Student Employability:A Network ImperativePam Calabro, Linking London LifelongLearning Network, December 2010
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Contents
1. The background to employability as an HE construct ..................................................... 2
2. The new policy drivers .................................................................................................... 3
3. What this means in practice for Network partners ......................................................... 4
4. How Linking London can help ........................................................................................ 6
5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 6
6. References and further reading ...................................................................................... 8
7. Appendices .................................................................................................................... 9
7.1 Appendix 1: Learning & Employability Series ....................................................... 9
7.2 Appendix 2: Table 1: Graduate progression by specific target groups ................. 10
7.3 Appendix 3: Employability self‐assessment: Linking London Partner Institutions
(HE provision)................................................................................................................ 11
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1. The background to employability as an HE construct
The link between higher education and its role as a driver for change in the modern economy in terms of equipping graduates with higher‐level transferable skills has been established in providers’ minds for some time now, in particular, in response to the Dearing Report, 1997, which made recommendations about how HE should develop to accommodate the needs of a changing student population. A great deal of work in raising awareness in this area was achieved by the Enhancing Student Employability Co‐ordination Team (ESECT) led by Professors Mantz York (Liverpool John Moores University) and Peter Knight (Open University), under the auspices of the Learning & Teaching Support Network (LTSN) Generic Centre between October 2002 and February 2005, the period of HEFCE funding for this initiative, and a range of outputs circulated to institutions running HE programmes. These outputs in the Learning and Employability Series1, in particular, provided institutions with a wealth of information about the pedagogy underpinning employability and a definition, supported by the National Union of Students (NUS), Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), LTSN and the Centre for Recording Achievement (CRA), was put forward that many working in the sector have found helpful –
A set of achievements ‐ skills, understandings and personal attributes ‐ that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.
(Yorke & Knight, January 2004, p3, reissued 2006, p10) Essentially, through this work, employability was postulated as a curriculum construct and models offered for its development within the sector, which included:
• Employability through the whole curriculum • Employability in the core curriculum • Work‐based or work‐related learning incorporated
as one or more components within the curriculum • Employability‐related module(s) within the curricu‐
lum • Work‐based or work‐related learning in parallel
with the curriculum
(ibid, p11)
In 2006, the HE Academy, in conjunction with the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) and Graduate Prospects, published Student employability profiles which provided an overview of 53 discipline profiles, each
1 This series was updated and reissued in 2006 under the auspices of the HE Academy and a second series added (see Appendix 1)
identifying the skills that can be developed through the study of that particular discipline as mapped against QAA subject benchmark statements, together with the employa‐bility skills, competencies and attributes valued by CIHE members when recruiting, key of which included:
• Cognitive skills/brainpower • Generic competencies • Personal capabilities • Technical ability • Business and/or organisation awareness • Practical elements ‐ vocational courses
(Source: Kubler & Forbes, 2005, cited in Rees et al, 2006, p4)
These profiles were welcomed by the sector, not only for enabling discipline‐based teams to communicate course outcomes more clearly to students and prospective employers, but also in helping make work‐related learning more explicit in course programme design and delivery. In this same period, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, (AGCAS), in conjunction with the Higher Education Academy and others, worked on developing a Benchmark Statement for Careers Education which outlined the many and different ways that careers education could be articulated within the HE curriculum (see www.agcas.org.uk/agcas_resources/33‐Careers‐Education‐Benchmark‐Statement) and this helped academics and uni‐versity support teams to further understand the interr‐elationship between careers education and employability.
Much has been done since, by individual HEIs, to establish and develop their work in relation to student employability, although this has not been without its sceptics, and this work has been communicated widely across the sector, as a way of taking practice forward. (See the HE Academy web‐site: www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/employability/employability and its link to the Employability Development Network, which is the JISC list available for those involved in the development and management of employability resources in UK HEIs, to share ideas and materials). In 2005 HEFCE named Sheffield Hallam University a national Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in Embedding, Enhancing and Integrating Employabili‐ty (e3i). The website: www.employability.shu.ac.uk/ conta‐ins a range of resources aimed at supporting this work across subject, course and module teams which may be regarded as providing a standard of practice. More recently, the CBI/UUK report, March 2009, Future fit: Preparing graduates for the world of work, has provided a number of useful case studies highlighting a range of current employa‐bility initiatives occurring, nationally, across the sector.
