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Alumni Volunteers Month: Celebrating our volunteers who improve employability

04 Jun 2019

On the second day of our Alumni Volunteers Month, we’re celebrating the alumni who volunteer to help us be among the best universities in the world for the employability of our students.

Alumni Volunteers Month
  • Offering workplace opportunities to students
  • Sharing careers advice with students and recent graduates
  • Mentoring students and fellow alumni in-person and online
  • Writing careers profiles that help students learn more about routes into work

“I know exactly what they're going through.”

Asfand Shahid (MEng Mechanical Engineering 2016) received advice from Manchester graduates at our speed networking careers events when he was a student, and now returns to them as an alumni volunteer himself.

 “Mechanical Engineering is quite broad and I didn't really have an idea what I wanted to do after I left university.

“[Speed networking with alumni] was very beneficial because I gained an insight of what it's like to work in different industries. I didn't do a summer internship or a year in industry as part of my course, so I didn't really know what work life was like.”

Broadening students’ horizons

Hearing from alumni in different industries encouraged Asfand to broaden his horizons when it came to applying for graduate schemes, and is now working in the rail industry – as well as being a committed alumni volunteer at the same events he attended as a student:

“I know exactly what students are going through as not everyone is lucky enough to secure a summer internship or a year in industry. They don't know what to expect and they can only find out more from someone who's actually working in industry.

“A student I spoke to got in touch after one of the events and I managed to get him a summer internship. Now he's in a good position to get a job when he graduates.”

Asfand’s story is typical of our alumni-to-student volunteering programmes that improve the employability of thousands of students every year.

Alumni’s contribution to our success

Tammy Goldfeld, Head of the Careers Service, says:

“Manchester is ranked among the best universities in the world for the employability of our students. We’re grateful to our alumni for the contribution they make to this success, particularly through raising the aspirations of our students: put simply, they show what’s possible with a Manchester degree.”

“The collaborative, single-team approach of the Careers Service and the Division of Development and Alumni Relations on programmes including Meet the Professionals, Global Graduates, and Manchester Gold allows students access to the real-world expertise and workplace experience alumni bring.”

Can alumni volunteers help you?

Having 480,000 graduates around the globe means we can recruit alumni volunteers with expertise in every imaginable field.

Learn more about how alumni volunteers can support your own projects at the University by joining the Alumni Engagement team for a free speed networking lunch at 12.30pm on Thursday, 27 June.