusion strategy outside of graduate recruitment initiatives
  • offer your staff a unique staff development opportunity by being one of our guest speakers. A guest speaker slot involves talking about professional journeys (opportunities and challenges) along with sharing tips gained along the way.
How do I sponsor a programme?
Whether you are a sole trader, SME or larger corporation we would love to hear from you and discuss your potential involvement. Take a look at our sponsorship opportunities or contact Bounce! Lead facilitator Sarah Plunkett.
To attract the best applications, you need to make your organisation the one of choice by showcasing your core values. When asked, students highly rate diversity, flexible/hybrid working and sustainability.
The Employer Engagement team have brought together resources to help inform you.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – be an organisation of choice!
The University recognises that by valuing each other’s varied contributions we can all achieve more. That is why we support a diverse community through our equality plan, which recognises the good work we’re already doing to support under-represented groups of students, whilst setting new challenges and goals for the future. 
For the Employer Engagement Team, there is a strong link with many organisations we work with, who have a current focus on EDI and are embracing a range of ways to increase their social diversity. For some organisations, they will already be very comfortable with EDI. For others, this may be a subject they are less familiar with or are at the early stages of embedding within the organisation’s culture and strategy.  
Regardless of where you are with your EDI journey, we are here to help! We have developed a useful Good Practice Guide, beneficial to all of our organisations. As well as providing an overview of EDI and the benefits it can bring to an organisation, there are also some top tips and easy steps for embedding EDI within your organisation.
We would be happy to chat this through further with you: 
 
Recruiting international students – easier than you think
Plymouth is proud to have a diverse and growing international student population and this mix of different cultures brings many benefits to our vibrant and inclusive University campus. Upon finishing their studies, many of our international graduates look to continue their career in the UK and will be proactively looking for employment opportunities. Recruiting an international graduate is much easier with the new Graduate Visa not requiring the employer to be a sponsor, as well as a simplified Skilled Worker Visa option.
“Employers with a diverse workforce benefit from higher profits (CBI), increased innovation and creativity and enhanced brand appeal.” (Forbes)
Employer recruitment guide: To help demystify the process of recruiting an international graduate here is an excellent resource available to you, for free, compiled by the ‘International Student Employability Group’ – Recruiting international graduates.
Top tip: Stand out from the crowd and make it clear within the wording of your job adverts, job descriptions and relevant company webpages that you welcome applications from international students, for graduate level positions. Simple but effective.
SME business support
We recognise that SMEs may face different time, resource and budget challenges compared to larger organisations, when it comes to recruitment. Our team is here to listen and advise you where we can, and although all the activities listed elsewhere on this webpage are open to all types and sizes of business, we have several initiatives in place to make our activities and services more accessible:
  • pricing based on organisation size/type
  • free vacancy promotion on our online portal myCareer
  • opportunities to be a part of our online panel events, helping raise your organisation’s profile to our students
  • advice on salary for placements and graduate roles
  • for those organisations who are located in the South West, we host a South West Placement & Graduate Careers Fair in early Spring.
Stay in the loop
Consider signing up to receive emails from these local business groups to hear about funding opportunities, training and more: 
Local Chamber of Commerce groups are also worth considering joining.
If you have any questions, please contact the team:
Email: employers.careers@plymouth.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1752 587729
 

The most popular region for University of Plymouth graduates to live and work

Engaging with other University services
As well as working with the Careers Service, your organisation could benefit from connecting and collaborating with the wider University. There are numerous ways to benefit from our resources and expertise including accessing equipment and facilities, connecting with our research and engaging in professional development. Examples include:
  • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)
  • Degree Apprenticeships
  • R&D Solutions Fund 
A wide range of business services can be explored via Enterprise Solutions. 

Employer Engagement Team