Director of Careers Service
John Watkins joined the University in June 2012 to head up the Service. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant who has spent twenty years working in business. He brings a strong employer perspective to the Careers Service, with particular emphasis on the importance of employability skills alongside the learning from degree programmes.
John joined the University from professional services firm, PKF, where he was responsible for the career and professional development of staff. In this capacity, he had close association with many schools and universities, including Surrey, as a recruiter, employer representative on the Professional Training and Careers Committee and supporter of the Surrey Lifewide Learning Award (seen speaking below in 2010)
John’s uses his experience as a skills trainer and facilitator to run our weekly employability session - Join John. This interactive and entertaining hour provides a diverse audience with the insights on how to excel in a wide range of workplaces.
The Careers Service Director’s blog is one of John’s contributions to our social media presence. He takes topical issues of the day and extracts a careers perspective – sometimes there is a very obvious link but occasionally it is a rather more tenuous connection!
Away from the University, John is a married father of two boys, a cricket coach and keen fan of Watford FC, Kent CCC and the Guildford Flames.