Prof Abraham Althonayan
Director of International Business
Development and Senior Lecturer in
Strategic Management, BRUNEL
Business School
Employability:
Meeting Employers’
Demands
What is Business Life? Building your abilities for a better future
A programme of skills based activities which
present our students with the opportunity to
develop essential graduate attributes by:
• working,
• thinking,
• and learning together…
…to meet the challenges of the future
A Distinctive UK Education The UK student experience
High quality educational experience with a personal element to teaching.
Access to high quality learning resources.
Opportunities for work experience.
Attractive, fit-for-purpose facilities – teaching, social and recreational.
Affordable high quality accommodation.
A safe environment with excellent health and welfare support.
Ready to make their contribution to economic growth.
Brunel Graduates are Distinctive
Activity: Student Mobility and Employ(ability) Skills and Attitude
Volunteering, Placements and Internships
Outcome: Work-ready – knowledge/intellectual skills; transferable skills; work experience; rounded, responsible individuals.
Innovators and entrepreneurs.
Good employment outcomes/career prospects.
Employability Skills and Attitude
Key Skills Development
Interpersonal Skills
Workplace & Personal Attributes
Self-Reliance Skills
People Skills
General Skills
Specialist Skills
Commercial Awareness (Company tours)
Basic skills (Literacy & Numeracy)
Communication Skills
Team-working/Interpersonal Skills
Creativity/Innovation
Presentation Skills
Reasoning/Comprehension
Problem-solving/Analytical Thinking
Understanding Others / Culture
Formal Etiquette
Team-working
Diplomacy / Office Politics
Performance/Productivity
Attendance Record Self-Confidence
Time Keeping
Flexibility
Motivation Respect for Authority
Ease with which Fit into Culture Loyalty
Networking
Self-Awareness Proactivity
Self-Promotion
Planning Action Team-Working
Interpersonal Skills
Oral Communication
Leadership
Customer Orientation
Foreign Language
IT/Computer Literacy
Problem-Solving Flexibility
Business Acumen
Numeracy Commitment
Specific Occupational Skills
Technical Skills – SAGE Accounting, SAP, SAS
Brunel University London 5
How do We Deliver Business Life
Implementation of Training Workshops
Internal Certification External Certification
Mapping of the Graduate Attributes to Training Workshops and Academic Programme
Identification of Graduate Attribute (Skills)
Applied Interpersonal
Market Analysis
Job Market (Work Placement Employers) Professional and Public Institutes
Brunel University London
7
Recognition
Internal External
The Business Life Journey
EMPLOYABILITY ATTRIBUTES
Team Working: 1, Problem Solving: 2; Organisation, Planning and Time Management: 3; Commercial Awareness, Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship: 4; Digital Literacy and ICT Skills: 5; Language and Communication: 6; Data Analysis and Numeracy Skills: 7;
Personal Resilience and Initiative: 8
Brunel University London
18 November 2014
Presentation Title 8
Applying Employability Skills into our Modules
Brunel University London
Foundation 1. Teambuilding
2. Leadership and Initiative
3. Understanding International
Business Cultures and Etiquette
4. Professional Communication and
Presentation Skills
5. Working with different personalities
at work (and adopting to those
around you)
6. Conflict resolution
7. Time Management
8. Change Management
9. Introduction to networking
10. Introduction to Coaching
11. Customer Service skills
12. ECDL (Excel, Word PP, DBS, PM)
13. Introduction to Sage Accounting
14. Introduction to Sage Payroll…
Brunel University London
Direction
Obtaining External Certification and Accreditation
(ECDL, SAGE, SAS, PMI, PRINCE II)
Participating in Business Tours to leading Companies
Career Coaching with PCC
Making Success Happen - Industry guest motivational talks
Understanding the world of Business through Industry guest lectures
Developing Entrepreneurial Skills by engaging with Experts
Participating in Industry-University Business Challenge Competitions
Brunel University London 11
Application
Consolidating the skills gained in
Foundation and Direction stages
through:
• Placement Student Showcase and