Employer leaders have continued to add their voice to this discourse, the CBI, in particular, increasingly seeing a role for employers, not only in higher education course design and programme planning but, also, in providing students with opportunities to develop employability skills. Richard
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Lambert, Director General of the CBI, in his foreword to the CBI/UUK report, March 2009, sees this as very much a joint responsibility between universities and employers and emphasises that more undergraduates should be given ‘the opportunity to experience the world of work – through work placements, summer internships and more contact with business during their studies...’ The report goes on to recommend that:
• Developing employability skills should be a core part of a student’s university experience
and also, helpfully, articulates an important distinction that, some may argue, has often confounded discussion of this debate –
• Branding employability skills separately from the Careers Service makes sure students understand it is about acquiring and demonstrating transferable skills, not just about getting a job.
(CBI / UUK, op cit, p6) The report, which feeds back on three separate surveys of students, employers and HEIs undertaken between autumn 2008 and early 2009, notes that, when recruiting graduates, employers are increasingly looking for graduates with good employability skills (78% of the 581 employers surveyed, highlighted them as important). The CBI definition used here incorporates: self‐management; team working; business and customer awareness; problem solving; communication and literacy; application of number; application of information technology; a positive attitude and entrepreneurship / ent‐erprise (CBI/UUK, ibid, p8). Similarly, 54% highlighted the importance of relevant experience of the workplace. It may be significant to note here that the majority of the 880 students from the 20 universities surveyed as part of this report, reported positively about the development of their employability skills while at university, achieved either through their own efforts or through their undergraduate programmes. However, a significant number (38%) did not feel that they had developed business awareness or numeracy and, while 42% of students felt that skills development had been explicitly addressed on their course but more could be done, a further 28% felt that this was something they would like to have been offered (ibid, p24). As the report goes on to point out –
There is a(n)….unmet demand for special, stand‐alone employability programmes (just 11% are currently involved or expect to be ‐ but a further 35% would take the opportunity if they could; internships (30% do so, 34% would like the opportunity); short periods of work experience (28% do, 33% would like) and sandwich years (15% do and 23% respectively would like).
Despite this, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ (UKCES), March 2010 report on Employability Skills notes that the research evidence regarding the employability of graduates from UK universities, currently, is very positive ‐
Over four‐fifths of employers who had recruited graduates in the past year reported that they were well or very well prepared for work, suggesting that the longer individuals stay in education, the better their employability skills.
(UKCES, March 2010, p19) UKCES (ibid, p15),also, cite the finding of the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills' (DIUS) 2008 report, Higher Education at Work ‐ High Skills: High Value that ‘what British employers want from graduates is generally what they get.’ (DIUS, 2008, p14) but which highlighted areas of concern, specifically –
That in some sectors there is a mismatch between the needs of business and the courses provided by higher education institutions and that graduate employability in terms of ‘business awareness’ needs to improve.
(DIUS, 2008, cited in UKCES, ibid, p15)
2. The new policy drivers
Labour clearly took note of these concerns and, in its Higher Ambitions paper, November 2009, took policy in this area a step further by stipulating that, in future, all universities would be expected to describe how they enhance students’ employability –
All universities should be expected to demonstrate how their institution prepares its students for employment, including through training in modern workplace skills, such as team working, business awareness, and commu‐nication skills. This information should help students choose courses that offer the greatest returns in terms of graduate opportunity.
