How we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals
In all our activities we aim to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We support students’ current and future wellbeing by advising them on how to balance work, studies and career management activity.
To protect wellbeing we do not advertise part-time roles for current students that require a commitment of more than 15 hours per week during term time (9 hours a week for PGR students). This is based on research carried out with our student population. In Summer 2023 we employed an Employ.ed On Campus intern to understand students' attitudes to part-time work.
We do not advertise opportunities that require students to take medication, such as participation in drug trials.
We actively promote part-time & flexible working Internships.
Our careers education activities are inclusive and equitable in their focus, content, and delivery. For example, we run regular drop-ins both in-person and online to improve accessibility, enabling students to talk to us without making appointments. Many of our sessions are delivered online, and some in the evenings, for greater accessibility. All of our resources are online and available 24/7.
We encourage and promote the benefits of lifelong learning throughout our careers education, information, advice, and guidance, as an essential part of employability.
Impartiality: As members of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) we must embed the principle of impartiality into the design and delivery of career development services so that students and graduates have the freedom to develop their own career paths.
Our strategy demonstrates an equitable approach: "supporting and impacting the majority while targeting those who need it the most", supported by our Fair Use policy.
We wholeheartedly support equality, diversity and inclusion, and work with employers to support their EDI initiatives. We also partner with EmployAbility to offer sessions focused on support for inclusion and reasonable adjustments.
- Equality, diversity and inclusion | The University of Edinburgh
- Guide for employers - how to improve diversity through recruitment
We recognise “gender equality” also includes supporting underachieving and disadvantaged men and boys, and non-binary individuals.
We support students and graduates to make career choices that give them productive employment and decent work, in alignment with their values.
We implement, support and advocate for best practice work experience in all vacancies we advertise, as described in the Work Experience Standard.
The Work Experience Standard (agcas.org.uk)
We work with employers to ensure a range and breadth of organisations for students to connect with, that reflects the diversity of our student body (for example organisation sector, size, and location).
How we work with employers
Our advertising policy requires that all paid roles (graduate or internships) based in the UK must meet National Minimum Wage Requirements. We do not advertise commission-only roles, and if opportunities include exit fees, these must be clearly stated on the job description.
We do not advertise UK-based unpaid work experience which is more than 70 hours in duration.
Advertising - Terms and Conditions
We advocate for recruitment and employment best practice and offer additional support with this to smaller businesses.
International organisations advertising with us meet our minimum standards, providing assurance that the organisation is legitimate. We check that each organisation supplies its contact details, information on its legal status, confirmation of the student’s employment status, and a summary of its support policy and financial arrangements.
We host a wealth of recruitment best practice, and employment law related resources, including:
Working hours, and your rights at work
We monitor organisations on the basis of student feedback and review their status via our complaints process.
Working to the AGCAS code of ethics we design and deliver accessible services to meet the needs of all, irrespective of their age, disability, gender identity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin), political or religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.
We deal with each individual fairly and with respect for their life experiences, abilities and potential.
We check all vacancies against current employment law and the Equality Act 2010. We address and challenge inequities where we encounter them.
We actively support equality, diversity and inclusion, and work with employers to support their EDI initiatives:
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We encourage employers to target the broadest range of students in their hiring strategies, and advocate for hiring under-represented groups, such as widening participation and international students:
We work to ensure our provision is accessible to the widest range of students and graduates, taking account of inequalities they may face. For example:
- Our Insights Programme offers an introduction to the workplace, or to international working cultures and places, to students who meet our Widening Participation criteria.
- We work with staff managing Employ.Ed On Campus internships to ensure that opportunities are attractive and accessible to students of all backgrounds,. offering flexible and part time hours and encouraging staff to recruit for potential rather than existing expertise.
- We work with student societies such a the 93% Club to build confidence and break down barriers to entry.
- We design and facilitate versions of our Edinburgh Award and our SLICCs (Student-led, individually created courses) framework to provide development support and formal recognition (academic credit for SLICCs) for the existing activities of students who face barriers to engage in co- and extra-curricular activities.
The Careers Service takes climate action seriously in our own working practices.
We have a Silver Sustainability Award and are working towards the new Sustainability Framework.
Sustainability Awards (Social Responsibility and Sustainability)
The Careers Service runs Students as Change Agents, which brings together students from different disciplines in a 'living lab' approach to tackle real-world problems with a wider social, environmental, or economic impact. Each challenge addresses at least three of the United Nations's Sustainable Development Goals.
Working to the AGCAS Code of Ethics we:
- Act with trustworthiness and transparency in the provision of services, the management of expectations and the honouring of promises and arrangements.
- Foster good practice across our profession by initiating and contributing to the sharing of knowledge and discussion of professional issues with members of the AGCAS community