Headstart is our dedicated employability events programme, open to students from all years and in all disciplines. The events programme is marketed widely across the university. There are a very limited number of opportunities for employers to host individual session within Headstart. Please contact us for further details.

Organisations provide a presentation to students on their organisation and the employment opportunities on offer. The Careers, Placement and Experience Centre will coordinate the room booking and sign up lists, as well as advertise the session through the events website, posters, twitter and Facebook. There is an administration fee of £100+VAT for this service.

Employers are able to host drop-in sessions within a central area on campus. This maximises the opportunity to attract passing student traffic, as well as meet with those students that have planned to visit the recruiter in advance, as they are aware of the event through the associated marketing activity. There is an administration fee of £100+VAT for this service.

We are also able to arrange rooms on campus for you to interview students. There is an administration fee of £100+VAT for this service.

The University Job Shop is part of The Careers, Placement and Experience Centre and is dedicated to helping students find part time and vacation work, on campus or locally in the Reading Area. For further information contact us: email: jobshop@reading.ac.uk, Tel: 0118 378 6774/6040.

There are various opportunities for employers to sponsor resources, events and publications. This is an effective method of raising awareness of your brand and profile amongst the student population.

We are always happy to discuss sponsorship openings and offer opportunities that will maximise your investment. Current examples include:

• Named sponsor of a Careers Fair - including a free place at the fair, employer branding on all marketing communications, prime location stand, post event email to all student attendees to further promote vacancies.
• Sponsor of the Headstart programme.
• RED Award sponsorship – raising your profile with the students who are specifically looking to gain accreditation for their employability.
• Sponsorship of resources within the Careers, Placement and Experience Centre – such as stationary, technical equipment and information resources and exhibition space.
• Job Shop sponsorship – an opportunity to raise your brand profile with all students seeking part-time work throughout the year.

If you would like to discuss sponsorship opportunities and prices, please contact the Employer and Graduate Career Manager on 0118 378 6483.

The Reading Experience and Development Award or RED Award as it has become known, is the University of Reading's Employability skills certificate. It has been designed for students to reflect upon the extra-curricular activities and experiences they embark on outside of their academic programme.

Via work experience, volunteering and training courses University of Reading students are encouraged to build a skills portfolio and reflect on their experiences to provide them with well thought-out examples to share with employers in future job applications.

The scheme is entirely independent of the academic requirements and as such attracts those students already thinking of self-development and their careers after university.

Over 1,300 students are currently enrolled in the RED Award. They are extremely keen to identify their own transferable skills and learn more about what future employers are looking for.

For more information, have a look at the RED Award website.