(Higher Ambitions: The Future of Universities in the Knowledge Economy, Executive Summary, 6, p13)
This demand was articulated within a strategy designed, in particular, to expand access to HE from work‐based routes and students from non‐traditional backgrounds, by making more part‐time and flexible study routes more widely available but it is significant that it was felt appropriate that all subject communities should address this concern. Higher Ambitions also called for a review of Teaching Quality Information (TQI) to include student continuation rates and employment destinations, as well as the results of the National Student Survey, with the aim that for 2011/12 applicants, ‘All universities should publish a standard set of information, setting out what students can expect in terms of the nature and quality of their programme.’ (ibid, 12, p17). This work has been taken forward by UCAS and has involved the expansion of the Unistats website, available at: www.unistats.direct.gov. This website, which is aimed at students, allows them to compare institutions and subjects using feedback from some 220,000 students who respond to The National Student Survey, each year. It provides
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information on topics such as employment prospects, UCAS points, and degree results from a range of official sources, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Learning and Skills Council. HEFCE, QAA and UKCES are now working with the sector to advise on how the new information requirements outlined in Higher Ambitions can be achieved and with regard to employability, this has now translated itself into the recent HEFCE requirement that all HEIs and HEFCE‐funded FECs publish employability statements on Unistats, regarding the help that they provide to students to improve their employability and with the transition to work. The deadline for this was 31 August 2010 and the first of these statements are now available, although not across all institutions, as yet. It is understood that UKCES is also, currently, exploring how employability outcomes can be integrated into course labelling to help further embed employability skills (UKCES, March 2010, p27), so it is clear that this agenda is not going to go away. The Higher Education Public Information Steering Group (HEPISG) have recently commissioned two pieces of research to review the efficiency, effectiveness and use of existing public information about higher education2 and is, currently, considering what changes need to be made, in the light of their recommendations. The group, which includes members from the National Union of Students, as well as employer groups, will make recommendations to the boards of HEFCE and Universities UK and the GuildHE Executive and this will be followed by a consultation, which will then be jointly published, which will apply to higher education delivered in England and Northern Ireland, only, although representative bodies in Scotland and Wales are also considering the research results with interest. As yet, as far as it is known, this consultation has not been published. Meanwhile, QAA, in its proposal for a new institutional audit method for England and Northern Ireland ‐ Institutional Review ‐ to be introduced in 2011‐12, has also focussed on the need for institutions –
To provide accessible information for the public which indicates whether an institution:
• Produces public information for applicants, students
and other users that is useful, up to date, reliable and complete.
(QAA, October 2010, Institutional review of higher education institutions in England and Northern Ireland: Operational description. Draft for consultation.)
as one of the four key areas on which institutions would be judged.
2 Understanding the information needs of users of public information about higher education, Oakleigh Consulting & Staffordshire University, HEFCE 2010 and Enhancing and Developing the National Student Survey, The Centre for Higher Education Studies at the Institute of Education, July 2010.
The Browne review, October 2010, with its emphasis on competition and student choice as the main drivers of quality, similarly, supports this new focus and, if its recommendations are accepted, institutions and students will be asked to –
Work together to produce Student Charters3 that provide detailed information about specific courses and include commitments made by students to the academic community they are joining.
(Lord Browne of Madingley, 12 October 2010, Chapter 4, p28)
The report goes on to identify some of the gaps in information, currently, made available to students –
• Proportion of students employed in a full time professional or managerial job one year after completing this course
• Proportion of students in employment in the first year after completing the course
• Professional bodies which recognise the course • Average salary in the first year after completing the
course
(ibid, p30) An explicit link in the report is made between the charges set by institutions and employment outcomes –
Where a key selling point of a course is that it provides improved employability, its charge will become an indic‐ator of its ability to deliver ‐ students will only pay higher charges, if there is a proven path to higher earnings.
(ibid, p31) and there is a stark warning –
Courses that deliver improved employability will prosper; those that make false promises will disappear.
(ibid, p31)
3. What this means in practice for Network partners
All of the foregoing, means that partners are faced with a range of new challenges, not only to ensure that a variety of appropriate employability initiatives are in place and made available to all students, but that systems evaluate the outputs of such initiatives, to ensure that any claims made about them and their link to graduate employment, are fully accurate and open to public scrutiny. Clearly, some member
3 The Student Charter Working Group was set up by the coalition government in July 2010 to examine current use of student charters and to develop good practice across universities and higher education. colleges. The group is jointly chaired by Professor Janet Beer (VC of Oxford Brookes and Chair of HEPISG) and the NUS National President, Aaron Porter, and is expected to report in December 2010.
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institutions in the Network are further down this path than others, as the entries on Unistats (www.unistats.direct.gov) testify, but the difficulties facing all, particularly in terms of quantifying value added, should not be underestimated. Practical approaches institutions might consider utilising to embed employability are, usefully, highlighted in the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Generic Employability Skills report (CDELL, 2007), as well as the recent CBI/UUK report, March 2009 already noted, and these include:
• Show students how the content and delivery of courses develops employability skills, such as the ability to work autonomously and collaboratively, and to communicate effectively
• Use degree‐based work placements with business and other organisations as part of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes
• Use both structured voluntary work and extra‐curricula activities to encourage reflective learning and to support the development and ethos of employability skills
• Personal Development Planning should be used to integrate all the opportunities for students to develop their employability skills
• Create a specific brand for employability skills, separate from the Careers Service to demonstrate the importance of transferable skills
• Ensure leaders champion the importance to deliver students with employability skills.
