The Bedfordshire Career Development Award
The Bedfordshire Career Development Award recognises all the activities you are completing throughout your studies that will help you in the world of work. Whether you are planning on going straight into employment, starting your own business, or are considering further study, the award has activities and courses that will help you understand what you have to offer and help sell yourself to a future employer or business.
Each section has been designed to help you develop employability skills and attributes; from understanding your strengths and values, to figuring out your career options, getting the job you want and making a success of it.
Ultimately the award will help you to understand what skills and attributes employers value and ensure you can promote yourself well when the time comes, including having a strong CV, LinkedIn account and Handshake profile.
The award is completed via our Beds Career Builder platform and consists of a series of activities that will help you identify, build upon and articulate the skills that help to maximise your employability.
For each activity you complete, you will gain points. The number of points you gain for each activity will depend on the type of activity you engage with.
- 2 points will be awarded for any activity that supports you with gathering data for your career.
- 3 points will be awarded for any activity where you are engaging in a work related activity, and reflecting on your work experience.
- 4 points will be awarded for all activities where you are asked to articulate your experience, skills, and strengths.
You can achieve a higher level award by completing more activities:
Bronze - 15 points
Silver - 35 points
Gold - 60 points
You may have been asked to complete the Beds CDA as part of your course, which means you will get points for completing activities set by your lecturers.
If you are not completing the award as part of your course, we encourage you to explore each section and decide which activities will be the most helpful to you at this stage of your career. It doesn’t matter what order you complete the activities, you will be able to gain points for the activities you view as most important to you at this time.
Completing the Beds CDA will help you to get a better understanding of your own personal strengths, help you to develop your skills and confidence and demonstrate how to articulate this to future employers.
No. The award allows you to choose the activities that will best support you.
Yes. A member of the careers team will be in contact throughout the year to provide you with feedback and support.
You will receive a certificate to acknowledge your achievements.
Certificates will be issues once a year. You will receive an email from CareerDevelopmentAward@beds.ac.uk when certificates are available.
If you experience any issues with Beds Career Builder or if you have any further questions, please email CareerDevelopmentAward@beds.ac.uk, we will endeavour to respond within 5 working days.