Cannot get hold of uni lecturers at this time of year. Have to ask employer for a reference for the scholarship, which seems somewhat naff. What is the chance of success then? I'll definitely ask my employer to highlight the transferrable skills and my abilities to meet up deadlines, work independently with minimum supervision, ect. Would this help?

How have you tried to contact your lecturers? It's unlikely that they will all be on hols at exactly the same time for the same duration (although yes, we are into the silly season when it does become difficult to get hold of people!). Someone else in your faculty should be able to construct an academic reference for you based on your transcript. I think an academic ref will be important so you should do your best to get one in addition to the employer ref. An employer ref will be very helpful though, PhDs are in many ways much more like a (highly demanding) job than an academic course.

As Ann said ... try your hardest to get an academic reference (there will be some people still floating around your uni and/or picking up emails at home/work). This would be more suitable for a PhD reference, but if you really can't get hold of anyone, an employment reference will have to make do (although I hope they are relevant to your PhD is some way, shape or form).

thanks, both. As they need two refs, and yes, I've already got an academic one but seems unlikely to get the other one,so have to substitute one work ref. I've asked other academic staff to write one based on my transcript, guess what, the first sentence is " It is hard for me to comment on this student's academic ability as I do not know her". Then he reiterated my grades which are already on the transcript, and the whole ref is just two/three paras, half page! I decided not to use this so-called academic ref as it will jeopardise my application. The pigheaded professor knows much less about me than my employer whom I face five days a week! Sigh.......