www.le.ac.uk/careers

The Employable Graduate Teacher and Adviser Conference 2013

Ian Walker

Career Development Service

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Outline

• Case-study: Rebecca Evans

• What is an ‘employable graduate’

• Developing employability at University

– Student steps

– Career development service input

• Implications for schools and colleges

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Context: employable graduates

Now

Degree = employment

Degree + extracurricular = employment

UCAS tariff + 2:1 degree + good university + extracurricular + work experience = employment

Higher UCAS tariff + 2:1 degree + top university + extracurricular + work experience of measurable value + own personal brand = employment

www.le.ac.uk/careers

A typical graduate recruitment process

Application form – Psychometrics / SJTs – Tele-Interview – Assessment centre – Final interview

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Transferable skills framework Interpersonal Exploration and

Implementation Self-Management

Communication Research & analysing Learning, improving & achieving

Teamwork Problem solving & decision making

Resilience, adaptability & drive

Leadership & supervising Planning & organising Digital literacy

www.le.ac.uk/careers

WHAT STEPS SHOULD STUDENT TAKE DURING THEIR UNIVERSITY CAREER?

www.le.ac.uk/careers

1. Gaining work experience

• Relevant as possible to area of interest

– Responsibility, variety

• Ideally internships

– Voluntary, part-time, shadowing still of value

www.le.ac.uk/careers

2. Extra-curricula activities

• Societies

• Community clubs, groups

• University opportunities

• Ad-hoc opportunities

www.le.ac.uk/careers

3. Making the most of Curricula activities

• Group working

• Presentations

• Feedback – peer and tutor

• Reading around subject

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Direct benefits of these experiences • Transferrable skill development

• Professionalism

• Self-confidence and assuredness (it shows)

• Knowledge of work

• Career and academic motivation

...employers actively assess for all these

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Career Development Service input

• Curricula

– Transferable skills

– Modules with employability applications (Maths)

• Extra-Curricula

– Leicester Award e.g. “tomorrow’s teachers”

– Festival of Careers

– Internships and employer engagement

– Volunteering, Part-time work (Uni-temps)

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Student engagement and career skills

• Engagement

– Hub, Minimum Programme, Finalists, Careers Tutors

• Career skills

– Self-awareness - career aim; strengths and development

areas

– Job hunting: finding opportunities; amount of time and

effort

– Assessment process skills, including how to tell their story

www.le.ac.uk/careers

The employable graduate – getting a head start at school and college

• How do you already encourage employability (or at

least the foundations of employability)?

• Has this talk prompted any ideas around how to

develop employability further?

www.le.ac.uk/careers

• A few thoughts:

– Lack of (career focus?) = lack of career engagement = lack of employability e.g. “Other people are lucky, they know what they want to do…I never have”…high risk

• Solution: fine to go to university without clear idea of career, but only if gain a variety of experiences and reflect = focus

– Message to sixth formers: engage with career planning early and regularly e.g. encourage action planning at school, map out university time-line, show very narrow windows for engaging with careers.

– Development of transferable skills in curriculum and extra-curriculum

– Self-reflection, peer appraisal

The employable graduate – getting a head start at school and college

www.le.ac.uk/careers

Your questions