Spotlight Interview- GO Wales
SPW Partner GO Wales chat to us about their work connecting university students with SME business in Wales.
Tell us about your business and why it started?
GO Wales began in 2003 as a European Social Fund project linked to Universities in Wales and managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales -HEFCW.
GO stands for Graduate Opportunities and the aim was to link students and graduates to SME businesses in Wales by providing subsidised work placements and tasters which had the potential to lead to a graduate job.
I started out managing the Work Taster programme at Bangor from 2003-2014, arranging short unpaid work experience for students with local companies.
In 2016 funding was focussed on supporting students who faced barriers to accessing work experience opportunities with the launch of GO Wales: Achieve through Work Experience which I managed at Bangor.
Following the success of this programme and the end of EU funding, HEFCW provided funding for the current Targeted Employability Support for Students which has the same values but a wider remit and allows each university to deliver their own programme of support for students from underrepresented groups.
Tell us about your ethos and values?
Although GO Wales started out as a programme aimed at supporting businesses in Wales, it has evolved to offer support to students with an emphasis on ensuring equality of opportunity. Recognising that students come from all walks of life, diversity, equality and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
Many students face barriers to accessing work experience due to their circumstances, such as a disability, caring responsibilities, being from a low-income family or being first in their family to go to university. Some students may face discrimination due to gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Our support aims to help them to access work experience by:
Sourcing flexible opportunities that can be completed whilst studying
Providing funding for travel, equipment or practical courses where finances are a barrier.
Working with organisations to ensure they can provide a supportive and nurturing learning environment for students to gain valuable experience.
Tell us why our community should connect with you?
University is an exciting option for anyone, whatever your age or circumstances, however, it can be daunting if you face additional challenges in your life e.g. a disability or health condition, parental responsibilities or from a non-academic background. Experience is now seen as essential alongside a degree to secure successful graduate level employment, and we are here to help you find opportunities that fit around your commitments.
Tell us a little about your services and support you offer to 'widen participation'.
At Bangor University, we are part of the Careers and Employability Service and offer 1-1 mentoring, career planning, advice on work experience, links or introductions to supportive employers and volunteering opportunities. You can also apply for financial support to help you access work experience or practical courses that can enhance your chance of securing degree related work.
There are teams at all Welsh universities including the OU, offering very similar support programmes.
How can people access your services and how can others get involved?
All Welsh universities delivering work experience support are now individually branded so the name GO Wales is not always used to promote current activity. However, all teams across Wales have collaborated to develop an Employability Hub which lists each Welsh university contacts details https://employability.wales/
Our external GO Wales website lists case studies to showcase how we have helped students https://www.gowales.co.uk/main.html