About Sussex Plus

The Background

There is an almost annual increase in the number of graduates leaving UK universities. In the current economic climate, graduate recruitment has been greatly reduced – or even suspended – in many sectors of the economy. Graduates need to be job-ready and to stand out against the crowd to get the job, course or voluntary position they really want.

The Solution

To help tackle these issues, the Careers and Employability Centre is running a new project for undergraduates called Sussex Plus. Develop your skills whilst at university, from your academic work, extra-curricular activities, life experience, paid and voluntary work. You also need to be able to evidence – ie to write and talk about – the skills you’ve developed in all these spheres. So we’ll help you to create a webfolio, which is like a CV, but with so much more. You can scan in certificates and links to web pages. Include photos of yourself, details about projects you’ve completed, skills developed outside the curriculum or reflective learning. You’ve got the chance to be eye-catching to employers. Take that chance.

Why should I worry about developing and evidencing my skills?

With less jobs out there, you’ll need to be extra polished and job-ready to get the one you want. A webfolio can help you get on the best postgraduate course for you too. The more you’ve achieved at uni, the better. Take up some activities, paid or voluntary work, and you’ll be developing your skills before you know it. Employers often complain about, for example, graduates’ leadership skills, written skills, and business knowledge. The better you are at evidencing your skills and describing them to employers, the better position you’ll be in. Many applicants won’t have a webfolio to show to employers or admissions tutors, so impress them with yours.

What is the link between Sussex Plus and Skillclouds?

These are two complementary University of Sussex projects. Sussex Plus looks at skills developed in all areas of your life. Skillclouds provides personalised information about the skills gained through your degree programme, and can be used as a resource in the development of your Sussex Plus webfolio.

To find out more about Skillclouds, log into Sussex Direct and from your Study tab choose ‘Skillclouds’.

Who can get involved?

We are looking for up to 1,000 undergraduate students to take part in Sussex Plus during 2009-10. In 2010-11, the project will be open to up to 70% of undergraduates, and should roll out to postgrads in 2012.

OK, so how do I take part?

We want you to develop your skills through taking part in activities or paid/voluntary work outside of your degree. Then we’re looking for you to create an exciting webfolio, to document your skills and abilities to employers. To put together a webfolio, you need to attend an ‘Introduction to Sussex Plus’ session.

How does it work?