Service Statement

Employability & Careers

Statement

The Employabilty & Careers Service provides a competent and professional service which offers:

Information, advice & guidance on a range of issues concerning your studies and how you can utilise your skills in order to secure employment in your chosen area of expertise during or after your studies
Guidance to help you explore the possible actions you could take but supporting you as you make your own choices about what to do
Assessment of the issues you discuss in order to see what can be addressed with an Employability & Careers Service staff member
Referral to other University-based teams and/or external resources

The service offers you:

The professional expertise and knowledge of an Employability & Careers staff member
A setting in which to assess what is happening in work and study contexts
A way to determine the exact nature of a particular problem
A context in which to explore some possible courses of action
A supportive person to help you clarify your goals for the future
Time to plan effective strategies to deal with problems
Support in taking appropriate action towards achieving your goals
A framework for reflection and evaluation
Referral to appropriate workshops, group sessions, University-based or external resources
Follow up where appropriate

What students can expect from Employability & Careers Service staff:

To be available to see students at the agreed times and to treat them with respect, fairness and honesty
Perform tasks with the necessary skills and competence
Communicate clearly, courteously and in a professional manner at all times
Explain procedures, processes and time scales accurately
Listen attentively to requests, comments and complaints
Provide advice, guidance and information within agreed timescales
Maintain a comfortable, non-threatening and open environment
To identify needs and where necessary complete follow up actions
Ensure student confidentiality
Work collaborately to meet service goals in line with quality assurance

What Employability & Careers staff expect of students:

To maintain an efficient and effective service we expect students to arrive on time for one to one sessions with the relevant paperwork (if required).
Students will be asked to complete a record sheet (upon each visit), which details personal information and services they wish to gain an insight on.
In cases of lateness, the staff member may ask students to book an alternative appointment.
For “quick queries”, it is beneficial for the student to understand what their individual issue is and to have given it some thought before arriving, this will enable us to establish the best route of action more quickly and convey this route to the student.
Students who are unable to attend booked appointments must telephone and cancel, as early as possible.
Students may be asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire, which although not compulsory does help us to review and adapt the service where appropriate – this may be completed online or via hard copy

What you need to be aware of

There are limits to the degree of confidentiality we can offer; make sure you are familiar with our guidelines.

Employability & Careers Service staff are at liberty to keep a record of any sessions which students attend, these records are for the sole purpose of evaluating and reviewing the service and gives us the opportunity to adapt the service to meet the students needs. These details are kept in a lockable filing cabinet or secure database. Your name and course details are used only for statistical purposes and for evaluation of the service.

Where contact is to be made with any referral sources on your behalf, you will be informed and your agreement sought.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality statement

The Employability & Careers Service operates a confidential information, advice and guidance service to all students, staff and perspective students at London South Bank University. All sessions with an advisor will remain confidential except in certain circumstances when an advisor believes that a client may be of harm to themselves or others or if the adviser is duty bound to report by law. Should this be the case the advisor has a responsibility to report the concern to the appropriate Departments/Organisations.
We understand confidentiality to mean that no information regarding a service user shall be given directly or indirectly to any third party external to the Employability & Careers Service without their explicit consent to disclose such information. Before speaking on your behalf advisors will ask for your permission to speak with third parties before doing so. Advisors will ensure that the Quick Query session or One to One appointment is held within a confidential environment.

Storage of Information

During the course of your interview the adviser will need to collate information on the session as well as details about yourself. The information taken in this session will be entered onto a database which is only accessible by the team, your name and personal details are not released however for the purpose of statistical data collection information that does not identify a client is used by the service to assess the make-up of the client base and assists towards changing the service offered. Any written information taken during a session is held within a locked filing cabinet as are any written appointment diaries. Information is kept for 1 academic year before being destroyed.

Data Protection Act 1998

The team operates under the Data Protection Act 1998. Staff may ask for your signature and for you to date any paper record collection as an agreement to the terms of the act and as an agreement to your records being kept in such way. For more information on the Data Protection Act 1998 please see: www.lsbu.ac.uk/dpa The data protection statement for the Employability & Careers Service is as follows and appears on the all ECS forms:

London South Bank University is a data controller under the terms of the 1998 Data Protection Act. The Employability & Careers Service follows University policy in matters of data protection. The data requested in this form is covered by the notification provided by the University under the Data Protection Act. Personal data will be used solely in the department for statistical purposes and electronic records keeping. The data will not be passed to any third party without your consent, except when the University is required to do so by law. Any formal enquiries concerning the use of data noted here should be addressed to the Employability & Careers Service Manager.

This policy was last updated on May 18th 2012