UCA X Surrey Chambers announce strategic partnership

The programme is a new professional development strand embedded into an innovative and new three-year curriculum, titled the Creative Learning Framework. It has been designed to progressively build students’ professional capability from introductory to advanced and industry-ready levels.

Professor Lyndsay Duthie, UCA Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Creative Economy, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to introduce the Chamber and its member network to our student community across all disciplines and year groups.

“The partnership is a strong fit with the Chamber’s regional priorities and our shared commitment to developing employable talent for the future.”

This timely partnership coincides with the recent government approval of Surrey Chambers’ three-year Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), aligning with its commitment to improve core employability skills in the region – one of six priority areas identified in the plan.

Louise Punter, LSIP Director at the Surrey Chambers of Commerce, added: “This partnership with UCA puts the Surrey LSIP into practice. Our newly approved three-year plan is clear that employability skills and closer employer engagement are two of the six priorities we must deliver if local businesses are to recruit the talent they need.

“Careers Catalyst does both: it builds professional capability year by year, from first CV and portfolio through to self-employment, commercialising creative practice and industry-ready networking, and it opens the Chamber’s member network to students across every discipline.”

The Careers Catalyst programme will cover a broad range of career and enterprise-focused themes, including CV and portfolio development, self-employment, monetising creative practice, industry talks, and networking.

The partnership will support UCA in delivering targeted skills development and improvement opportunities to its students, bridging the gap between high-level technical education and local business demands, and offering better support to the local and national economy.

“That is exactly the bridge employers tell us is missing — high-level creative and technical education joined to the work-ready skills, enterprise mindset and real business contact that Surrey’s economy demands,” explained Louise.

Learn more about UCA’s Creative Learning Framework, visit The UCA Way page.