The University’s Career Centre acts as a bridge between employers and students.
In today’s global world marked by radical and unprecedented changes, putting employability at stake, students and graduates need to distinguish themselves not just through their academic degrees and excellence, but by showing evidence of their initiatives, adaptability, self-leadership and talent.
Employers want to find young people with the right set of soft skills that allows them to deliver, adapt and transform. Therefore, the need to train and develop these skills has become vital.
University life at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD) abounds with opportunities for students to develop and acquire soft skills.
There is no single way to develop soft skills. It is pursued through different types of activities that can be formal or informal involving interactions with external players including employers and entrepreneurs, round-table discussions, meetings with professionals, conferences, workshops, training sessions, competitions, role play, art classes, charity work, peer tutoring and internship programmes.
Developing soft skills enhances the portfolio of students/graduates’ increasing their employability and employment opportunities. The role of SUAD’s Career Centre is also to make sure that students have the ability to articulate – soft skills gained from a variety of experiences by providing individual or group guidance on how to evidence and market these skills to prospective employers.
A career is about making the right choice and this decision process starts at the university level. The Career Centre, which is fully integrated into student life and guides students from the first year of their studies, plays a key role in this mission. The Career Centre’s strategies to make students career-ready include providing internship opportunities, career discovery workshops, career mentoring programmes, networking with business leaders and employers, part-time work on and off-campus, volunteering and community engagement.
The Covid-19 crisis proves the need for more digital services and solutions including career services. As a response to the emergence of Covid-19, and in order to adapt to the rapid change, the Career Centre now provides online career services and resources while finding new ways of collaboration with employers and facilitates virtual student-employer interactions. Since employers challenge universities to provide them with highly prepared graduates for the workplace, having less career guidance services offered to students is not an option. It is why SUAD succeeded in managing a flexible and blended career services delivery model, combining both a physical and digital presence. The new online career platform is expected to play an increasing role in the future to support students’ career-readiness and enhance their employability skills.
The Career Centre works on empowering students to take ownership of their own career development by helping them find new tools to explore opportunities and get guidance. Activating the Career Centre’s online presence is also a good way to make sure that all students can equally benefit from the services that are provided by the centre.
