Develop Skills

Skills for Work Certificate

Working part-time or during vacations doesn’t just mean extra income – it’s a chance to learn and develop skills employers look for in the workplace.

The Skills for Work Certificate is open to all University of Sheffield students and is a chance to reflect on what you’ve learned from working while you study. It’s designed to help you show employers the skills you’ve gained through work experience, and examples of when you’ve put those skills into practice. It can also help you decide on a graduate career, as you’ll be asked to do some research into a graduate job of your choice.

Business start-ups

As well as running sessions which help you build on your business know-how, University of Sheffield Enterprise offers a series of projects you can take part in throughout the year, from an Apprentice-style competition where you can win an internship at a top company, to the annual IBM university challenge. Whatever project you decide to get involved in, you won’t just be learning how to become a successful entrepreneur - you’ll also develop valuable skills and gain experience in everything from inventing to pitching, promoting and leading a project.

The Sheffield Graduate Award

The Sheffield Graduate Award is a prestigious award open to all students which recognises achievements and commitments outside of your degree. The award is endorsed by employers in a range of industries, and there are prizes for outstanding Graduate Award portfolios. If you complete the programme, you’ll be able to demonstrate to future employers you’ve got much more to offer in addition to what you’ve learned on your course. You will even be awarded your Sheffield Graduate Award certificate at your graduation ceremony.

Experience Sheffield

As a student at The University of Sheffield you have access to hundreds of opportunities to make your university experience unforgettable. Your experience will make you even more employable when you graduate. Find out what you can do, how you can get involved and what you can get out your experience.

Skills for Success

Whether you need to know more about networking, want to improve your interview technique or are looking to develop your presentation skills, we offer you the chance to hear first hand from employers and practice those all-important careers skills in an informal, interactive workshop run by top graduate recruiters.

Our skills sessions, taking place throughout the year cover all the key skills employers say they are looking for in graduates and help you prepare for those dreaded interviews and assessment centres.

Being part of a society

Societies range from cheese tasting to sports and hip-hop to belly dancing, as well as filmmaking, fencing and book clubs. There are music societies; art, dance and religious clubs, as well as special interest and academic groups – and you can get involved in as many as you like.

HEAR

If you get elected to a position of responsibility and/or play an active role in organising or promoting society activities, it looks great on your CV and application forms. Such achievements could also be entered in your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), a formal university document which records students’ curricular and extra-curricular accomplishments.

Involvement in sports & activities clubs

You don’t have to be an award-winning athlete to play a sport at Sheffield – there are sports teams for all levels, from recreational to elite – and whichever level you play at you’ll be building on your personal skills and experience as well as keeping fit. And if you’re interested in sports but don’t fancy playing on the team, you can still get involved by being on a committee, fundraising or volunteering.