EMPLOYABILITY AWARD Frequently Asked Questions about the BG Employability Award
“Stand out from the crowd!” Why take part in the BG Employability Award? When you are applying for a job you will find that the employer is not only interested in your degree certificate but also in the portfolio of skills you have to offer and how you have used those skills. The BG Employability Award helps you to put together your portfolio of skills by highlighting skill building opportunities and encouraging you to reflect on your experiences to identify the skills you have gained and how you have used them. How does it work? You will gain points for taking part in certain activities such as workshops and lectures, participating in work experience including volunteering, part-time and vacation work and taking part in on-campus activities. You need to gain a minimum of 100 points to achieve the award. The BG Employability Award Progress Chart lists the activities and points and you can access this chart via your DCP to record your progress. How to get points? To achieve the BG Employability Award: • You will need: § 100 to 120 points to gain a PASS § More than 120 but less than 150 points to gain a MERIT § 150 - 195 to gain a DISTINCTION § 200 points or more to gain a DISTICTION PLUS • You will be required to provide evidence for activities outside of BGU • You have two years to gain the BG Employability Award. (All activities for which you can earn points will be counted from 1st September during your first year of study to 30th September at the start of your third year of study). • You will need to write a reflective piece of writing once you have completed the award.
How to gather Evidence Many of the activities will be verified by BG staff. However, some activities will require you to provide evidence; the progress chart indicates where evidence is not required (n/a), all other activities require a link to evidence. To provide evidence you will need to download the Evidence Form available from the Employability Award page on your DCP. The form should be completed and uploaded to a cloud storage area and links created to it from your Progress Chart. About the reflective piece of writing or interview (Please note that there will be a limited number of reflective interviews available)
Once you have completed the award, you will need to reflect on the activities you have participated in and the skills and experience you have gained. It is recommended that you use the Employability Award Skills Portfolio Log to help you reflect on your experiences as they happen. You should use this log to write examples of what you did and what skills you have learnt; also consider how else you could use the skill either now or in the future. Once you have completed the award, by gaining 100 points or more, producing a reflective piece of writing/attending an interview, and providing evidence as applicable, you will need to let us know by emailing bgfutures@bishopg.ac.uk. If you have any other questions please email bgfutures@bishopg.ac.uk. GETTING STARTED! From 2016 all first year students will be enrolled onto the Employability Award which you can access via the DCP.