(CDELL, 2007, cited in UKCES, March 2010, p29) Liz Thomas and Robert Jones (February 2007), in particular, in their discussion of employability in the context of widening participation, emphasise that employability and progression issues need to be addressed throughout the student lifecycle, rather than towards the end of students’ programmes of study and they provide a useful table of the range of potential target groups in this specific context, that partners may find useful to bear in mind when reviewing their own provision. (See Appendix 2) It is interesting to note, too, that recent research (2006) from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research into the link between higher education employability initiatives and graduate labour market outcomes, (based on empirical research with 34 departments in eight univer‐sities), found a positive correlation between the use of structured student work experience and the ability of graduates, ‘firstly, to find employment within six months of graduation and, secondly, to secure employment in graduate‐level jobs’. (Mason et al, 2006), and this may be worth bearing in mind by partners. As survey data published by the Centre for Higher Education Research & Information (CHERI) at the Open University highlighted last year, the UK currently has one of the lowest rates of participation in work placements in Europe, at around 32%, as compared to France (84%) and The Netherlands (87%) (Brennan et al, April 2009, section 2.2, p18) and clearly there is scope for further development in this area, particularly, as it is recognised that students without relevant work experience
can often find it difficult to find work in many sectors ‐ of the arts and cultural sector, for example (see Allen et al, September 2010). Likewise, given that many Level 3 courses, including the Advanced Diplomas, include work experience as a mandatory component, students may be hoping to further develop this aspect on progression and it is likely to become increasingly important that HE providers are able to meet such expectations. The CBI/UUK report, (March 2009) cited earlier, has highlighted the difficulties being experienced by some institutions across the sector, in terms of embedding workable employability policy and practice – approximately 16% of the 80 UUK member institutions who responded to the report survey, reported that they were experiencing ‘significant’ difficulties – and clearly these difficulties will not have become easier post Browne. Section 4 of the same report contains a number of case studies, exemplifying a range of approaches to developing practice at, for example, the University of Surrey; Goldsmiths, University of London; University of Exeter; Glasgow Caledonian University and Liverpool John Moores and the report lists the following key findings from them, which partners may find useful to note: Key findings from the case studies
• Leadership at a senior level
• Co‐ordination across the university – possibly through a team, including academic staff, whose role includes responsibility for engagement with employers to address employability issues, or the involvement of the Teaching and Learning Centre or equivalent
• Close working with the students’ union and the careers service, where the work is not already led by the latter, but a recognition that employability cannot be delegated to the careers service and needs embedding in the curriculum or in special modules
• Investment in methods to increase student partici‐pation, such as communication and marketing, or incentives – awards, certificates, or academic credits
• The use of reflective learning, building on students’ personal development planning4
• Additional effort to engage local and regional employers, regularly bringing them onto campus and involving them in core activities, as well as facilitating work placements
• Student and employer feedback is an important measure of success, and the HESA figures for six month graduate destination were mentioned by every institution as a performance indicator – although all
4 Work to promote this aspect of student learning is being led nationally by The Centre for Recording Achievement, under the auspices of the HE Academy and their website: www.recordingachievement.org contains a wide range of information about current good practice across UK institutions.
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also said they would like to see measurements taken over a much longer period.
(CBI/UUK, March 2009, p17) As partner entries on Unistats testify, a lot of good work is, currently, happening across the Network, and clearly there is scope both for partners to learn from each other and build on existing practice.
• At City University, for example, students have access to a comprehensive database of volunteering opportunities and a pilot accreditation scheme recognises good practice in this area. There is also a professional mentoring scheme for students, who are supported by City alumni and others who are in established careers.
• Kensington & Chelsea College offer innovative internships in fine art and photography, linked to the teacher training programme, and the HNC Millinery & Interior Design and HND Fine Art offer ‘live’ industry linked projects at Fenwicks and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, respectively.
• All London Metropolitan University students are offered an employability module in their second year and students taking an accredited course may engage with employers through work‐based learning.
• At Middlesex University a specific set of University Graduate Skills is incorporated in all undergraduate programmes and all students have the chance to spend a year studying abroad as part of their degree. The University has also recently established an Incubator Centre and an Innovation Hub for students wishing to become self‐employed, to help students develop their business skills.
