Written by Faith Hanstock
Paying off your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) before census is one thing, but if you’re like me; I send through the money and go ‘What on Earth is this payment going to help me with???’
SSAF is a compulsory fee that provides funding to all types of services within Charles Sturt, and in particular, the Careers and Skills Hub (CASH). Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘Faith, stop using all these acronyms and just get to the point’.
What is the Careers and Skills Hub?
The Careers and Skills Hub (CASH) is a Charles Sturt University service that supports students to gain future employment, and to help prepare them for jobs by developing employability skills. Long story short; they are here to help you gain the skills to get a job! CASH was established in March 2021 and launched in May of the same year. They offer one-on-one appointments, a whole variety of workshops and programs, and specialised online careers and skills resources for students. I think this is a program I can get behind; they are here to provide help at every stage of your student lifecycle. CASH has got your back!
Who is it available for?
Now, is this available for you to use? OF COURSE IT IS!!! CASH is available to all students, on-campus or online, regardless of your location. Sounds pretty handy, I reckon.
What has CASH done recently?
2021 was a busy year for CASH, when they launched two new technology platforms to improve their services.
The first platform introduced was the Careers Portal which gives students 24/7 access to high-quality career resources and tools such as a student jobs board, instant CV and interview feedback, employability assessments and online learning plans with a range of interactive resources. Ummm, yes please!!!
The second platform helps facilitate Online Mentoring Programs. This allows CSU to bring in mentorship programs for all students across the uni. Within this platform, CASH conducted three student mentoring programs (all which will be expanded this year!):
- Uni foundations
- Building your professional profile
- Connecting to Industry
CASH also happens to manage the Strive Leadership Program and Skills Forum. Strive is a student leadership program that is also accessible to all students of CSU. We love to see the inclusion! This program contains 20 self-guided modules to choose from. And guess what? Completion of 10 of these modules leads to a non-award leadership certificate from CSU. BRB signing up right now!
How is this helpful to students?
The Careers Portal and the Online Mentoring Programs are the perfect place for distance students to access support, especially when they don’t live on campus. What I love about CASH’s programs, are that these sites are accessible 24/7 and are online, so anyone who needs help has got it! It is not just restricted to students completing their degree on campus.
After finding out where some of my SSAF money is going, I don’t know about you guys, but I can say that I’m glad I’m helping fund the Careers and Skills Hub and I can’t wait to see how the rest of 2022 goes!
More information about the service and the support offered to students can be found online here: go.csu.edu.au/3PaMsyA
Have an idea for SSAF funding?
If you have an awesome idea but need some moola, why not propose your initiative to SSAF! Applications open August 8th and close September 16th, so follow this link and get preparing: https://go.csu.edu.au/3n7ZVeQ
