The PLuS Award stands for the Professional and Life Skills Award. It has been set up to recognise and reward students who participate in activities outside of academia.
Employers tell us that they look for potential employees who have been involved in extra-curricular activities and so in the process have gained life skills, picked up professional skills and thus gain 'the edge' when applying for graduate jobs. It is also a great way to demonstrate commitment to your personal development and an opportunity to reflect on the skills you have gain or developed - a useful tool when applying for graduate jobs.
Any student as long as you are enrolled at the University of Bristol.
The Award is available at 2 levels: the PLuS Award and the PLuS Outstanding Award. Please go to the Information Page on the Award to check what evidence is required for each level.
The evidence can include activities you have already undertaken, as long as they were completed whilst you were a University of Bristol student.
Go to the Information Page and click on the register button. You will then access your own personal file where you collate your evidence. The status report will tell you how much evidence you have left to collect, and when you are ready to submit your evidence.
Once you have collected all the evidence you need for the PLuS Award you can submit it at any time during term time up to 11th May 2012. Therefore you will need to register far enough in advance of this date to have time to collate your evidence. There are several Outstanding Award presentation dates throughout the academic year. Please see the index page for further information.
Once you have submitted your evidence we aim to let you know if you have passed within 2 weeks. This will be on a pass/fail basis and decisions are final.
If you pass the PLuS Award you will be informed when you can pick up your certificate from the Careers Service. PLuS Outstanding Award students will receive their certificates in a ceremony during the Summer Term.
If you do not pass the PLuS Award or PLuS Outstanding Award we will let you know the reason(s) why you were unsuccessful and you will have 1 more chance to apply. If you are still unsuccessful after this re-attempt you will not be able to gain the Award.
All information collected by the Careers Service is stored in compliance with the Data Protection Act
You can e-mail us at careers-plusaward@bristol.ac.uk and we will reply to your query as soon as possible.
We can only count evidence you have undertaken which does not contribute in any way towards your final degree mark. Therefore experience gained during the Modern Languages Year Abroad would count as part of the Award. Similarly if you have undertaken experience as part of a Year in Industry above and beyond the minimum needed for your final degree mark, this can also be counted. If you have any queries about this please e-mail us with full details of the evidence you wish to count at careers-plusaward@bristol.ac.uk
Yes, as long as the intensive skills activity has allowed you to (a) participate for at least 7 hours, (b) gain employability-related skills, (c) participate in an interactive manner (i.e. not all passive listening) and complete a reflective report, group activity or interview (focusing on the skills you have gained from the activity/event). You can use the same workplace for all or some of the Work Experience element as long as the hours you claim for are extra to the 7 hours required for the Intensive Skills Activity element. You will need to e-mail us at careers-plusaward@bristol.ac.uk explaining the details of the Intensive Skills Activity in order for this to be included in the drop-down menu.
If you go to our Requirements page, you can check the qualifying activities without the need to register first. If you think your activity meets the criteria but is not listed, please contact us at careers-plusaward@bristol.ac.uk and let us know how it meets the criteria. If we agree we will add it to the appropriate list.
Yes, Insight into Management counts as an intensive skills activity OR two workshops (Insight into Management Skills Session & Insight into Managment Case Study).
