Graduate career skills
At Leeds International Study Centre, we have introduced CareerAhead activities to build your employability skills and prepare you for the world of work. These extra-curricular activities will take place year-round and be based on campus. They will provide you with a variety of learning opportunities, including:
- Self-assessment
- Personal evaluation and reflection
- Industry and business research
- Individual and group work
CareerAhead attempts to assist you in your learning by identifying your personal strengths and weaknesses, while highlighting areas for you to focus on in order to be successful in future. You will acquire knowledge about the working world and can even create a compelling CV through these activities.
How it works
Through CareerAhead, we will help you develop skills essential for professional working environments, such as communication, teamwork and time management. You will be guided to identify your strengths and to create a personal development plan which give you goals for you to take forward in your studies.
Our alumni have demonstrated their developed collaborative skills through setting up their own website, called Mama’s Cooking, as a part of their CareerAhead activities. Their business aim was to provide fellow international students with cooking tips and recipes as an aid for homesickness. This developed their entrepreneurial abilities, as well as allowing them to focus on building important leadership and team skills.
Building these invaluable skills will also take place inside the classroom. All our courses and modules are designed to expand your abilities and better your study skills. Working both individually on essays and in diverse groups to contribute to projects will allow you to take on many scenarios in working life and prepare you for your future career.
You'll also have the opportunity to build up work experience by taking up part-time employment or a work placement during your studies. Find out more about working rights as part of your visa.
Virtual Internships
Benefit from an online internship placement in a career field of your choice with Virtual Internships. Having access to a virtual work placement experience will help prepare you for the world of work, by enabling you to put the knowledge you have gained from your academic studies into working practice*.
Once you begin your journey with us at Leeds International Study Centre, you will be able to utilise Virtual Internships at no extra cost and start gaining real-world industry experience while you study with us**.
Benefits of a Virtual Internship
- Develop your CV whilst you complete your studies.
- Improve your employability with evidence of work experience from a range of prestigious employers.
- Prepare for the future workplace by gaining experience of working remotely.
- Put what you learn during your pathway programme into practice and develop outside the classroom.
You will also gain access to CareerBridge, a professional development hub. Here, you will be assigned a supervisor who can help you develop your CV and interview techniques, as well as deliver key insights that will be useful once you have started your career.
*Under your Student visa you are permitted to work for up to 20 hours per week – this includes any hours you choose to devote to a virtual internship. Please see full terms and conditions for more information.
**Please note that a virtual internship is usually an unpaid experience.
At the University of Leeds
During your degree at the University of Leeds you will complete the assignments set out in your personal career development plan. This will ensure that you graduate not only with a globally recognised degree, but also with the right skills to secure a fantastic job in your chosen future career.
You will leave your time at the University of Leeds clear in your abilities and confident that you have developed practical skills for your professional life.
Work after study
Start your career in the UK with a new Graduate Immigration Route – a two-year post-study work visa for international students graduating from UK universities. If you begin your studies after autumn 2020, you will be able to work for up to two years after graduating with your valid Student visa. Your pathway programme is first step towards working in the UK.
Discover the Graduate Immigration Route