I’d like to wish all our staff and students a very happy and healthy New Year. As 2022 draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to look back on a year of great change within the Careers, Employability and Skills team at Queen’s.

We can take pride in the fact that we have successfully transitioned into the new Student Centre at One Elmwood, now the heart of Queen’s campus, and a hub for life at the University. We also launched the Future-Ready Roadmap. Developed through engagement with Queen’s staff, students and employers, its designed to help students progress their employability throughout their time at Queen’s.

I am extremely proud of everything we have already achieved together as we embark on a new era in student employability in our fantastic, purpose-built state-of-the-art Student Centre.

We have begun to embrace the possibilities of the new open and accessible building at One Elmwood. The Cube has proved to be the perfect location for Career development workshops and employer events, while the brand new Mandela Hall has already played host to our Autumn Recruitment Fair. This is a living building which we know will evolve in tandem with the needs of its occupants.

The launch of the University’s Strategy 2030 set out our ambition to provide our students with a sense of purpose and the competencies to shape their own lives and to contribute to the lives of others. As we emerge from a time of unique global crisis, the entire Careers, Employability and Skills team have risen to that challenge.

This year as a team, we have worked to ensure our students have the skills to work globally, but the opportunity to build a career locally, meeting the needs of the economy in key sector areas and supporting the growth of the knowledge-based economy in Northern Ireland.

We enter 2023 with a renewed vision to shape the development of future-ready graduates. As we prepare to launch a new semester, we are encouraged by the enormous scope of possibilities and we are focussed on working in partnership with our key stakeholders to help students identify their strengths, recognise their potential and make an informed choice about their future.

Our hope is that every student is encouraged to try new things, meet new people and build skills and experience during their time at Queen’s. Our overriding aim will be to equip our students and graduates with the skills they need to be future-ready.

Happy New Year from all the staff in Careers, Employability and Skills!

Trevor Johnston

Head of Careers, Employability and Skills