Hi, I’m Nat, a first-year Nutrition and Dietetics student, and I recently completed the Professional Skills Award. This self-directed online programme at the University of Surrey enhances employability through eight key areas including: career pathways, work experience, interview techniques, sustainability, and skill development.

Over the course of roughly 70 hours, the award helps students recognise their strengths, gain practical experience, and develop skills that will support their future careers. I undertook this award for three key reasons. I wanted to –

• delve deeper into personal development,
• explore more about sustainability,
• and enhance my career readiness.

Personal Development

The award offers a chance to explore the skills employers seek through a Professional Skills Framework. This was incredibly useful as it allows you to identify your strengths and pinpoint areas for improvement while also understanding the broader skill categories that employers value.

Exploring Opportunities

To gain more specific skills, you can volunteer for a project, exchanging your time for hands-on learning. This will give you work experience to evidence to employers when applying for your desired role. A lot of skills are transferable to many different industry sectors.

Problem-solving and teamwork skills for example, can be learnt in many different roles so giving volunteering a go can be really valuable. I volunteered for a forest school and even though my degree is not directly related (nutrition and dietetics) I learnt a lot about teamwork, empathy and problem-solving, which are transferable skills for the NHS.

There was also a comprehensive module on sustainability that provided excellent insight into ethical decision making, sustainable practices and the language and actions we take around this subject. This module was really beneficial for applying the concepts of sustainability to lots of different industry sectors, which can demonstrate your commitment to societal impact and your initiation to learn beyond academic studies. 

Career Readiness

My favourite part of the course was the variety of tasks designed to prepare you for a career. From building  your professional presence through a LinkedIn profile and attending a CV or cover letter workshop to practising video interviews and learning about assessment centres and their expectations.

Before my degree, I had no idea how to use LinkedIn, but over time, it’s become an invaluable tool for networking and job searching. I’m grateful to have begun to learn how to use it effectively – it’s opened doors to some good opportunities!

Participating in the award was a brilliant experience and allowed me to develop a wide range of skills, boosting my confidence for the world of work. Additionally, if students complete the award by the end of May in their final year, it will be included in their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), providing beneficial recognition for future employers, and enhancing their CV and LinkedIn profile.

A big thanks to the University of Surrey Careers team for providing a really useful tool for helping students prepare for the world of work.

 If you want to find out more about the award you can visit the Professional Skills Award page here.