Employability

Relevant courses for the industry and workplace

All of our courses have recently been refreshed to give you the most practical experience and best possible chance of finding employment once you graduate. Our courses are designed to:

Give you practical work experience by offering placement opportunities.
Build practice-based project work into the curriculum, giving you hands-on experience of the industries you’ll be working in.
Provide optional modules so you can tailor your study to your own interests and career aspirations.

Work placements

We understand that in today's competitive jobs market, increasing numbers of employers expect new graduates to have substantial experience of the workplace. Our students have enjoyed placements with companies like the BBC, Cisco, IBM, NHS, Microsoft, Dolby, Selfridges, ASOS and more.

Increasing your employability

University is a big investment so it’s important to know that it’s all going to be worth it. Here’s how Birmingham City University can help turn your passion into a career.

Graduate+

Graduate + makes sure nothing you do at university goes to waste – and tells employers that you’ve got more than your degree.

About Graduate+

Student jobs on campus

We advertise a lot of our on-campus roles to students first, and Birmingham is full of shops, bars and part time work opportunities.

Jobs on campus

Placements

The majority of courses give you the chance to go on placement and other courses will offer you the choice of a placement year.

Entrepreneurship at BCU

At Birmingham City University, we're committed to helping entrepreneurial students achieve their full potential. Our innovative STEAMhouse building and employability services mean we have the highest number of student and graduate business start-ups of any university in the West Midlands (HESA, 2022).

More about entrepreneurship at BCU

Live Projects

A range of our courses offer students the chance to work on live projects with businesses, enter competitions and even get involved with community projects related to their course.

As part of their course work, Fashion Branding and Communication students had the exciting opportunity to work with fashion platform SilkFred on a live brief. Students were then invited to pitch to the part of the SilkFred team, earning the opportunity to take part in a placement with them and shadowing the team.

Example of a live project

Exhibitions

Many courses have the opportunity to showcase their work directly to employers and the public through end-of-year festivals such as Inspired Festival for our Arts, Design and Media students and Innovation Festival for Computing, Engineering and Built Environment students.

We also have a dedicated exhibitions team who work with students and graduates to showcase their work across campuses including The Parkside Building, School of Jewellery and School of Art. These opportunities provide students and graduates with visibility of their projects, to maximise their success and reach a wider audience with their unique messages.

Inspired Festival takes place throughout June each year and features student work from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media across City Centre Campus. Some students also have the opportunity to take pieces onto other graduate events across the country after Inspired Festival, such as New Designers in London. Our Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles students host a catwalk show during this time to display their final pieces, which takes place across the city in different locations each year. Find out more about Inspired Festival here.

Innovation Fest showcases the latest innovations from students in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and he Built Environment. The festival invites judges, sponsors and guest speakers from companies such as Santander Universities, California Polytechnic State University and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) to be part of the event by networking with students and collaborating on projects. Find out more about Innovation Festival here.

Facilities

We’ve invested over £400 million across our campuses to give you the best possible learning environment to shape your experience. Our facilities are industry standard, including our TV, radio and photography studios, networking labs, medical wards and law courts.

Our facilities

Visiting lecturers

Our 1,800-strong team of teaching staff come from and maintain their links with industry and the professions, ensuring you benefit directly from their knowledge, insight and contacts. From high profile criminologist, Professor David Wilson, to an internationally-renowned expert on zero carbon buildings, Professor Lubo Jankovic, our academics will give you both academic and industry knowledge.

We also invite visiting lecturers, who are currently active in their industry, to share their knowledge and experience with our students. Acting students at BCU currently have the opportunity to work with Professor Kevin Finnan MBE, who is most well known for being the Choreographer and Movement Director of the London 2012 Paralympic Games opening ceremony. As a visiting lecturer, professor Finnan will host masterclasses for the Acting students, as they seek to be among the next generation of great performers.

Career support

With mentors from a range of sectors, we aim to match you with someone who can give you that all important industry insight.

Employment Advisors

Offering one-to-one support with job applications and interview preparation to help you gain graduate-level employment.

Mentoring

With mentors from a range of sectors, we aim to match you with someone who can give you that all important industry insight.

Post-graduation support

Our graduates can access careers support for up to three years after graduating. This includes consultations with careers consultants.