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People & culture

The passion and commitment of our people is the main driving force behind our success.

Doing what’s right for students starts with doing what’s right for our people

To elevate the student experience and remain a key part of the higher education sector, we know how important it is to retain true depth and breadth of expertise across our teams.

We are driven by our values and culture and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas. We provide a range of career pathways and make opportunities for progression available to all.

Supporting our Sustainability Strategy, we are developing greater representation of gender and ethnicity in senior positions to create a more diverse workforce. We believe it is important for everybody to be able to be themselves, have their voice heard and feel that they truly belong when they work with us.

Our values:

Creating room for everyone

Authenticity and diversity by striving to be welcoming and inclusive to all.

Keeping uS safe

Physical and mental wellbeing, with safety part of everything we do.

Doing what’s right

Responsibility and transparency, always looking to do the right thing.

Raising the bar together

Development and efficiency, constantly striving to be better.

Investors in People 2024

Gold standard of culture

We’ve achieved the Investors in People 'We invest in People gold accreditation'.

With only 28% of organisations achieving gold, it demonstrates how we’re pulling together as one team and investing in our people.

Joe Lister, our Chief Executive said: "This is a great achievement so thanks to everyone who contributed to the research and the focus groups and more importantly to all our teams for making Unite Students what we are."

The Academy

Investing in lifelong learning for our employees

The Academy launched in October 2022 to enable on-the job learning and development for every Unite employee, at every career stage. Lifelong learning can be accessed in the form of workshops, online courses, skill sessions, leadership programmes, mentoring and coaching.

Academy - strategy box

Being part of the Unite Students team

Our ambition is to be recognised as a quality place to work and we are dedicated to continuously raising standards and doing what’s right for our people.

Gender pay gap reporting

We recognise the importance of diversity & inclusion and the benefits it can bring to the workplace. We welcome the Government’s introduction of Gender Pay Gap reporting legislation under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulation 2017 and what it sets out to achieve.

Investors in People

We hold an Investors in People (IIP) Gold award, placing us in the top 3% of the UK organisations actively working with IIP. The award reflects our continuing commitment to our employees; creating a great place to work and developing our people to achieve their true potential.

Real Living Wage

We are proud to be a Real Living Wage employer. We understand the benefit of having a happy and motivated workforce who earn a fair salary for their hard work and commitment. We received the accreditation in 2015, the first in our sector, and we remain committed to maintaining the Real Living Wage for our employees going forward.

Talent development

We support our people in their own learning and development by access to a range of learning interventions that are linked to the skills, knowledge, and behaviours. Our Talent Development team works with the business to identify learning solutions that enable our people to develop the capabilities they need.

Parental policies

We believe in a healthy work-life balance. Our family-friendly initiatives reflect our commitment to equality and provides our people with support and clear guidance to ensure they are fully aware of their entitlement.

Meet our people

02/12/2024
Corporate blogs
Joe Lister on care experienced and estranged students
Joe Lister, Unite Students’ Chief Executive, highlights why we commissioned a new report by the Social Market Foundation on urgent support for care experienced and estranged students.
09/08/2024
Corporate blogs
In Conversation With: Jack Pearce, Industrial Placement Student
We’re dedicated to investing in students and young people. That means going beyond offering a great place to live, but also giving them the opportunities and skills they need to achieve their goals. Our early careers programme offers students the opportunity to gain valuable industry experience on our tailored Industrial Placement learning programme, which has been named as 7th in the 2024’s ‘Best 50 Small-Medium Sized Placement Schemes’ according to reviews RateMyPlacement. Here, our User Experience (UX) Design Industrial Placement Student, Jack Pearce, shares more about his experience on our Early Careers programme, during his time studying Graphic Desing at Portsmouth University, and why it’s important for companies to offer paid work experience opportunities to students and young people.
Architect Kirstie Reynolds: Why I’m passionate about design
Kirstie Reynolds, a University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde graduate, knew architecture was for her as it was a great opportunity to use her creative and logical attributes.
10/04/2024
Corporate blogs
Q&A With Joe Lister and Mike Burt
Q&A with Joe Lister, Chief Executive Officer & Mike Burt, Chief Financial Officer