Help students develop employability skills through the AUT Edge Award

Do you want to help students develop their employability skills but don’t have the capacity to offer formal internships or workplace experience? Or would you like to expand on your current involvement with AUT students?

The AUT Edge Award –  a unique co-curricular award - gives organisations a couple of fun alternative ways to get involved in helping students as well as the opportunity to become better known through AUT employability events.

The award encourages students to become more employable. While doing the award,they contribute to the community through 50 hours volunteering and 18 hours of leadership. They also have to attend a number of employability workshops, including leadership presentations, and write a reflection of their experiences.

By May 2019, AUT Edge Award students had completed over 22,500 hours of volunteering, 10,000 hours of leadership and attended 35 leadership presentations. Currently 1700 students are registered for the Edge Award.

So how can you help?

We are always on the look out for inspiring leadership stories – is there someone in your team who has a story to share? We love to hear from people at all stages of leadership who can offer insights into leading people and managing their own careers. We try and provide students with a mix of new and experienced leaders, working in both business and not for profit organisations.

Past speakers include Thank You CEO Ben Thompson, Lightbox GM Hema Patel and Director of Commercial Tourism NZ Rene de Monchy, Green MP Chloe Swarbrick and NZME Shayne Currie.

We’re also keen to hear from any organisation that needs volunteers. Our students are volunteering across a wide range of organisations, including Sustainable Coastlines, St Johns, SPCA, Volunteering Auckland and Guiding NZ.

There are also opportunities for organisations to sponsor prizes that acknowledge significant volunteering efforts, impactful leadership involvement, extensive personal growth, most substantial social impact and overall achievement. Over 2018 five organisations sponsored prizes; Auckland Council, YUDU, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, SEEK Volunteer and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

Lacey Knight, Auckland Council Graduate Programmes Leader, says they are proud to support the AUT Edge Award because they believe in the emphasis on employability skills.

Students talk of gain for the Edge Award

In their final reflections students often describe huge personal and professional growth. Our overall AUT Edge Award achiever last semester, Peter Jean Paul, says he learned the importance of genuine communication and of speaking up about things that he valued and mattered to him.

“I’ve learned that it is important as an individual to be willing to make the lives of others better and develop yourself on a deeper level. I have continued volunteering after completing my Award hours and am participating more in community activities.”

Michelle Young, another overall achiever talked of increased confidence.

“I feel I’ve become much more open minded and prepared to take risks and to try new things,” says Michelle who volunteered for a range of organisations, including Tedx Auckland, Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park, AUT Live and The Inconvenient Conference, as well as taking up the challenges of AUT X Challenge and CO.STARTERS and setting up her own small business.

Want to know more?

Contact our Employability Relationship Managers:

Rachael Marsters on 09 921 9999 x 9724, Victoria Marshall 09 921 9999 x 9771

Or email autemploy@ut.ac.nz

AUT students

Find out more about the AUT Edge Award here.