Employability

Employability

All of our degrees will equip you with the skills you need to succeed in industry. From design, problem solving, numeracy and analysis skills, to ‘transferable skills’, such as communication and teamwork, you will be highly valued by employers.

The IT profession includes a range of specialist roles, from technical roles in software engineering to project management roles and consultancy. Employment prospects for Leeds graduates are excellent and the School is regularly approached by organisations wishing to recruit our graduates. 86%* of our recent graduates have either gone on to further study or have successfully secured positions with organisations across a range of industries including manufacturing, retail, finance, public authorities and consultancies. Recent graduate destinations include: Barclays, BT Group – Openreach, CSC, EMIS, Ernst and Young, Fujitsu, Goodrich ISR Systems, Imagination Technologies Ltd, Microsoft and PepsiCo.

According to the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) the average starting salary in the IT industry is around £22,000. Entry level salaries can start at £19,000 for a technical support officer, rising to £25,000 for a software engineer. Across the industry IT professionals can earn an average of £38,000; this can be significantly higher in more specialist fields and in different parts of the country.** Graduates from the School of Computing have excellent job prospects. The continuing application of computer technologies and the introduction of new technologies in the future will ensure that demand for our graduates continues to rise.

The School of Computing has strong links with the IT industry; just one of many reasons why Leeds graduates are highly sought after by employers. An Industrial Advisory Committee contributes to the continuing development of the School’s degree courses ensuring that material is up to date and consistent with employers’ needs. Our staff also work with various companies on a range of teaching, research and consultancy projects.

The School also organises a range of industrial visits and offer additional seminars delivered by practising IT professionals. This means that you have direct contact with industry, and potential employers, from an early stage in your course.

Here are just a few examples of our involvement with industry
• O2 offers a new mentoring scheme for second year IT students. This mentoring scheme provides students with the opportunity to work on a project within O2 over a six month period
• IBM contributes to the assessment of the second year group software engineering project and awards a prize to the best group
• Deloitte, IBM, CSC and RNLI contribute directly to the first year professional development module and actively support the IT degree
• Ordnance Survey, British Library, Department of Health and Reckitt Benckiser provided ideas for projects in recent years
• CSC, Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Lloyds Banking Group have recently delivered presentations to our students.

* 2009 DLHE survey for the Faculty of Engineering and UK students
** Source: BCS and Prospects

Industrial placements

All of our courses allow you to undertake work experience as part of your degree in the form of a year long industrial “sandwich” placement, or shorter project work and summer internships which will help you develop essential employability skills.

The Industrial Placement is taken between the second and third year of the degree and graduates will have the word ‘Industrial’ added to the degree title. A placement year can help you gain the skills valued by employers, as well as developing enterprise skills. Recent industrial placements have been undertaken in organisations including:

• Department of Health
• BT
• Microsoft
• Leeds City Council
• IBM UK Ltd
• TD Waterhouse
• CSC
• Tracsis plc
• Astra Zeneca

From time to time funding becomes available for student internships. For example, the Alumni Research and Leadership Scholarship allows students to develop skills and interest in academic research. The Employability Internship Scheme recruited two students for each School in the Faculty of Engineering to develop communication plans to support employability engagement activities. Student research interns work in the School’s laboratories under the supervision of our research staff, contributing actively to current research projects.

Study abroad

The Study Abroad option is available on our courses. You may choose to spend a year of your course studying abroad at a university in Europe, North America or even the Far East. Increasingly valued by employers, this option provides you with a fantastic opportunity to experience life in another country and a different culture. Other students who have participated say that they found it a life-changing experience. The Faculty of Engineering has links with a wide range of partner institutions from Spain to Singapore. The Study Abroad programme can help you gain confidence, broaden your horizons and develop skills and experiences which can improve your employability.

If you have foreign language skills, ERASMUS exchanges are available to several European countries. You may be able to take an additional module in your first year to brush up your language skills if you wish to take part in this programme. A second programme, Junior Year Abroad, offers exchanges to the USA, Canada and some Latin American countries. Most Junior Year Abroad exchanges do not require a language other than English. You must, however, achieve a good academic standard to take part in either scheme.

Careers

Our on-campus Careers Centre is one of the largest in the country. It offers an excellent range of services and has a great relationship with graduate recruiters. The Careers Centre is the place to get advice about what to do after university, help with finding work experience, improving your CV and dealing with job applications. The Careers Centre also holds training events and workshops to assist you with your career progression.

The Faculty of Engineering holds an Engineering and Computing Careers Fair, annually, which attracts over 32 graduate recruiters including organisations such as 2e2, AECOM, Atkins, BP, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Her Majesty’s Government Communications Centre, Interfleet Technology Ltd, Network Rail, Procter & Gamble Product Supply, PwC and Unilever Leeds, to name but a few.

The Fair provides you with the chance to explore the opportunities available after graduation. As well as the Engineering Careers Fair, you can explore career opportunities at many other careers fairs and presentations that are organised throughout the year by the University’s Careers Centre. Some of the UK’s top recruiters also visit the Faculty to deliver presentations and workshops specifically for our engineering and computing students.

Leeds for Life

Leeds for Life is a concept which informs the way staff, students, schools, services and alumni work together to ensure you get the most out of university life from day one. Developed in partnership with students themselves, the Leeds for Life website helps identify opportunities to develop your skills, and provides you with an online ‘living CV’ so that you can understand the value of your skills and knowledge and articulate the benefits of your University of Leeds experience.

At the heart of Leeds for Life is personal tutoring where you receive structured one-to-one meetings to support your personal and academic development. This ensures that you not only do well in your degree, but also become a confident, articulate and highly employable graduate.