All students should be equipped with the skills they need to flourish in the workforce.
We want to work with universities to further provide these skills, with a focus on levelling the playing field for disadvantaged students and ensuring support is focused on the workforce needs of today as well as the future.
We will work with universities to ensure that every student graduates ready for work, embedding relevant employability activity into core curricula, integrating careers services into access and participation activity to target interventions for disadvantaged students, extending access to careers services for recent graduates, and using the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) to upskill and retrain adult learners.
Case studies
Anglia Ruskin University - Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy (AREA)
Anglia Ruskin University, Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy (AREA) team.
Sitting within the Employability Service, the Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy (AREA) provides a range of comprehensive enterprise and entrepreneurship support for students across all disciplines and study levels (from undergraduate to postgraduate research) and ensures that enterprise education is integrated across the institution, aligning academic and industry needs.
A key feature is the interdisciplinary Ruskin Enterprise module, available to all undergraduate students. The module encourages students to explore how the skills gained through their degree programmes can be applied in entrepreneurial contexts, helping to enhance their employability. AREA also offers extracurricular activities such as mentoring, guest speakers, business planning support and hackathons, which further supports students in developing their entrepreneurial skills in a practical setting.
ARU’s inclusive approach ensures that all students, regardless of their background, have access to opportunities for personal and professional development. Through partnerships with organisations like NatWest, Barclays Eagle Labs Academy, Arise Innovation Hubs, and the Federation of Small Businesses, students gain networking opportunities and resources to turn their ideas into businesses. The Entrepreneurs’ Community and Alumni network, with over 1,500 members, further supports students and recent graduates by connecting them with a broad range of entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
University of Southampton - Successful Futures
University of Southampton’s Successful Futures (SF) programme prepares students for career success by empowering them to identify, develop, reflect on and articulate their employability and enterprise skills.
While most universities identify a broad set of skills, encouraging their graduates to achieve them all, Southampton takes a different approach - starting from a career idea, however vague, and supporting students to identify only the skills relevant for that career path.
By linking directly to current career ideas, the programme makes skills acquisition more relevant, reduces fear of ‘wrong’ choices and reassures students they can change their minds multiple times, simply reconsidering which skills they need for each new career idea. The programme was launched to students in November 2024, with 825 students having completed it so far and widespread in-curriculum completion planned for 2025.
University of Staffordshire - Games Institute
The University of Staffordshire’s Games Institute has taken an innovative approach to boosting graduate employability.
Its industry-led mock interview scheme helps to prepare final year students for their future careers. Replicating real-world interview conditions, students are rigorously assessed on their experience, projects, and technical knowledge specific to their field.
In 2025, more than 360 student interviews have already taken place, covering disciplines from game art to design and programming. The interviews were supported by over 60 industry professionals from 17 game studios.
While the scheme’s main aim is for students to gain experience of the interview process, it also provides a great opportunity for them to network and create connections that will support them on their career path.
The scheme was recently recognised at the TIGA Games Education Awards 2024, with the University of Staffordshire winning the ‘Excellence in University/College – Industry Collaboration’ category.
This annual event has developed to provide our students with invaluable real-world experience of the professional interview process, ensuring they are well-prepared and confident to secure employment upon graduation.
After each interview, students receive detailed feedback on their CV, portfolio, and interview technique. This constructive feedback is crucial for their professional development and helps them refine their skills. In many cases, companies have invited successful students to proceed further with their application process, leading to successful placements and job opportunities.
Davin Ward
Course Director for Games Technologies
The mock interviews helped make interviewing in a new field feel less daunting. Thanks to these introductions, I not only got great advice but made friendly connections with game devs who are happy to catch up and help me in the future.
Allyson Frazier
MSc Computer Games Design student
Cardiff Metropolitan University - Career coaches
Cardiff Metropolitan University’s career coaches supported Accounting, Banking and Finance students from widening participation backgrounds, through a Careers Insight Day at TP ICAP, a world-leading brokerage firm.
Funded by Medr’s Targeted Employability Support Scheme, students gained sector insights, networked with industry professionals and enhanced key employability skills such as professionalism, CV writing, teamwork and commercial awareness. Students were subsequently selected for a mentoring programme with TP ICAP. This initiative exemplifies Cardiff Met’s commitment to creating career-ready graduates by providing targeted support, improving confidence and addressing employer skills needs in the financial services sector.
