Statement of Service

Student Charter - Statement of Expectations

The Career Development Centre is committed to facilitating the development of University of Galway students, empowering them to make successful transitions towards fulfilling careers.

The range of services provided by the Career Development Centre are underpinned by three core principles:

• A commitment to the development of the EMPLOYABILITY of University of Galway students,
• Access to  professional GUIDANCE
• Systems to present a range of OPPORTUNITIES to students

Who can use our services?

The full range of our services are available to the following students of University of Galway:

• Registered (current) undergraduates
• Registered (current) postgraduates
• Registered University of Galway Access students

Graduates of University of Galway (within 3 years of finishing your studies at University of Galway) can register with Careers Connect, and can avail of a short appointment outside term only (Term is typically September - November, January - April).

You can expect that we will provide

Courtesy – a friendly courteous service that respects individuals and is delivered by professional staff.
Information – careers information room and website with relevant, easily accessible information which is reviewed annually and kept as up to date as possible.
Guidance – confidential, impartial advice and guidance available through one to one appointments bookable on Careers Connect (or in person). Appointments will be in person, but on request telephone or MSTeams can be facilitated.
Career Development Learning – a range of workshops to help you increase your career self awareness, explore career options and support your transition to work or further study.
Employer Connections – a  variety of opportunities to interact with employers including career fairs, employer presentations and employer led workshops.
Placement – integrated modules in a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Jobs Database – advertising relevant student and graduate positions across a range of industry sectors on Careers Connect.
Updates - regular email updates on relevant activities. To opt-out, or sign up for job and event alerts, update your profile on Careers Connect.

We expect that YOU will

• Take responsibility for achieving your career aims by engaging with the range of services we provide.
• Show respect for our staff and other service users.
• Use our information resources, before making an appointment, where possible.
• Arrive on time for your appointment, or cancel through Careers Connect as early as possible to allow another booking.
• Give us feedback on how we are doing.
• Respond to our graduate survey.

Measuring our performance

Key performance metrics are in place and performance against these are measured on a monthly basis  e.g number of appointments available, number of jobs advertised.

We also conduct regular surveys to determine overall satisfaction levels with our service and we review and implement change based on this feedback.

While we aim to deliver a high quality service we understand that on occasion the service may not meet your expectations and we want to ensure your concerns are addressed - see our FEEDBACK section for links.

Compliments, Comments and Complaints procedure

The Career Development Centre welcomes suggestions on ways of improving the facilities and services on offer to all our users. It is the aim of the Career Development Centre to run a high quality service and we are delighted to receive compliments if you are happy with the service. However, we do realise that on occasion, we may not always achieve this aim. The emphasis in this Procedure is on informality, with the object of solving problems quickly, simply and fairly. It is hoped that the great majority of issues can be settled amicably in an informal way and that complaints will only exceptionally require a more formal approach
Note : This procedure applies to any student, graduate, employer or other user of the Career Development Centre services.

Compliments, comments and complaints can be fed back to us in the following ways :
a. By completing a comment/feedback form available in the Careers Centre. Completed forms can be given to any member of staff or placed in the box provided (or see FEEDBACK under About Us).
and/or
b. In person by speaking to a member of staff. If your feedback is a complaint and you feel personally able to discuss the matter, then please do ask to talk with the staff member responsible for your concern. Please explain the cause for your concern and ask them to provide a satisfactory answer and hopefully a resolution can be reached. If, having discussed the matter with the relevant member of staff, you remain dissatisfied; you may wish to make a formal complaint. (If for any reason you feel unable to bring your informal complaint to the attention of the relevant member of staff you can address it directly to the Head of the Career Development Centre, by phone, email or in person).

Responding to Complaints
If you register a complaint (through a comment form or to the Head of the Career Development Centre), we will acknowledge receipt, where contact details have been given within 3 working days. The matter will be investigated and you may be invited to discuss your concerns in person or over the phone. If you agree to meet in person, you can choose to be accompanied by another person. The outcome of the formal complaint will be informed to the complainant in person if possible and certainly in writing within 10 days.
Students who are dissatisfied with the response can follow the Student Complaints Procedure

Please note that the CDC does not respond to comments via social media platforms.