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Careers support for students

Illustration of a small child standing in a gallery
Illustration of a small child standing in a gallery
Image by Gracie Dahl

UAL’s Careers and Employability team can support you to make a living doing what you love.

Our team of employability educators provide regular extra-curricular employability support. We believe that everyone should be able to achieve their creative ambitions, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Most of our services and opportunities are open to all, but some might be limited to specific groups - we'll make it clear when this is the case.

Online support

Email careers-support@arts.ac.uk with your employability and initial enterprise questions. We can also support you with reviewing your CV, portfolio or cover letter and help you with accessing employability resources.

Career one-to-ones

We offer 20-minute career one-to-ones during term time, Mondays – Thursdays. You can chat to us about identifying your creative skills and career paths, where to find opportunities, preparing for interviews or for advice and guidance about your current creative career.

Book a one-to-one now.

Career Wellbeing Wednesdays

We encourage students to view employability holistically. We empower you to understand what is important to you, and the opportunities open to you.

We offer Career Wellbeing one-to-one support to UAL students on Wednesdays.

Book a one-to-one now.

Our one-to-one services are exclusively for current UAL BA, MA, and PhD students only.

For graduates up to 5-years after graduation, find out more about our graduate support including how to book one-to-ones.

Our employability workshops

We run regular workshops and events to support students to gain confidence in employability and freelance knowledge. Workshops are tailored to prepare students to join the creative and cultural industries and provide access to useful employability resources.

Creative CV for...

Tailored workshops to help students design and highlight their creative attributes, skills and experience on their CV.

Professional Portfolios for...

These sessions provide insights into preparing and presenting your portfolio to professionals and how to tell your story through your portfolio.

How to...

A workshop series providing tips and insights on aspects of employability, including: cover letter writing, maximising your LinkedIn and tips on networking.

Create your future...

A series of sessions delivered as part of Wellbeing Wednesday. Create Your Future focuses on a different topic within career wellbeing to holistically support your employability and career development.

View upcoming workshops and events on What's on.

Our workshops and events are for current UAL BA, MA, and PhD. students and UAL alumni.

  • Illustration of a man on a mountain
    Image by Gracie Dahl

    Find a job

    Find creative work using our jobs board Creative Opportunities and UAL’s temping service ArtsTemps.

  • Illustration of a person working on a computer and creating art a the same time.
    Image by Gracie Dahl

    Work for yourself

    Find useful advice, support and guidance on starting and growing your freelance work or business.

  • Illustration of a small child standing in a gallery
    Image by Gracie Dahl

    Exhibit and sell your work

    We can help you to sell your work by taking part in exhibitions, trade shows and through not just a shop.

  • Illustration of a somebody giving a talk around a table.
    Image by Gracie Dahl

    Careers events and workshops

    Our free events and training sessions will help you learn practical skills, gain advice and meet creative professionals.

  • Illustration of a group of people
    Image by Tasia Graham

    Opportunities for underrepresented students

    Learn more about Creative Shift, our programme of opportunities and events designed to help you kick start your career.

  • Illustration of two people holding a trophy.
    Mentoring by Gracie Dahl

    Awards, funding and mentoring

    We offer a range of funding, mentoring and advice that could help you get your business off the ground.

  • Image by Alys Tomlinson
    Image by Alys Tomlinson

    Manage your Intellectual Property

    Take our IP module and read our advice on how best to manage and benefit from the value of your IP.

  • Illustration of a woman carrying a portfolio to an interview
    Illustration by Gracie Dahl

    Explore our career resources

    Our range of online tools and learning guides are designed to help you with your portfolio, interview skills and more.

Get involved

  • Photo of the inside of UAL's shop.
    not just a shop. Photo by Damian Griffiths.

    not just a shop  

    Discover our retail and enterprise learning space, which sells design products and artwork created by UAL students and alumni to the public.

  • Illustration by Catarina Morais
    Illustration by Catarina Morais

    UAL Careers Toolkit

    A range of information, resources and online learning materials to support students and graduates to develop their career skills.

  • Image by Lauren Vaughan
    Lauren Vaughan, Image by Lauren Vaughan

    Graduate Showcase Ready

    Final year student? Be prepared to get the most from your graduate showcase with this free programme of careers events!

  • Illustration of people talking around a table.
    Image by Gracie Dahl

    Online interview simulator  

    Prepare for face-to-face, telephone and video interviews using advice, information, sample questions and a mock interview.

