On Track programme

Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/careers-resources/on-track/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/careers-resources/

The On Track programme is an employability programme designed specifically for undergraduate home students from a low income background and/or those who are independent.

https://youtu.be/nLSh9tMGq7Q

Eligibility criteria

Undergraduate home students who meet one or more of the following criteria are eligible for the On Track programme:

• Students in receipt of a York Bursary or the Care Leavers and Estranged Students Bursary
• Students who are care leavers or care experienced
• Students who are estranged (the term ‘estranged student’ describes someone who has no communication with both of their biological or adoptive parents, and the situation is likely to remain permanent)
• Students who were eligible for free school meals (not including universal infant free school meals)
• Students whose address they lived at before applying to university is within an IMD Quintile 1 postcode area (only applicable to UK postcodes).

There are two opportunities to register for the programme in an academic year. Eligible students will be contacted directly by the Careers and Placements team and invited to sign up for the programme around Week 4 of Semester 1, with another opportunity to sign up from Refreshers Week of Semester 2.

About the programme

From the academic year 2025/26, the On Track Programme will be exclusively available to all eligible home undergraduate students. On Track is an enhanced employability programme designed to support specific challenges which eligible students may experience in relation to career progression. Research, alongside student voice collected by the Careers and Placements team at York, shows that these students may experience specific employability challenges around:

• finance and/or time
• professional networks
• awareness of professional workplaces, language or culture
• how to navigate opportunities at university
• understanding the informal rules of the professional workplace and career progression

We know that not all of these challenges will resonate with every eligible student, but these are common concerns which we hear. The On Track Programme seeks to support these challenges and provide a safe space for students who resonate with them.

On Track runs for the whole academic year and will begin with an introductory briefing session in Week 5 of Semester 1. Eligible students will receive an invitation to attend a briefing either in person or online via email in Week 4 of Semester 1 are encouraged to come along to find out more and meet the team. We will also re-launch to eligible students from Refreshers Week of Semester 2.

This year, students will be able to benefit from a number of activities which include:

• Access to the strengths-based tool, Spotlight, designed by sports psychologists, used in elite sport and also in the business world to support On Track students to develop adaptability in new situations and contexts.
• Professional development workshops (in person)
• City based networking opportunities at employer offices
• One to one coaching with Inclusive Futures (online)

To find out more about each element of the programme, please see the ‘Programme Content’ drop-down below.

On Track Programme Privacy Statement

**New for 25/26, we have launched On Track Online - a VLE site open to all current University of York students hosting resources and videos designed to support students from low income backgrounds and independent students. These resources aim to increase employability knowledge and confidence, particularly in areas students have told us they worry about such as professional language and accent bias. They also provide insights and advice from York graduates and professionals (mostly from low income backgrounds) to help students learn more about what life as a professional is like as well as providing insights from graduate employers. See the On Track Online section below for more details and to access the VLE site.

Why do it?

• Begin to understand the value of, and build your own, professional networks

• Understand your mindset and behavioural styles and learn how to adapt confidently to new employability situations and contexts which you will face. These new situations might include:

• applying for a position you have not experienced before which might feel scary and intimidating, rather than something you are completely sure and comfortable with

• having your first formal interview
• undertaking your first assessment centre for an internship, placement year or graduate job

• participating in your first “professional networking” experience such as talking to recruiters at a careers fair, visiting an employer’s offices on an insight day or attending a networking event for students

• Develop increased knowledge and confidence in your employability to support progression to graduate work or further study after university

• Helps you to navigate opportunities to get involved at university
• Hear from professionals from similar backgrounds and experiences
• Access other opportunities and gain an insight into professional workplaces and cultures
• Access to a safe space to learn about university employability and the professional workplace with peers from a similar background

Programme content

There are four core elements to the programme; due to budget and the cost of providing each student who takes part in the programme with a personalised Spotlight profile, places are limited to 200 students.

• Spotlight

• Access to the strengths based tool called Spotlight, developed by the company Mindflick, used in elite sport and in the corporate world. This will provide students with a personalised profile which highlights personal strengths, helps to learn how to adapt to new and changing situations and work environments to reach full potential, and boosts confidence. Spotlight is all about helping students to authentically adapt within new and perhaps intimidating situations, so is really useful when navigating university and professional workplaces in the future. There will be a dedicated Spotlight explore session in Semester 1 Week 6 and in Semester 2 Week 2. Spotlight will be front and centre of each workshop; the completion of the personalised profile is compulsory to be able to participate in the workshops.

• Professional development workshops

• Beginning in Week 7 there will be five workshops across the year addressing themes including the value of your experience, building professional networks, resilience and responding to rejection, understanding workplace culture and working smart vs hard. These workshops will be delivered in person on campus, led by Careers staff, bringing in employers and York graduates, usually from an On Track background, across the year. Students who sign up for the On Track programme are encouraged to attend as many as possible.

