How Manchester Met's strengths-based approach is changing the career game

Manchester Metropolitan University's Faculty of Business and Law set out to reimagine what employability support could look like - and the results speak for themselves

Rather than following with a 'deficit model' - which focuses on fixing gaps in students' skills - it sought a new approach. Instead, it embraced a model that would celebrate individual students' strengths, turn adversity into advantage, and embed career readiness directly into the student journey.

Partnering with Cappfinity, global leaders in strengths-based assessment and development, the university co-created the Personal and Professional Development offering - a pioneering curriculum-embedded model that is reshaping outcomes for students from all backgrounds.

Tackling the employability gap

With triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS - a distinction held by just 1% of business schools globally - Manchester Metropolitan University's Business School already stands out on the global stage. The faculty is also home to the award-winning Manchester Law School - named Educational Institution of the Year for Pro Bono Activity in 2024 and voted Law School of the Year at the Educate North Awards 2025. But what makes the Faculty of Business and Law truly distinctive is its population of 12,000 students.

It is highly diverse: around half identify as Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic; many commute to campus, and balance part-time work or caring responsibilities; while nearly half are the first in their family to attend university.

This diversity has always been a strength - but it also highlighted opportunities that hadn't yet been fully realised to ensure all students could thrive. Engagement with careers services was fragmented, meaning outcomes were affected, and traditional standalone interventions like mock assessment centres weren't shifting the dial.

The Faculty of Business and Law needed a new model - one that could reach every student, remove barriers, and recognise that each student's life journey could be a foundation.

Truly embedding employability

In 2020, the Faculty of Business and Law and Cappfinity co-created a strengths-based model designed to develop career confidence at every stage of the degree experience.

Rather than being extra-curricular, the approach would be built into the curriculum, ensuring all students received structured, equitable support.

In its initial phase, the approach was piloted across the accounting & finance, and business management subject areas. Faculty members were trained in Cappfinity's strengths-based methodologies - the same approach used by many aspirational graduate employers - which enables students to identify, evidence and articulate their strengths.

From strengths insight to career confidence

First-year students begin by completing a Skills Suite® Strengths Profile to uncover their top capabilities from a set of 60 strengths. These insights are then explored as part of a taught module, with students encouraged to apply their strengths to subject tasks and wider development.

Crucially, students are assessed on what they've learned - via a format of their choice. Whether it's a written reflection, a vlog or a visual presentation, every student has the opportunity to showcase their progress in a way that works for them.

Third-year BA (Hons) Business Management with Placement student, Jasmine Taylor-Smith, reflects on the value of this approach: 'Understanding my Strengths Profile revealed my true capabilities. As one of my strengths was identified as an 'organiser', I meticulously prepared for placement roles, ensuring I understood every detail of what the company was looking for. My strengths in 'equality and relationship builder' enabled me to understand that I would be suitable for a HR role. This insight has led me to my current position in Unilever's HR department. Harnessing these strengths has been pivotal in my career journey.'

In Year Two, students build on this foundation in a dedicated set of modules, delivered by academics and personal tutors centred on the eight core strengths most valued by employers. They take part in:

• employer panels and industry-led workshops
• personal branding and self-presentation training
• virtual strengths-based video interviews with detailed feedback
• a simulated assessment centre experience, hosted at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

Abi Parker, account director at Cappfinity, explains: 'We co-designed the approach with the Faculty of Business and Law to give students space to build self-insight, develop confidence, and practise in articulating and evidencing their unique strengths. By the time they reach the assessment centre experience half-day, they're not just prepared - they're ready to shine.'

Outstanding results - and growing momentum

Since launch, more than 12,000 students have engaged with the approach, and every student in the Faculty of Business and Law now benefits.

Benjamin Imms, a final-year BA (Hons) Business Management with Placement student who completed his placement with Enterprise, said: 'Using my Strengths Profile was a turning point in preparing for this placement. It gave me a clear and personalised insight into not just my core strengths, but also the unrealised ones that had potential waiting to be tapped into. This understanding allowed me to focus my energy on what I do best, align my approach with the needs of the role, and confidently showcase how I could add value.'

The outcomes speak for themselves:

• a 183% rise in students reporting they feel 'career ready'
• a significant uplift in student placements, especially in competitive graduate roles
• one cohort saw progression gaps as large as 15% not only close, but reverse, with students from the most underrepresented groups now outperforming their counterparts
• a sharp rise in engagement with the university's career service
• one cohort improved Times Top 100 graduate job offers from 2% to 30% in just two years.

A model for the sector

Dr Katharina De Vita, faculty director of education at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: 'We set out to meet every student where they are - and give them the tools and confidence to go further. This strengths-based model has truly delivered on that promise. It's created a space where students can grow and thrive, no matter their background - and the feedback has been phenomenal.

'With the launch of the new Skills Discovery Tool, we're now able to map students' Strengths Profiles directly against our graduate attributes and key employment sectors. Its analytical power means we can offer even more personalised, targeted support than ever before – building on the foundations we've laid over the past few years.'

Professor Hannah Holmes, dean of the Business School and deputy pro-vice-chancellor within the Faculty of Business and Law, added: 'This award-winning innovation has had a clear and measurable impact on all the key indicators linked to stronger graduate outcomes. It's why we've now embedded the approach across the entire Faculty of Business and Law.

'We're also thrilled to be expanding our offer once again this year as one of the first institutions to adopt Cappfinity's brand-new Skills Discovery platform. It will empower our students to develop across 80 industry-relevant skills - giving them an even stronger foundation for career success.'

By embedding strengths-based thinking into the curriculum, Manchester Metropolitan University Faculty of Business and Law has shown what's possible when employability is treated as a core academic priority - not an optional extra.

Together with Cappfinity, they've created a model that others in higher education can look to: inclusive, strategic, and built for long-term impact.