Tutorial Day
• BEST –networking with industry
contacts (14 Jan 2015)
• Assessment Centre Days -
develop your CV and prepare job
applications
• SAS Career Fair (30th Oct 2014)
• Putting Entrepreneurship skills to
practice (Brunel Innovation hub)
Brunel University London 12
The
Employability
Transcript
Job Ready Graduate with a portfolio of
In-Demand Skills
ECDL Certification: BCS The Chartered
Institute of IT
PMI/PRINCE 2 Certification: In Project
Management
SAGE Certification: SAGE Accounting
and Payroll
TAX: Self Assessment and VAT
CIPD Recruitment skills for
Professionals
Brunel University London
How the Business Life Programme Relates to your Degree Pathways (UG)
General Marketing Accounting International
Business
ECDL
Extra
Big Data
Skills
SPSS Business Master
classes
Understanding Business Cultures & Etiquette
Introduction to
Networking
Business Tours
Making Success Happen
Series
Sage 50 Payroll SAS Software Training Sage 50 Accounts
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
CIPD Interview & Recruitment
Training
Business Tours
Making Success Happen
Series
Business Tours
Making Success Happen
Series
Business Tours
Making Success Happen
Series
Team work Leadership
Customer Service
Skills
Communication &
Influence
Dealing with difficult
people
Creative problem
solving
Organizing & chairing a meeting
Presenting to a
Boardroom
Working Environment – Adapting to those around you
Project Management – Prince 2 Practitioner
Strongly Recommended Skills
Desirable Professional & Administrative Skills
Sage 50 Payroll
Sage 50 Payroll SAS Software Training
SAS Software Training Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Brunel University London 14
Business Life Ambassadors
Why I should be a Business Life
Ambassador and contribute to the BL
Programme
Exposure
Experience & Events
Skills
Profiles Mentoring
References
Volunteering, Placements and Internships: Support from Brunel
Support for placements:
CV writing
Overseas placements
Assessment Centre Preparation
Placement reflection (on the experience)
Better final year results (often half a degree classification higher)
Higher starting salary for graduate positions (having done a
placement)
Improve confidence and industry awareness (work ethic)
Development of networking skills, contacts and references
Job and sector experience for your CV
A chance to put theory into practice
Brunel University London 17
Challenges Moving Ahead
Students booking events and not showing up
Ensuring that the BL programme caters for diversity
(non-EU students)
How to penalise non-attendees???
Managing expectations of students, a larger cohort of
students across the College & University wide
Academic buy in across the College and University
wide
Scheduling & Space - Best availability slots are limited
due to teaching timetable
Brunel University London
Strategy: Moving Forward
Skills and Competency Assessment System
Credit system for workshops (perhaps assessment?)
Strengthen accreditation with professional bodies
Closer collaboration with industry (steering committee / round table discussions)
Mapping Business Life with Academic Programmes
Extending BL to CBASS and University wide
Developing programme of professional skills development across all pathways
Growing the team
Opportunities to Collaborate with Brunel
Brunel University London is keen to develop long term partnerships
to:
Support Graduate level employability and contribution to economic growth
Create entrepreneurs and support innovation
Enhance graduate level employability through skills and attitude
development
Student and staff exchange programmes
Explore ‘joint’ delivery of academic programmes.
Capacity build in areas supportive of Expo 2017, such as
courses on customer service, healthcare management etc (see
comment below).
Collaborate on joint research projects, such as Newton-Al Farabi,
Marie Currie (EU funding).
Advisory roles in Government and across the education sector.
Student Mobility & (Employ) ability
Maximise chance of successful employment outcome after a degree
Employability Skills and Attitude
Volunteering, Placements and Internships
Programme to promote employability attributes by working, thinking and
learning together…(disciplines working together)
Top Related