There are twelve awards up for grabs to celebrate your skills. Achieve bronze by completing online courses, or attending workshops. Achieve silver by applying your knowledge in your volunteering. Impress your tutors, future employers, and yourself. 

Becoming a more skilled volunteer means you can have a greater positive impact in your own life, your Students’ Union and your local community. These awards are based on the graduate attributes - the skills that the University believes all Salford students should have when they graduate.

How to Get a Bronze Award

There are two ways to get your bronze skills awards.

Option A - Key Volunteering Roles

1. Register on the USSU volunteering platform
2. Complete the mandatory training for your role
   1. School Reps get the Bronze USSU Professional Award
   2. Rafiki Volunteers and ReachOut Mentors get the Bronze USSU Emotionally Intelligent Award
   3. Sports committee members and Societies Committee Members get the Bronze USSU Problem Solver Award
   4. Girls Group Activity Leaders (Girls Friendly Society) get the Bronze USSU Communicator Award

Option B - Skills-based E-learning

1. Register on the USSU volunteering platform
2. Complete the relevant LinkedIn Learning Path - follow the links on the badges above.
   1. E.g. the USSU Bronze Communicator Learning path gets you the USSU Bronze Communicator Award.
   2. Each learning path is made up of four hours of specially selected online courses in the relevant skills area.
   3. Email ussu-volunteering@salford.ac.uk to say which bronze award you have completed, and we will issue your digital certificate at the end of the semester 

Option C - Attending Skills Workshops

1. Register on the USSU volunteering platform
2. Attend two workshops from the relevant skillset
   1. E.g. attending ‘Presentation Skills’ (Library) and ‘Personal Branding’ (Careers) will get you the USSU Bronze Communicator Award
3. Email ussu-volunteering@salford.ac.uk to say which bronze award you have completed, and we will issue your digital certificate at the end of the semester 

How to Get a Silver Award

1. Have completed the bronze award for that skill area e.g. to be a USSU Silver Communicator, you must first be a USSU Bronze Communicator 
2. Complete two SSTARR reflections on our volunteering platform about two occasions when you have developed two separate skills within the relevant skillset. 
   •  E.g. for the USSU Silver Communicator award, you could do one reflection about a time when you developed your listening skills, and another reflection about a time when you developed your skill of influencing others. 
3. Email ussu-volunteering@ac.uk to say which silver award you have completed and we will issue your digital certificate at the end of the semester 

 

Which Skills fall within each skillset? 

 

Communicator	Emotionally Intelligent	Professional	Financially Skilled	Problem Solver	Digitally Skilled
Verbal Communication Confidence Listening Literacy and copywriting Marketing Negotiation and influencing Public Speaking Teaching and training Other skill, please state             ***	Interpersonal  Conflict resolution  Counselling Non-judgemental Positive attitude Giving and Receiving Feedback Self Management Other skill, please state                 ***	Administration and clerical Driving Event Planning Initiative Being Adaptable Planning and organising Practicality Team Work Networking Time Management Other skill, please state     ***	Financial planning Numeracy Fundraising  Money Management  Other skill, please state                               ***	Creative Problem solver Strategizing Decision Making Project Management Critical Thinking and evaluation  Other skill, please state                        ***	IT, Computers and web skills  Office IT (Word, Excel, etc.)  Creative and design Other skill, please state                             ***

Get Certificates from LinkedIn Learning, and from USSU!

• For the Bronze Awards, you can download digital certificates directly from LinkedIn Learning when you complete each course within a Learning Path.
• When you complete all the criteria for a silver or bronze award, email email ussu-volunteering@salford.ac.uk, and we will check your details and issue your digital certificates for our skills awards at the end of each semester.

Put 'Open Badges' on your LinkedIn profile

• An 'Open Badge' is a way to credential online education. It's an icon that contains a link to a course and the date that you completed it.They look great on your LinkedIn profile! 
• For the Bronze awards, each course within the LinkedIn Learning Path has the option to put an 'open badge' on your LinkedIn profile.
• When you complete the course, click 'Add to Profile' 

LinkedIn Learning is free!

• Yes. LinkedIn Learning is free for all students and staff at the University of Salford.  

You don't need a LinkedIn account to achieve the awards

• When you sign up to LinkedIn Learning, it will ask whether or not you want to link your account to a LinkedIn profile.