  • Image courtesy of UAL

    Develop your skills and strengths

    Use UAL's Creative Attributes Framework to explore and develop the qualities you need for a successful career.

  • credit Illustration by Gracie Dahl
    Credit Illustration by Gracie Dahl

    Join our Founders and Freelancers network  

    Work for yourself or want to in the future? Sign up to be part of our Founders and Freelancers group on The Dots!

  • Rochelle Saunders, MA Arts and Cultural Enterprise, CSM. Photo by Alys Tomlinson
    Rochelle Saunders, MA Arts and Cultural Enterprise, CSM. Photo by Alys Tomlinson

    Pitch It

    A chance to pitch your creative idea, get feedback from industry experts, funding, and/or support through mentoring and training.

  • Two students sit at a table with a mentor looking through sketchbooks
    Miguel Desport and Marion Bisserier during their Internship at Pentagram

    Diploma in Professional Studies

    Explore the benefits of adding a work placement year to your studies

Meet our student employability team

Ruth Annett
Ruth Annett

Ruth Annett (she/her)

Employability Practitioner for Central Saint Martins

I design, teach and embed employability education within the curriculum. I use critical thinking approaches to support students with their self-development and creative practice. I draw upon my work as a writer/researcher, as well as my background in Fine Art Sculpture.

Contact me at r.annett@arts.ac.uk

Lewis Campbell

Lewis Campbell (he/him)

Employability Practitioner for Camberwell and Chelsea

I teach bespoke careers and employability sessions and embed employability education within the curriculum. I also provide students with ad-hoc careers advice and have a keen interest in diverse and inclusive recruitment practices.

Contact me at lewis.campbell@arts.ac.uk

Jacqui Rudd
Jacqui Rudd

Jacqui Rudd (she/her)

Employability Educator for UAL

I’m dedicated to supporting students with employability, including self-management, freelancing effectively and career wellbeing. I offer student career one-to-ones and teach sessions on a wide range of employability topics.

Contact me at j.rudd@arts.ac.uk

Hannah Breslin. Image by James Hopkirk
Hannah Breslin. Image by James Hopkir

Hannah Breslin (she/her)

Educational Developer - Employability

I lead the Education and Support Team within Careers and Employability, so work closely with the Graduate Support Team, Employability Educators and Employability Practitioners. I’m passionate about supporting others to succeed and use compassionate and equitable approaches to achieve this.

Contact me at h.breslin@arts.ac.uk

Kyle Gibbens. Image by James Hopkirk
Kyle Gibbens. Image by James Hopkirk

Kyle Gibbens (he/they)

Employability Officer

My role centres around our digital learning and teaching for current students. I offer student career one-to-ones Monday –Thursday, 11:30am – 1pm as well as Career Wellbeing one-to-ones on Wednesday at various times. I also develop digital learning via our social media platforms.

Contact me at careers-support@arts.ac.uk

Zoë Tynan-Campbell. Image by James Hopkirk
Zoë Tynan-Campbell. Image by James Hopkirk

Zoë Tynan-Campbell (she/her)

Enterprise in the Curriculum Specialist / Employability Practitioner (LCC)

I'm passionate about diversifying the creative industries, debunking myths, and putting more pennies in the pockets of the next generation of creatives. How? By designing and delivering bespoke employability and enterprise education that is student centered and value driven.

Contact me at Z.tynancampbell@arts.ac.uk

Stories

  • Meet Dorcas Payne: Entrepreneur in Residence at UAL

    Curious about the incredible individuals who lead our one-on-one sessions, workshops, and help shape our innovative programmes? Meet Dorcas Payne as she shares her experience as an Entrepreneur in Residence at UAL!

  • Will your degree skills be relevant in 10 years?

    Thinking about the future of jobs can be exciting! With all the talk about AI and new technologies, it's hard to imagine what jobs will be like in 10 years.

  • Exploring Experience: Voluntary Work versus Unpaid Work

    Ever wondered how successful creatives made it to where they are in their careers? How did they break in? It's an exciting journey filled with opportunities like creating self-projects for your portfolio or...gaining experience through unpaid

  • Creative Hack 2024

    The buzz of creativity filled the air as UAL's Creative Hack brought students together in person at High Holborn over several exhilarating days. This year, we delved into 3 compelling themes: environmental sustainability, responsible technology, and

What's on