• City based networking opportunities at employer offices

• Organised specifically for On Track students, these include experiencing what a professional workplace looks and feels like, networking opportunities with various professionals, and often an activity to support understanding of workplace practices, professional skills or recruitment activities. Previous locations have included York, Leeds and London with employers such as Aviva, Network Rail, RSM and EY. Travel expenses to locations outside of York are covered by Careers and Placements.

• One to one coaching

• Coaches from Inclusive Futures will work with you on an individual, confidential basis, allowing you space and time to explore your situation, your future self and your employability journey at university. Sessions will be personalised to each student and can be scheduled at a time to suit you. All sessions will take place online on a secure platform. There are two options within the one to one coaching of:

  • Four sessions (prioritised to second year On Track students) - there are 100 places for this part of the programme and second year students will be able to have four 1 hour virtual coaching sessions to help them move towards an employability goal over the course of the academic year.
  • One-off session (available to all On Track students) - there are 50 places for this part of the programme, and participating students will be able to have one 1 hour virtual coaching session over the course of the academic year to address a specific and timely employability topic, such as getting back up after facing application rejections, interview nerves, having the confidence to apply for opportunities etc. This will be promoted to eligible students who sign up to the On Track programme.

What do students say?

• “Going into On Track I was nervous and unsure, but I quickly realised most other students felt the same. The environment was welcoming and relaxed, with staff and students supportive from the start.”
• “The On Track programme helped me develop my networking skills, gave me the chance to speak to professionals via interactive workshops and helped me understand myself better by providing me with a Spotlight profile. I found this profile extremely helpful when looking for a summer internship because it helped me understand what type of work environment would help me thrive.”
• “Since taking part, I am far more confident and engaged. I have developed adaptability and networking skills, and I can now frame my experience positively when applying for opportunities.”
• "I really enjoyed On Track and think it's incredibly useful for people who already have some experience (in the workplace) and especially for those who don't."
• "My Spotlight came in handy for lots of things - applications and reflecting on strengths - and was particularly useful when working in a team."
• "The coaching was amazing - and it's improved my employability and my knowledge of what I want from a workplace."
• "I found the VLE site made the programme more accessible and I could engage remotely when I was struggling to attend in person for health reasons."

Time commitment

Students who sign up for the On Track programme are encouraged to access as many elements as possible in line with their interests and availability. It’s completely understandable that part time work or other commitments might get in the way of attending some in person workshops, and eligible students are still very welcome to partake in as much of the programme as they can or wish to each year. Approximate total time commitments for each possible element of the programme are included below:

• Spotlight and workshops - each workshop will be approximately two hours in length - including all Spotlight sessions and workshops this equates to 14 hours over the year.
• City based networking opportunities at employer offices vary in length - we anticipate there will be two of these events during the 25/26 academic year, one in York during Semester 1 equating to a half day time commitment, and one outside of York in Semester 2 equating to a full day time commitment with travel included.
• Coaching sessions are one hour long and four hours in total for participating second year students, or one hour total for students from all year groups selecting this option.

How to sign up

Semester 1:

• Eligible students will be emailed in Week 4 and invited to a briefing session in Week 5.
• Those who attend the briefing session will be able to sign up to the programme through Handshake. The form will open at 9am on Thursday 23 October and close at 4pm on Friday 31 October.

Semester 2:

• Eligible students will be emailed in Refreshers Week and invited to a briefing session in Week 1.
• Those who attend the briefing session will be able to sign up to the programme through Handshake.

All students who have been allocated a place will be informed via email after the closing date. Students who did not participate last year will need to complete a questionnaire to receive a personalised Spotlight profile before they can take part in the programme.

On Track Online resources

We recognise that not all students will be able to access the in person On Track programme, so at the start of the 25/26 we launched a new On Track Online Employability support platform. On Track Online is accessible to all students and designed to support specific employability challenges which students from low income backgrounds, students who are independent, and/or are the first generation in their family to attend university have told us they struggle with or worry about. The platform consists of videos, useful resources and tools on a number of topics created specifically for the lived experiences it aims to support.

Topics currently covered on On Track Online include:

• Understanding the value of your experience to apply for internships, placements or graduate schemes
• Concerns around accent bias in professional situations
• Concerns around professional language in professional situations
• Exploring pressures some students from low income backgrounds face related to career decisions
• Exploring the possible future self theory to think about what is possible for you in your career and goal setting.

The resources, videos, exercises and common questions and answers on the On Track Online VLE site aim to support you to:

• develop increased employability knowledge
• develop confidence in your employability, particularly in areas students have told us they worry about, to support progression to graduate work or further study after university
• gain insights and advice from York graduates and professionals (mostly from low income backgrounds) to learn more about what life as a professional is like and their experiences
• gain insights from graduate employers
• develop adaptability to support preparation for new situations and contexts.

These online resources were co-created with current University of York students who were part of the On Track in-person programme. Their input was essential and incredibly valuable in shaping the platform. We aim to develop this resource further in the coming years but in the meantime feel free to explore the topics on On Track Online at your own pace.