Embedding employability and employer engagement into postgraduate teaching:

a case study from ‘environmental management systems’

Simon Kemp 02 July 2008

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Content• Environmental Management Systems – description

of the module

• Wilding Butler – the case study company

• The pedagogical approach

• Student employability outcomes

• Case study company outcomes

• Employer engagement outcomes

The module:

Environmental Management

Systems

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Environmental Management Systems• Postgraduate module available on the MSc

(optional) and MEnvSci (compulsory) programmes

• Running in various formats since 1997

• Previous version involved a fictional case-study company

• Academic year 2007-2008 used a local company to provide the module case study

The case study company:Wilding Butler Construction

Ltd.

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Wilding Butler Construction Ltd.• Local small enterprise with large subcontractor base

• Small head office located in Colden Common, Hampshire opposite the regional Environment Agency headquarters

• Contacted through regional economic partnership body and the sustainable business partnership

• Looking to establish a competitive advantage through environmental management and to engage with the University

• Wide portfolio of construction projects in the South of England – commercial, education, residential

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Residential projects

Education projects

The pedagogical approach

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Pedagogical approach• Mixed strategy with a focus on active student

participation

• Total of 30 students of mixed expertise and a range of nationalities – British, French, Greek, Chinese

• No students with previous experience or training in the subject area

• Emphasis on embedding employability and employer engagement throughout the module via the case-study

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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement

was achieved through the following methods:

– Lectures

– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students

– Company head office & construction site visits

– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)

– Weekly progress and feedback sessions

– Team blogs and wiki sites

– ISO14001 certification audit

– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

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WB Photos here

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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement

was achieved through the following methods:

– Lectures

– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students

– Company head office & construction site visits

– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)

– Weekly progress and feedback sessions

– Team blogs and wiki sites

– ISO14001 certification audit

– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

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Page title• First level

bullet points may need expanding into second level bullet points

– Second level bullet point

– Second level bullet point

– Second level bullet point

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Pedagogical approach• Embedding employability and employer engagement

was achieved through the following methods:

– Lectures

– Formation of five consultancy teams of six students

– Company head office & construction site visits

– Weekly email correspondence with the company (through a filter)

– Weekly progress and feedback sessions

– Team blogs and wiki sites

– ISO14001 certification audit

– EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

Student employability

outcomes

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Student employability outcomes

Aims:

• Direct professional experience

• Practical application of theory

• Improved commercial understanding

• Practical experience of a growing area of employment

• Enhanced presentation skills

• Professional report writing skills

• Improved time management

• Enhanced CV for all students

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Student employability outcomesQuestionnaire and focus group to identify and assess

outcomes:

• Practical skills:

– “Producing something very comprehensive for a real-life company”

– “Allows us to develop clear understanding of EMS through hands-on experience”

– “Really helps you to know how to implement an EMS”

– “Working with a real company gave a sense of achievement”

– “Very practical and provided lots of guidance for students in their future careers in ISO14001”

– “Excellent method of learning what could be a very difficult to grasp subject”

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Student employability outcomes• Employability skills:

– “Relevant to business & work”

– “Relevant to real life. Excellent real case study”

– “Gave an insight into how the real world works – very useful reality check after 3 ½ years of environmental study”

– “Makes you manage your time”

– “Very practical experience, team work, organisation skills”

– “Real company therefore something valuable to talk about in job interviews. Feel I am employable as a result”

– “At last, learning about something useful in the workplace making us more employable – not enough of this”

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Student employability outcomes• Criticisms:

– “Lots of work, difficult organising team meetings”

– “Large groups, difficult to coordinate”

– “Too much work”

– “Heavy workload, although can’t suggest how to reduce it”

• Focus group 5 months after module completion:

– “Looking back the total workload wasn’t that much greater than other modules in total”

– “No exam meant the workload balanced out”

– “We definitely need more practical and employable modules”

Case study company

outcomes

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Case study company outcomes• EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of

ISO14001

• Compliance with existing environmental legislation

• Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system

• Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications

• Competitive advantage

• Nominated at local business awards

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Case study company outcomes• EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of

ISO14001

• Compliance with existing environmental legislation

• Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system

• Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications

• Competitive advantage

• Nominated at local business awards

Employer engagement

outcomes

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Employer engagement outcomes• Curriculum relevance

• Further participation in EMS module

• Continuing professional work to inform teaching

• Ongoing relationship for future student research projects

• Participation in EU Framework bid

Conclusions

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Conclusions• Module enables graduates to develop a specific

employability profile and advanced level of expertise to pursue a career in EMS

• 10% of students have confirmed consultancy positions in this area prior to graduation

• Board presentations helped students prepare for interview presentations

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Conclusions• Production of the manual, certifications audits, and

board presentations have given the students confidence in their EMS expertise

• Employers have stated confidence in the EMS ability of the students after inspecting the EMS manual and testing practical understanding in interviews

• Case study organisation have an EMS almost to ISO14001 level for very little temporal and financial cost

• Module coordinator retains professional practice and relevance in teaching

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Next Year……

Any Questions? Contact details

Simon KempSchool of Civil Engineering and the Environment

University of Southampton. SO17 1BJ

S.Kemp@soton.ac.uk02380 595868