Statement of Service for Disabled Students

What Disabled Students and Graduates can expect from the Careers Service

The University of Dundee Careers Service is committed to providing an excellent service to all students and graduates which is as inclusive as possible. There are extra services and adjustments we can provide for disabled people, and examples of these are described here.

The information in this statement supplements the information we provide to all our students and graduates in our Statement of Service and the information contained within the University of Dundee's Disability Statement

Advice and Guidance

When and what to disclose about your disability is sometimes an issue when seeking employment or further study or training. We will provide one to one advice and information to fit your individual circumstances. Anything discussed is treated in strict confidence, as explained in our Confidentiality Statement and Data Protection Statement.

Additional information on disclosing disability to employers can be found on http://www.skill.org.uk

Interviews can be extended beyond the usual half an hour, in order to meet individual needs.

If it is not possible to come in person to an interview, we can offer telephone guidance. Where this would cause difficulty, we can also offer email guidance.

As Careers Advisers, we regularly update our knowledge and skills on issues connected with disability by attending training sessions provided by our professional association and by specialists in the field. We are part of a network with access to disability specialists and are also part of the University's Disabled Support Officer (DSO) network. The link Careers Adviser is Stephanie MacLean.

Our knowledge is of a generic nature, however, and so with your agreement and where appropriate, we will refer you to others with a specialist knowledge of supporting disabled people.

Information

Our website links you to sites of particular relevance to disabled students. Our website is designed to be accessible to all.

We can provide all our in-house leaflets in alternative formats, including, large print, on coloured paper and audio tape, on request. We will need a few days notice to provide the audio tape service. If you wish to borrow reference-only items for use with assistive software, on an overnight basis, this can be arranged.

We provide facilities for listening to and watching videos produced by Careers Services and employers. Headphones are used by everyone so that the volume can be set to accommodate your specifichearing ability. Some videos are subtitled and/or transcripts are available.

Specialist information is available in a section of our information room, relating to CVs and applications; targeted work experience opportunities; employment legislation; Employment Service and other organisation support and information; newsletters; and advice and support for those with specific disabilities. In addition, reference is made to specific issues within the occupations section of our library, such as teaching with a disability.

All staff have attended disability awareness training and will be happy to assist your information search.

Careers Education

Talks and presentations are available to all students and are held in various venues on campus, including the Careers Service Seminar Room. They include sessions on CV, Application and Interview Techniques and Applying for Postgraduate Study. They also include presentations on particular careers or opportunities. For further information visit What's On.

The Career Planning and Internship modules are taught in the Careers Service Seminar Room, which is located on the ground floor of the Careers Service, accessible via a ramp. An accessible WC is available nearby on the ground floor.

For sessions delivered by a Careers Adviser, if handouts are needed in alternative formats, they will be provided on request.

Many of the talks incorporate information presented using PowerPoint on an overhead or data projector. We appreciate that it is not always easy to make useful notes whilst listening and reading at the same time. If you would like a hard copy of the slides used, and these are not automatically distributed as a handout, you are welcome to request this from the adviser.

Some sessions are delivered by visiting speakers and we may not always be able to offer these services, although we will try to do so.

If we are asked, we will meet specific requirements or adjustments, where reasonable. For example, you may wish to ask the Disability Support Officer (DSO) in your department to let us know about your particular requirements, if we are coming to your class to do a careers talk. We will treat all such requests with discretion.

Access to Services

The ground floor of the Careers Service is accessible. Ramp access is provided to the right of the main entrance, between the Careers Service and Caird Cottage.

Inside the building, we are located on two floors, with no lift, however provision can be made for most service on the ground floor, including an accessible toilet, careers information, seminars and interviews. As described in these sections on the specific services we offer, we are happy to arrange alternative venues and provide alternative access arrangements to facilities and services if necessary.

Feedback

The Careers Service constantly encourages feedback on all our services and aims to act upon all suggestions received.

We hope you find no cause to complain about our service. In case you do, you are invited to first approach the member of staff concerned or our Director, Graham Nicholson (emails to careers@dundee.ac.uk).

If you do not receive acknowledgement of your complaint within five working days, or are dissatisfied with the response you receive, you are invited to put your complaint in writing and are directed to the University's Complaints Procedure - http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/academic/Complaints.htm