Sydney's employability program wins AFR award
The program, Job Smart, won the Employability category at the awards ceremony held in Brisbane.
Lucinda Crossley-Meates and Elaine McFazden, Faculty General Manager.
Developed by the University’s Business School, Job Smart helps international students develop employability skills and exposes them to the Australian workplace.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Business School, Lucinda Crossley-Meates, Career Services Manager (Education), said, “It is an honour to be recognised by these awards that celebrate the best in our industry.”
“I am proud to lead a program that gives back to the student community that gives the University, our sector and society so much.”
The three-phase program:
- Explains what employers are looking for in hiring;
- Assists students with developing CVs and building LinkedIn profiles;
- Asks students to work in teams to perform a range of tasks for a hypothetical company, providing feedback from industry professionals;
- Offers online coaching on all stages of the job application process including interviews and aptitude tests.
I’m delighted that Job Smart has been recognised for delivering genuinely transformational effects for our student cohort.
Each step of the program offers new opportunities to network with industry representatives and gain professional experience in Australian workplaces. It's the first student experience program to run at genuine scale with meaningful employability outcomes for individual participants.
“Our Business School is a world-class centre of teaching, learning and research that supports student to reach their full potential,” said Professor Greg Whitwell, Dean of the University of Sydney Business School.
“I’m delighted that Job Smart has been recognised for delivering genuinely transformational effects for our student cohort.”
Lucinda Crossley-Meates accepting the award in Brisbane.
Since 2016, registrations have increased by over 300 percent. 41 percent of students who completed all three phases of the program secured full-time jobs within three months of completing the course.
The University’s work with Qantas to reshape the experience of long-haul flights was also a finalist in the Industry Engagement category.
The work with Qantas builds on a longstanding relationship with the airline, which saw the University assist in the development of a 4D flight planning system to increase efficiency during flight routes.
A collaborative research node launched at the Charles Perkins Centre in 2017 is examining the impact of long-haul flights on passengers and examines how evidence-based interventions can minimise negative impacts.