• At the University of Westminster, the Talent Bank, an internal job agency matches students to paid, part‐time and temporary work opportunities within the University, while an increasing number of courses include a work placement module, either as an option, or as a compulsory element. Career prepa‐ration and planning is often taught and assessed as part of students’ programmes of study.
(Source: Unistats website: www.unistats.direct.gov.uk/, where full listings for each university/FEC with HE provi‐sion, are available)
Such statements are, in most cases, necessarily very generic and discuss what is available to students across the univer‐sity generally but, over time, in the context of new policy drivers, it is likely that partner institutions will need to engage in further work to identify what is being offered at individual course / programme level.
4. How Linking London can help
This short paper has, hopefully, provided a quick update on the issue of embedding employability within HE level
programmes, together with an indication of where the new policy agenda in this area is leading. As ever, the Linking London team is keen to help partners with practical solutions to help take practice forward, supported, if necessary, by development funding. To date, for example, development funds have been allocated to both City University (project completed July 2010) and, more recently, the University of Westminster (September 2010) to take forward work in this area (see FE to HE Transitions. Understanding Vocational Learner Experiences in HE: How can Personal Development Planning assist progression from access course into a career in nursing, mapping best practice? Rae Karimjee & Gill Craig, City University, and Skills Award, Career Development Centre, University of Westminster (Contact: Wayne Clark), available at:
www.linkinglondon.ac.uk/casestudies Other ways in which the team can help include:
• Help with employability audits, particularly for programmes which support progression from Level 3 to 4 ‐ see Employability self‐assessment at Appendix 3
• Health checks for course / programme employability listing(s) on Unistats
• Help for HEIs with understanding specific Level 3 vocational curriculum and what students bring with them, in terms of generic core / work experience / wider competencies
• Link meetings between network partners to articulate links between respective employability programmes at sending/receiving institutions (Levels 3 / 4 and 5 / 6)
• Mapping of network employability provision under key strands e.g. work experience / PDP/ entrepreneu‐rship / career planning etc; etc.
• Development of case studies
• Dissemination of development projects and out‐comes
• Updates via FE/HE Matters and the Linking London website re conferences / initiatives being offered regionally / nationally, in support of this agenda
• Support with events / staff development workshops
5. Conclusion
In many ways, although this new policy agenda creates new demands, the opportunities offered, thereby, for institutions to focus on creating their own individual branding should not be discounted. Employability profiles, in particular, offer opportunities to really make clear to students the kind of ‘value added’ that their university course / experience will offer. The recent report by Professor Graham Gibbs, former head of the Oxford Learning Institute, for the HE Academy, Dimensions of Quality (30 September 2010), has drawn attention to the value to students of information, such as class size, teaching staff, the quality and quantity of feedback etc, and it will be interesting to see what comes
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out of the HEPISG review on public information about higher education, noted earlier. What is clear, however, is that students paying higher fees will, in the future, both deserve and demand fuller information on which to make their choice of course. As reported in Higher Ambitions, The National Student Survey, 2008 indicated that that students themselves are looking for improved information, advice and guidance, not only pre‐university but also on programme, ‘so they can make well‐informed choices about what modules to study, how to enhance their employability, and how best to use the myriad
opportunities that the modern university experience affords.’ (National Student Survey 2008, cited in Higher Ambitions, Section 4, p73) and this was echoed, more recently, in this year’s third and final report of the National Student Forum, available at: www.bis.gov.uk/studentexperience. Our aim at Linking London as we move into 2010/11, as outlined above, is to offer support and the sharing of good practice to partners engaged in this complex process, in the interests of equity and fairness for all and we hope that partners will take full advantage of this offer.
