Targeted support for Under-Represented Groups

How we have adapted Goldsmiths Career Service to support those from a Black and Minority Ethnic background, those with a disability, mature students, students who are care leavers and those from low socioeconomic groups.

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Impact of Covid-19

Goldsmiths Careers Service is aware of the impact of Covid-19 on all our students and graduates, recognising that this may be particularly severe for those from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

We have adapted our service to meet the changing needs of our students and graduates, working continuously with those who use us to develop new forms of support and ensure we remain accessible.

We have continued to focus our service and knowledge on how we can best support all our student and graduates to achieve their career aspirations even in these challenging times.

Links with employers

We continue to forge strong links with employers in order to leverage opportunities for our students and graduates.  We have worked with many employers to adapt previously face to face opportunities to remote working formats.

We seek to use these platforms to showcase Goldsmiths students as well as inform employers about the uniqueness of Goldsmiths students and graduates.

Visit CareerSPACE to see our vacancies and employability events. 

New activities and resources

We also recognise that students from under-represented groups may face additional barriers accessing graduate-level employment.

Over the past couple of years, we have developed new activities and resources to support our core under-represented groups (those from a Black and Minority Ethnic background, those with a disability, mature students, students who are care leavers and those from low socio-economic groups), as outlined in Goldsmiths Access and Participation Plan.

We have clear evidence that our targeted interventions make a real difference to student career readiness, which is a key indicator of success in the graduate labour market.

Our 3 main flagship programmes for under-represented groups are currently:

  • Interns on Campus is a paid summer internship programme, now in its 3rd year, which targets students from under-represented groups
  • Goldsmiths Mentoring Scheme is our in house mentoring scheme launched this year, which provides mentoring support to students from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds using Goldsmiths alumni as mentors
  • GoldReach is our inclusive programme of tailored support, launched in Jan 2020, which targets students from under-represented groups to expand their skills, experience and professional networks through regular, tailored careers interventions

Help us improve

We continue to review how we support all our students and graduates. We want to know how Covid-19 is affecting you and your career plans.

Let us know by completing the post-activity feedback form emailed after you undertake any Careers Service activities or just email us direct.

Connections with other organisations

As part of our Widening Participation Strategy, we have a range of online resources that are tailored for particular under-represented groups in the workplace and will be expanding these as we engage with new organisations over the coming year, adding to those we already have an in-depth relationship with such as:

We know that organisations are still recruiting and students are working towards various application deadlines for jobs, volunteering, further study and those wanting to make career decisions. The Careers Service is open and we continue to deliver a bespoke service to our students and graduates throughout the changing situation.

We encourage you to book an appointment today. We can also advise you on where to look in the current graduate labour market, helping you develop your skills and secure work opportunities – no matter what stage you're at in planning your career.