The Personal Skills Award is a certification awarded by The University of Birmingham that aims to develop student employability skills.
There are three different levels to the award: PSA (Foundation), PSA and PSA (Advanced). Throughout your time at university, you will be able to enrol on a number of short courses and get involved in different extra-curricular activities that all are worth a certain amount of PSA points, contributing to the award.
But, is it actually worth spending your time on? Here’s why you should take advantage of the opportunity.
It Encourages You To Make The Most Of Your Time At University
Being a university student is so much more than just working towards a degree. Yeah, of course, that’s a big part of the experience but there are so many other things that will help you develop as an individual during this time. Joining a university society, being a member of a committee, trying out a new sport and gaining a part-time job.
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All of these things are worth PSA points so the very fact that you are working towards this award and need as many points as you can pushes you to try out as many things as you can.
You may not have considered volunteering for a charity but for an extra twenty or so PSA points you may give it a go.
You Get To Develop Your Employability Skills
Let’s face it, many of us have only gained a limited insight into the world of work. Before university, I’d only ever worked in retail as a customer assistant which didn’t really provide me with all of the employability skills I needed for the career path I wish to take.
By taking part in short courses such as ones focused on teamwork and time management, I was able to reflect upon my own experiences, collaborate with others and research what it takes to be successful in these areas.
These courses were really beneficial to me and also a lot of fun. The skills you learn will also help you throughout the rest of your studies too and extend much further than just being useful in the workplace itself.
There’s A Mock Interview
Interviews can be scary things and pretty nerve-wracking but if you decide to do the PSA (advanced) then you will gain lots of practice in this area. You will be required to complete a mock, online interview, answering a series of pre-recorded questions.
You will then gain written feedback on your answers, given constructive advice on how best to improve your response in real-life interviews. This feedback is so useful and really prepares you for doing the real thing.
It Looks Good On Your CV
If everything I’ve said already isn’t enough to persuade you then this may just be the thing that sways you. Students are always looking for ways to improve their experience and add to their CV and this award comes with a beautiful-looking certificate that looks great on your LinkedIn profile.
My PSA (advanced) certificate is my pride and joy and definitely makes an appearance on my CV and I’m sure you would treasure yours just the same.