Services we offer Careers support for military veterans with a disability
The Open University (OU) Careers and Employability Services aim to provide specialist support to recipients of the OU Disabled Veterans Scholarship Fund and other disabled military veterans studying across the university.
You can email us at dvsf-careers@open.ac.uk for help with the following support and resources:
Career consultations
We offer individual careers guidance consultations and support which includes:
- help with career planning and exploration
- help with your job search and making yourself more employable
- support with CVs, applications and interviews
- advice on applying for further study.
To make an appointment, go to Book a Careers Consultation - you'll need to add a note to ask for specialist advice as a military veteran when you submit your request for a consultation.
We also offer a virtual careers drop-in for disabled military veterans. This takes place between 12:00 and 13:00 on the first Thursday of each month. You can access the room by selecting 'Continue on this browser' using Microsoft Teams.
Tailored resources
We produce careers resources that cover a range of different subjects specifically for military veterans.
Our podcast series Spill the beans discusses the topics that are important to veterans as they study and embark on a new career. The five-part series explores what you can do with your degree, how work experience can enhance your degree, why networking is important to career development, and how to maintain wellbeing and resilience during your job search. You can also hear from a veteran’s own experience for tips and advice on how to succeed after military service. To listen go to the podcast series Spill the beans.
Further links to tailored resources can be found on Open University and other online resources.
Quarterly newsletter
Our quarterly newsletter delivers the latest job opportunities, advice on career planning and securing a role as well as providing news tailored to military veterans. If you don’t already receive this and would like to be added to the subscription list, please email us at dvsf-careers@open.ac.uk.
Work experience
We can help you to network with specialist organisations to set up possible visits and individual support with finding internships (virtual and physical) and placements. Such placements allow you to gain valuable work experience, explore different sectors and expose yourself to new career opportunities.
If you’re interested in sourcing your own internship then we may be able to support both you and the employer by providing funding towards the opportunity. The funding could be paid to the employer to cover the cost of your salary on the internship if the following requirements are met:
- You're currently studying with the OU, or have graduated within the last 3 years, as part of the Disabled Veterans Scholarship programme.
- The internship is between 140 and 280 hours in length, the hours can be worked on a full or part time basis.
- The employer is an SME (small to medium sized enterprise with less than 250 employees and less than £50m annual turnover).
If you find an organisation that interests you and you’re unsure if they’re an SME, get in touch at internships@open.ac.uk and we can check this for you.
In addition, we could offer support towards travel costs and other expenses that you may have as part of your internship, whether the internship is with an SME or a larger organisation.
If you’d like to find out more or have a chat about how we can support you with this, get in touch with the team at internships@open.ac.uk or read about sourcing an internship on OpportunityHub (requires sign-in).
Our quarterly newsletter details the latest opportunities for you to explore. You can also search OpportunityHub for placements and vacancies.
Disabled Veterans’ Careers Mentoring Scheme
Mentoring can help with learning more about the jobs and the sector you want to enter, reflecting on your career development, networking and planning and achieving your goals. Typical mentors are military veterans themselves or professionals working in the industry. You can submit a request for a career mentor via OpportunityHub (you'll need to sign in).
Specialist LinkedIn group and community forum
We've set up a LinkedIn page The Open University Disabled Veterans Careers Group, aimed at providing careers information and insights to students who are part of the Disabled Veterans Scheme at the Open University. To chat with your fellow veterans about their experiences, share advice, ask questions and learn about what other services are available to you at the university join the OU Disabled Veterans Community forum.
