Students wishing to receive their award through the Student Life pathway can get involved in the Students Union, Societies, Clubs, UCC Peer Support, UCC Initiatives or by becoming a Class Rep.

Each student must have completed 20+ hours of their time towards the activity.

To receive an award through the Volunteering Pathway a student must complete a period of unpaid volunteering (20+ hours) in an on or off-campus organisation.

The UCC Career Service runs a Volunteering Fair each year in November: This years event takes place on November 13th more info is found here: Volunteering Fair 2024

This organisation must be an approved UCC EmployAgility Award organisation.  In order to register the volunteering organization can contact EmployAgility@ucc.ie

• To receive an award through the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pathway a student must engage in voluntary work with a start-up organisation or another activity that encourages the development of Entrepreneurial and Innovation skills.
• Throughout semesters one and two we will be promoting opportunities to support start-ups through the UCC IGNITE programme (IGNITE is an international award-winning business incubation programme supporting recent graduate entrepreneurs to turn good ideas into great businesses). You can also approach a start-up yourself and ask them if you could support them as part of the UCC EmployAgility Awards.

Internship Pathway

The UCC EmployAgility Awards Internship Pathway is a period of unpaid work experience in a UCC Campus organisation or department.

Approach a department you would like to work with and dedicate 20 hours of your time to working with them to gain workplace skills. 

Otherwise consider completing a number of Job sims or complete a virtual workplacement on Forage.com

Approach a campus department or organisation with your request to complete a research project for them and inquire if they have a piece of research or a topic you could investigate for them.

If they are agreeable, you will need to dedicate 20 hours of your time to working with them.

Otherwise conduct a non-accredited piece of research with UCC own Journal the Boolean: https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/boolean

• An Open Pathway award is given for combined participation in other pathways or for an activity that is voluntary, promotes the development of employability skills, and does not sit under any of the other pathways.
• For example, if you are a postgraduate student who dedicates time to arranging academic conferences, you could apply for the Open Pathway and be awarded for your contribution and dedication.
• Combined participation: If you give 20 hours of your time to a range of activities that fit under other pathways, you can apply for the Open Pathway Award. For example, if you dedicated 15 hours to volunteering, 5 hours to your club or society you can be awarded through the Open Pathways.

EmployAgility is defined as being “flexible enough to skill up and manage rapid changes in the workplace.” 

Agile values are now fundamental to how organisations adapt, and as the world of work evolves, the concept of career is radically transforming. Increasingly, modern business demands people with an agile mindset and who are customer-centric, collaborative, and able to network as part of multi-skilled teams. Candidates must have the ability to respond and adapt to ever-changing environments.

Consequently, in order to thrive, you must see your agile career as an agile adventure. Embrace the idea that you can continuously build skills by working through iterations and mini life-projects, such as the initiatives you are engaged with as part of this programme.  

The UCC EmployAgility Award is a professional skills development programme, and demonstrates that you have engaged in, and developed professional skills through extra-curricular activities and work experience, all of which will help you to stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate roles and internships.

What next?

1. Record your hours and note your development on your EmployAgility Log 24-25
2. Update your CV with details of your activity and gain a score of 70% on CareerSet
3. Complete and submit your Reflective Report by midnight, Tuesday Feb 25th 2025 
1. You must upload your Hours Log and CV to your Reflective Report. 
2. Our team willl confirm with your activity provider that you have dedicated a minimum of 20 hours to the activity. Provide contact details for your provider on your reflective report. 

The Reflective Report: 

• Provide your contact details, student number, course details and select the award pathway you are applying for. 
• Ensure you update your CV before submission. Find some helpful tips and hints here. 
• View a full list of questions in advance of submission here
• Select four of the ten attributes and values you developed throughout the experience and feed back on how you developed them in the relevant text boxes. You can learn more about UCC's graduate attributes and values here. 
• Find a sample reflective report here.
• Note: If you are applying for more than one award through multiple pathways, you will need to submit a reflective report for each pathway. 

Please check the UCC Career Service Instagram for updates. The awards ceremony will take place in April. 

The UCC EmployAgility Award is a professional skills development programme, and demonstrates that you have engaged in, and developed professional skills through extra-curricular activities and work experience, all of which will help you to stand out from the crowd when applying for graduate roles and internships.

What are the benefits of this programme?

• Enhance your employability and graduate attributes through extra-curricular activities
• Achieve a digital badge
• Improve your CV & interview skills
• Receive official recognition on your Diploma Supplement

If you have a query about the UCC EmployAgility Award, please contact EmployAgility@ucc.ie