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6. References and further reading
Allen, et al, (September 2010) Work placements in the arts and cultural sector: Diversity, equality and access. The Institute for Policy Studies in Education, London Metropolitan University: Equality Challenge Unit. Available at: www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/work‐placements‐report. Brennan, J et al (April 2009) Diversity in the student learning experience and time devoted to study: a comparative analysis of the UK and European Evidence. Report for HEFCE. London: Centre for Higher Education Research & Information (CHERI) at The Open University. Available at: www.open.ac.uk/cheri/documents/student‐experience‐report.pdf Centre for Developing and Evaluating Lifelong Learning (CDELL), University of Nottingham (February 2007) The Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Generic Employability Skills, CDELL, in collaboration with the South West Skills and Learning and Intelligence Module, University of Exeter (2007). Confederation of British Industry (CBI) / Universities UK (March 2009) Future fit: Preparing graduates for the world of work, London: CBI. Dearing, Sir Ron (1997) Review of Qualifications for 16 – 19 Year Olds. London: SCAA. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (November 2009) Higher Ambitions, the Future of Universities in the Knowledge Economy, Executive Summary. London: Crown Copyright. Gibbs, G (September 2010) Dimensions of Quality. York: HE Academy. Lord Browne of Madingley, Chair (12 October 2010) Securing a sustainable future for Higher Education: an independent review of Higher Education funding & student finance. Available at: www.hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/report/ Mason, G et al (2006) Employability Skills Initiatives in Higher Education: What Effects do they have on Graduate Labour Market Outcomes? London: National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (October 2010) Institutional review of higher education institutions in England and Northern Ireland: Operational description. Draft for consultation. Gloucester: QAA. Available at: www.qaa.ac.uk/news/consultation/ reviewconsultation.asp Rees C, et al (September 2006) Student employability profiles: A guide for higher education practitioners. York: HE Academy, CIHE, Graduate Prospects. Thomas, L & Jones, R (February 2007) Embedding employability in the context of widening participation. Learning and Employability Series Two, York: HE Academy. UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) (March 2010) Employability Skills: A Research and Policy Briefing, UKCES Briefing Paper Series, London: UK Commission for Employment and Skills. UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) (June 2010) Employability: Incentivising improvement. London: UK Commission for Employment and Skills. York, M & Knight, P (January 2004/ reissued 2006) Embedding employability into the curriculum. York: LTSN Generic Centre /HE Academy.
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7. Appendices
7.1 Appendix 1: Learning & Employability Series Learning & Employability series 1 (LTSN) January 2004
1 Employability in higher education: What it is ‐ what it is not (Mantz Yorke) 2 Employability: judging and communicating achievements (Mantz Yorke & Peter Knight) 3 Embedding employability into the curriculum (Mantz Yorke & Peter Knight) 4 Reflection and employability (Jenny Moon) 5 Widening participation and employability (Geoff Layer) 6 Entrepreneurship and higher education: an employability perspective (Neil Moreland)
Learning & Employability series 1 & 2 (HEA) April 2006
Series 1 – available at: www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ourwork/employability/Learning_and_employability_series_1
• Employability and higher education: What it is – what it is not (Mantz Yorke) • Employability: judging and communicating achievements (Peter Knight and Mantz Yorke) • Embedding employability in the curriculum (Mantz Yorke & Peter Knight) • Entrepreneurship and higher education: an employability perspective (Neil Moreland) • Employability and work‐based learning (Brenda Little and ESECT colleagues) • Pedagogy for employability (The Pedagogy for Employability Group)
Series 2 – available at: www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ourwork/employability/Learning_and_employability_series_2
• Work‐related learning in higher education (Neil Moreland) • Employability and doctoral research postgraduates (Janet Metcalfe and Alexandra Gray) • Part‐time students and employability (Brenda Little) • Ethics and employability (Simon Robinson) • Career development and employability (Tony Watts) • Widening participation and employability (Rob Jones and Liz Thomas) • Personal development planning and employability (The Higher Education Academy)
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7.2 Appendix 2: Table 1: Graduate progression by specific target groups5
Target Group Main Conclusion
Socio‐economic status or proxy
For people from lower socio‐economic groups (SEGs) being a graduate offers labour market advantages compared to non‐graduate peers, especially for males (Dearden et al 2004). But SEGs are disadvantaged compared to traditional graduates (Purcell and Hogarth, 1999, Smith et al, 2000).
Disabled graduates
Disabled graduates have lower earnings than non‐disabled graduates (Hogarth et al, 1997), but they are more likely to progress to further study (Croucher et al, 2005). The difference is less pronounced for graduates with unseen disabilities (Croucher et al, 2005).
Ethnic minorities Ethnic minorities experience more difficulty in securing employment after graduation than white graduates (Connor et al, 2004 and Blasko et al, 2003), and men in particular are more likely to be unemployed. Once they have secured employment there is evidence of parity or better with majority graduates (Connor et al, 2004 and Blasko et al, 2003). Different minorities have different trends, and there is some disagreement about these.
Mature graduates Male and female mature graduates experience greater disadvantages in the labour market than younger graduates (Conlon, 2001). In part this is due to discrimination by employers, especially in some fields.
