Opportunities for people to develop and grow

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.

Our learning Academy is a commitment to provide our employees with lifelong learning opportunities. It’s been designed to help everyone realise
their potential, following a pathway to success based on five core principles:
• Talent: giving employees the power to realise their potential
• Learning: providing knowledge and skills within their role
• Development: building confidence to achieve
• Mentoring: share expertise and experience new perspectives
• Leadership: for their future career at Unite, and beyond

As a part of it, in May last year, Unite launched its Grow Beyond leadership programmes, which includes Institute of Leadership & Management courses. Our Rising and Inspiring Leader six month fast-track programmes have supported our General Managers and Regional Leadership teams in transitioning into their new roles
post consultation.

Victoria Andrews, Account Support Supervisor who is enrolled on the level 3 Grow Beyond leadership programme for aspiring leaders said: “I’m really glad I’m able to take part in my ILM course – it’s helping me to develop and grow as a supervisor in my current role and I’ve enjoyed being able to meet other people in the Company through this.”

Less than a year since the launch, The Academy joined the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service – the world’s leading and largest independent CPD accreditation organisation.

Speaking of the membership, Jenni Brooks, Head of Learning and Development at Unite Students said: “𝐈’𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐏𝐃 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐏𝐃 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬.

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐏𝐃, 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐏𝐃 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲”

In June 2022, we welcomed nine interns to Unite Students as part of our partnership with 10,000 Black Interns. 10,000 Black Interns is a charitable organisation which aims to provide paid internships for a minimum of six weeks to individuals from a black heritage background.

This is a key programme for us with equity and belonging at the foundation of our values. We look forward to signing up to host interns in summer 20223

For 2022/23, we’ve formed partnerships with organisations to add value to your students’ living experience with us. These partnerships are exclusive to Unite Students within the PBSA sector, with information made available to students through our website, app, and by email.

Our partnership approach was developed from the data collected in our 2021 student preference survey, which highlighted what needs might be best served through partnerships. This included financial skills and access to part-time work. This is a pilot project, and we will continue to review and update our partnerships throughout the year to ensure that they are truly delivering value to your students.