Blog – helping Staffordshire students gain the competitive EDGE

University of Staffordshire has teamed up with local businesses to help students gain the competitive edge in their careers.

Developed with employers from across the region, the EDGE – Engage, Develop, Grow, Excel – Online Skills Awards is a programme designed to prepare students for the world of work.

In this month’s blog, Carolina Salinas MA, SFHEA, Head of Employability and Graduate Outcomes at the University shares more about the Awards, what they mean for students and the part they play in retaining talent in Staffordshire.

We were delighted to officially launch our EDGE Online Skills Awards last month. These short courses are endorsed by employer partners from a range of sectors and cover essential workplace skills – from communication and teamwork to leadership and problem-solving. As a university, we are committed to making sure that every one of our students leaves us with not just a degree, but the skills, confidence, and connections to succeed – and it’s our mission to help retain talent right here in our region.

EDGE is here to give students practical careers education and equip them with the skills that employers are looking for. It’s flexible, online, and designed to fit around a student’s studies.

This programme wouldn’t exist without our employer partners who have worked alongside us to design the awards, showing their ongoing commitment to our students.

Following the successful introduction of the first six awards, we are now expanding the programme with six additional employers, each championing a different high-value skill sought after by today’s graduate employers.

This next phase aims to boost student participation even further while strengthening collaboration with academic staff, integrating the EDGE Awards directly into modules across the curriculum.

What’s more, Phase Two will feature employers who will design a full soft-skills online programme, giving students the extra EDGE they need to stand out in a competitive job market.

We highly value the collaboration with our employer partners, as together we can continue to support the skills development of our students, enhance graduate retention in the region, and ultimately contribute to the prosperity of the communities we serve.

Are you an employer interested in shaping the future workforce? We’d love to hear from you, get in touch and be part of the EDGE journey!

The EDGE programme was officially launched by Vice-Chancellor Professor Martin Jones.

Professor Jones said: “Empowering students to feel career-ready is essential for their future success – and we are now working to embed EDGE into the curriculum so that these awards become part of students’ everyday learning experience.

“EDGE represents the very best of what can be achieved when universities and businesses work together. By collaborating with employers from across our region, we’re building a stronger, more connected talent pipeline that supports both our graduates and the local economy.”

The first phase of awards launched with six Staffordshire employers, including Parts Town who endorsed the Customer Excellence Skills Award.

Julian Fisher, Head of Marketing for Parts Town UK commented: “We are privileged and honoured to collaborate with University of Staffordshire on the inaugural EDGE project. As proud award sponsor, it’s an invaluable experience for the Parts Town team to work closer with the community on such innovative topics.

We look forward to enhancing our working relationship with the University careers, placements and employability teams, with our Centre of Excellence Training Academy in Cannock in particular.

As a member of our local Chamber of Commerce, it’s vital for our business and the broader foodservice hospitality industry that these opportunities to develop talent are utilized to their maximum potential.

We host many hospitality & charity events at our Cannock conference and demonstration kitchens centre and will be working with the University teams to develop the relationship further next year so watch this space!”

Other Staffordshire employers signed up to the first phase of the awards are: