Open University students residing in a secure environment, whether in prison or a secure unit, are entitled to careers support, as are all OU students. This service is delivered and adapted depending on a student's circumstances.
Students are eligible for careers support from the moment they register for a qualification and the service continues for up to three years after they have finished studying with us.
Students may contact us as many times as needed and our service continues once they are back in the community.
Thinking about your future and making it happen, isn’t just a list of practical steps. It’s about how you feel about yourself, your life, who you are and who you want to be.
By choosing to study, students have brought about a change in their life. Many OU students find that the process of studying and learning can make them feel differently about themselves and the world around them.
This is a process – not a one off decision, and we can support the student on this journey by:
Please contact the SiSE team if you would like to arrange a Careers appointment.
This is not possible in all settings, but we have given telephone careers guidance by phone in a wide range of prisons. If telephone contact is inappropriate for your setting, we are more than happy to correspond by letter, or you may email us and we can continue a dialogue this way.
Appointments last around 45 minutes – but we can adjust times to fit in with you. All we need to know is the number to call and a mutually convenient time.
Students are sent action plans, CV templates, information on disclosing, job profiles and much more, following an appointment.
Our planning guide covers all aspects of planning your career:
We proactively write to students at three points during their studies to let them know about the service available. These points are:
Students in secure environments are often unfamiliar with the graduate job market. Here’s how we can help:
A copy of Your Career Planning Guide is sent to all students when we are informed they have returned to the community.