University develops unique career learning tool to boost students’ employability

Students at the University of Huddersfield are being given an employability boost thanks to a new and powerful career learning tool developed by the institution.

Available exclusively to current students, Graduate Career Explorer is an intuitive tool that uses AI to help show students the breadth of careers their degree can lead to and where those jobs are geographically.

It allows users to easily widen their options, see which job titles to use in their career search and to weigh up the benefits of commuting.

The unique resource has been developed by the University of Huddersfield in partnership with Lightcast, a leader in labour market analytics, for the benefit of its students and is a major innovation that will support students in developing employability.

What can the new Graduate Career Explorer tool offer?

As a new way to undertake career planning, the tool harnesses Lightcast’s job market data and transforms it into an interactive dashboard that can help answer students’ questions such as:

• What graduate careers can I do with my degree?
• What job titles can I look for?
• Which skills will make my CV appeal to employers?
• Which towns and cities are recruitment hot spots?
• How are my chances improved by commuting?
• What can I earn?

Students can search by school, course, career focus, region and employer and can then filter that information by job title, skills, salary, employer, and location.

It searches the web and shows where jobs that match the criteria have been advertised over the last 12 months. Students can quickly see how much they could earn in any given role, which employers have been recruiting in their area and what skills to put on their CV that employers are asking for.

Searches can focus on direct routes suitable for a new graduate that are closely related to their degree subject. Or they can look at further possibilities that build on their degree, often requiring additional qualifications or experience.

The new resource was developed by a core project team from the University’s Careers and Employability Service and data analysts with support from across the institution.  

Find out more about studying at the University of Huddersfield

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Thornton said: “With the increasing recognition of the importance of graduate skills in the regional and wider economy, the Graduate Career Explorer is a really powerful tool for improving applicants' and students' understanding of their options and choices based on the best possible information as they work through higher education.”

Deputy Head of Careers and Employability Dave Stanbury, who led on the project, said: “Graduate Career Explorer has been a fantastic collaborative project drawing on Data Analysts, Careers staff, academics, Computing and Library Services and the Student Communications and Engagement Team. This has been an extraordinary journey which has seen Ben Hull’s original vision for a student-facing dashboard leading to this amazing career learning resource.”

Students’ Union President Wamick Aijaz added: "The Graduate Career Explorer is an incredibly valuable resource for students to navigate the UK job market. For home students, it provides a clear picture of local career opportunities, allowing them to make well-informed decisions about the next steps in their professional journeys. International students, who may not be as familiar with the full scope of career options across the UK, can also benefit greatly from this tool as it highlights opportunities beyond their immediate location and encourages them to explore a range of industries and roles.”

Carrie Williams, Account Manager at Lightcast, said: “Whether students choose to stay locally or pursue opportunities elsewhere after graduation, the Graduate Career Explorer gives them access to critical labour market insights that will help guide their career choices. Not only does this tool reflect the University’s forward-thinking approach to supporting its students’ futures, and enhancing social mobility, it’s a game-changer for broadening access to career resources. We’re so proud to be part of a project that empowers the next generation of graduates!”