Warsaw Seminar Els Van Der Werf
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Transcript of Warsaw Seminar Els Van Der Werf
Employability and work placements
Preparing students for the labour market
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Els van der Werf
Hanzehogeschool Groningen/Hanze University Groningen,
University of Applied Sciences
International Relations Manager
Member of the Dutch team of Bologna Experts
Employability and work placements
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Employability of undergraduates (Bachelors):
a key element of the Bologna Process
“The degree awarded after the first cycle shall also be
relevant to the European labour market as an appropriate
level of qualification.”
For universities which traditionally offered ‘undivided’
Master degrees: a dilemma
For Universities of Applied Sciences: core business
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Dutch higher education
Characterized by a binary system Co-existence of 14 research universities
(213,000 students)
3-year Bachelor programmes and 41 universities of applied sciences
(374,000 students)
4-year Bachelor programmes
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Universities of Applied Sciences
professional profile of Bachelor programmes
= clearly related to particular jobs/careers curriculum focuses on professional development main emphasis on undergraduate education growing number of Master programmes emphasis on applied research
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Professional focus in Bachelor programmes
emphasis on practical application of knowledge
throughout the curriculum
(project work; problem-based learning) participation in applied research key element: mandatory work placement of
at least 6 months (30 ECTS credits)
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Research universities
Bachelor programmes are Master oriented Bachelor is not seen as exit qualification professional profile is often not explicit
(e.g. humanities) there are also programmes which are highly
profession-oriented (e.g. dentistry, medical studies) increasing interest among students to do a work
placement (e.g. humanities)
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Mandatory work placements: an organisational challenge!
Example: Hanze University Groningen, UAS
24,000 students – every year roughly 5,000 students on work placement most of them in the Netherlands ca. 900 abroad
Issues of finding companies/organisations matching students with placements preparation and supervison of students quality assurance (placement assignment, assessment)
Employability and work placements
Different types of placements
orientation placement – allows students to get a taste of the professional environment in which they will be working short (weeks, rather than months) work shadowing, small assignments
profile placement – train the competences related to the professional field a few months, usually a semester semi-independent work, under supervision
final year placement – like profile placement a semester to one academic year high degree of independece complex assignment, resulting in thesis
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Involvement of companies/organisations
part of a certain culture with regard to the collaboration of HE and the world of work
HE and employers have a mutual interest HE and employers are prepared to invest joint placement code of biggest employers’ organisation
(VNO/NCW), SME body (MKB NL), and Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: agreement on cooperation through work placements as part of knowledge circulation
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Finding work placements
HEs have to invest in this part of the curriculum organising and supervising work placements costs as
much as teaching one or more placement coordinators per degree
programme various organisational models
students find their own placement placement coordinators actively recruit and assign students to a
placement role of commercial agencies
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Quality assurance and preparation
is the company/organisation suitable (not too small)? has an appropriate supervisor been assigned by the
company/organisation? is it clear what the student is expected to do: set of
tasks, assignment, etc.? no companies managed by immediate family member tripartite placement contract has to be signed university has collective third-party liability insurance for
all students on placement
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Requirements on student before going
Example: formally completed year 1 completed a minimum of 40 ECTS credits of year 2
of which all foreign language components Personal Development module 38 other credits
formal approval of placement by placement coordinator
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Preparing and supervising the student
physical absence of student does not mean less responsibility for learning process!
make clear what you expect of the student and what the student can expect from you (institution/supervisor)
supervision by institution should be more than a formality supervision includes regular contact (telephone, email,
skype, etc.) and preferably a visit to the student and company supervisor
average no. of hours per student for supervision: 15 hrs.
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Monitoring and assessing the work placement
Example:
at the end of the first month initial placement report from student + first month placement evaluation by company supervisor
at the end of three months intermediate placement report from student
at the end of the placement final placement evaluation by company supervisor
within 1 month of completion of placement final placement report
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Employability of UAS Bachelors
Based on research by Netherlands Ass. of UAS over 2008 Target group: graduates 2006/2007 - 18 months after graduation
85% have a job at the ‘right’ level (Bachelor) 83% have a job in the professional field for which they were
trained 79% indicate that the contents of the study programme
were in line with the current work 79% indicate they would choose the same degree programme
Employability and work placements
Employability of UAS Bachelors
Based on research by Netherlands Ass. of UAS over 2008 Target group: graduates 2006/2007 - 18 months after graduation
Unemployed 3,5%
Gross income per hour € 14,70
Gross income per month € 2180
Tenure 66%
Good career opportunities 48%
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Tentative conclusions
Programmes that give a good basis for entering the labour market
1. Have a strong professional orientation- work placements contribute to general development of professional expertise, but do not add new competences- good basis for labour market entry esp. in mass specialist positions
2. Have a strong familiarity with employers - is achieved through collaboration in the field of work placements- has no effect on competence level of student
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Tentative conclusions (cont.)
3. Are highly demanding- positive effect on development of competences - not necessarily leads to strong position on labour market
4. Have strong academic prestige - produce better graduates with stronger competences
- also have a signal function for employers (see 2)- not obtainable for large numbers of students
See also: Chapter 1 of the “Reflex” report
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Dicussion questions
Intensive collaboration between higher education and the world of work is a prerequisite for the realisation of work placements. Are European higher education institutions equipped to maintain such contacts?
In the case of integrated work placements, the higher education institution transfers part of the assessment of the student’s progress to the receiving company/organisation. Under what conditions is this acceptable?
There is a danger that students on work placement are used as cheap labour; there is unfair competition with those who are seeking employment. How can this be avoided?
Should higher education institutions focus on the transfer of knowledge and leave the preparation for the world of work to the (first) employers?
Employability and work placements