Southampton Business School awarded UK’s Best University Placement Service

The University of Southampton Business School Placements Office has been named the Best University Placement Service (Under 500 Placements) in this year’s National Undergraduate Employability Awards.

The Award celebrates the contribution made by the Southampton team, which has gone above and beyond to help students in Southampton Business School apply and maximise their work experience opportunities.

The innovative service is going from strength-to-strength, in their unwavering support for students and employers. The judges were particularly impressed with the team’s first-year placement preparation module, which was rated ‘excellent’ by the students themselves, and has since been rolled out to all first-year undergraduates in Southampton Business School. The team’s innovative video-sourcing across employers was also recognised as providing students with insightful, educational and reusable content.

“We love our work with students and employers, and it’s great to be recognised in this way,” said Rob Jack, Placements Team Leader for the Southampton Business School. “Placements have a hugely positive impact on the student experience and employability, so we hope this award may encourage more of our talent to take up placements as part of their course.

“We’d like to thank all our students, industry partners, and colleagues across the university, who have worked with us to enable this success,” Rob enthused.

Professor Martin Broad, Head of Southampton Business School, praised his colleagues and students, adding: “Employability of Southampton Business School graduates is a key driver of our success and our Placement Team excel in the distinctive offering that we provide to all our undergraduate students. Being recognised for this by the NUE is fantastic news for all concerned and confirms our commitment to an education portfolio that is relevant to the needs of our business community and society.”

Students on every undergraduate course at Southampton Business School have the option of taking a year-long placement as part of their degree, providing a valuable opportunity to apply their learning to ‘real world’ situations and develop transferable skills useful for their future career.

The Business School’s placements team builds connections with employers and provides dedicated support to students. This support, combined with the opportunities offered by the University’s extensive central Careers and Employability Service, enables students to gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s competitive job market.

The team also offer a bespoke service to the organisations they work with, helping employers to create successful pipelines of talent into roles which add value to their business.

Now in their 10th year, the National Undergraduate Employability Awards have become a benchmark for identifying those in the industry that are leading from the front and making a difference, with awards presented to Employers, University Employability Services and Students.

For more information on how to engage with the Placements Office, please call +44 (0)2380 595 133 or email: [email protected]