Women Women graduates earn less than men (Hogarth, 1997 and Metcalf, 1997) and this difference is greater if they have a family and a career break. However, being a graduate is an effective way of redressing gender inequality in comparison to non‐graduates.
Vocational sub‐degree qualifiers
Data is very limited about this group. Vocational students progress to further study and employment, while unemployment appears to be very low. There are however distinct subject variations. Labour market returns are significantly lower than for first degree graduates (Little et al , 2003)
Part‐time graduates
Part‐time students have different labor market expectations, as the majority are in employment while they are studying, but many do report labour market gains. This is mediated by subject, gender, age and ethnicity. (Brennan et al , 2000)
Non‐traditional groups and multiple disadvantage
Some studies do not delineate specific under‐represented groups, or look at multiple disadvantages. These studies show that non‐traditional graduates experience disadvantage in the labour market compared with their traditional counterparts, and these are related to both personal characteristics and educational choices.
5 Source: Liz Thomas & Robert Jones (February 2007) Embedding employability in the context of widening participation. Learning and Employability Series Two. York: The HE Academy.
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7.3 Appendix 3: Employability selfassessment: Linking London Partner Institutions (HE provision)
This self‐assessment is designed to help you audit what you are doing, currently, in support of student employability, with the aim of helping identify where gaps in provision exist, either across discrete areas or at specific programme level. Obviously, you will each have your own view on what constitutes graduate employability and the type of initiatives that you wish to put in place to meet the distinct needs of your institution and specific courses. However, the following self‐assessment will, hopefully, allow you to consider the potential range of opportunities that developing this aspect of the curriculum could constitute and allow you to give further thought to the opportunities you offer. It asks you to consider current provision across three main areas:
• Pre‐entry opportunities • On‐programme opportunities • Post‐programme opportunities
utilising self‐assessment ( ) across a range of parameters, as listed. Name of institution: Date: Pre‐entry opportunities
What’s On Offer Fully Achieved
Achieved To An Extent
Not In Place & Further Work Needed
Not In Place But Not Needed
Learners are made aware of the links between specific course / programme outcomes and potential employment options
Learners are offered the opportunity to meet current university students
Learners are made aware of the full range of employability initiatives offered at both university and specific course / programme level
Learners are offered the opportunity to discuss with admissions /course team staff, the way in which the course / programme can be tailored to individual student progression plans
On‐programme opportunities
What’s On Offer Fully Achieved
Achieved To An Extent
Not In Place & Further Work Needed
Not In Place But Not Needed
Employability skills development is specified in programme specifications / embedded in learning outcomes
Discrete employability skills modules / University award are/is made available to all students
Opportunities for professional accreditation / licence to practice are integrated on all relevant programme pathways
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Career development support is offered systematically at key progression points, and career planning information and job search techniques are made available in a coherent way to students
Opportunities for work‐related learning / work‐based learning/ short placements / internships / industry‐based projects are communicated to students and integrated into programme / course planning, where appropriate
Full use is being made of employer links / external partnerships across all programmes / courses
Personal Development Planning (PDP) processes are integrated in a meaningful way across all programmes / courses and the link between employability awareness‐raising & student reflection is made fully explicit
The value of, and opportunities for, voluntary work / extra curricular activities are communicated fully to students and the potential to link to the award of credit / university award explored
Post‐programme opportunities
What’s On Offer Fully Achieved
Achieved To An Extent
Not In Place & Further Work Needed
Not In Place But Not Needed
Graduates are offered the opportunity to access university career development resources
Graduates are encouraged to return as alumni to offer mentoring / other support to undergraduates
Alumni details are collected on a data base and links with work sectors listed, to establish graduate employment networks
Employers are regularly updated with details of alumni employment progression /professional expertise available within the region
For help from Linking London in taking forward work in this area, please contact Pam Calabro / Andrew Jones on [email protected] / [email protected] or ring us on 020 7380 3226 to arrange to set up a meeting.
The Linking London Network is a membership organisationof universities and colleges in Central, East and North Lon-don which aims to improve the progression of vocationallearners into and through Higher Education. We are fundedby the Higher Education Funding Council for England(HEFCE) and partner subscriptions, and are hosted byBirkbeck, University of London.
If you found this guidance document useful or would like todiscuss our work in area of vocational learning, pleasecontact: [email protected] or phone theprogression advice line on 020 7380 3226.
www.linkinglondon.ac.uk
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