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Employability is: A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations’. ( Yorke, M. 2004 ).
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Employability is: A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations’. (Yorke, M. 2004)
Passport To Employability: Initiative to record, validate and give an award for employability skills acquired through co and extra curricular activities. • Rationale behind the P2E initiative • What is it about? • The Pilot • What was learnt from the pilot – challenges! • What next?
Fewer Graduate jobs 52 applicants for every graduate job! Rationale behind Passport to Employability Third of under 25 yr olds unemployed! • Generally recognised that whilst a good degree is a pre-requisite in the graduate employment market, this alone is no longer enough to secure that first graduate job • The 2011 CBI/EDI Education & Skills Survey showed that employability skills are the single most important consideration for 82% of businesses when recruiting graduates. • Newcastle Business School – ranked in the Top 10 for Graduate Level Employability, ‘The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2012’ • ‘73% of employers would recruit a graduate with volunteering experience over one without’ (Timesbank. Reed Executive) • In a survey conducted by CIHE, 29% of employers felt overseas study experience makes a graduate more employable • 30% of NBS students undertaking a work placement get offered a full-time job for after graduation Higher numbers of graduates leaving University How can you make sure you stand out? The economy!!
NBS co-curricular activities • Year long work placement • Better degree classification • 30% offered jobs after graduation • Leave as boys, return as men • Study abroad • Increasing numbers taking a single semester or a whole year studying or working abroad. • Employers see it as important • The numbers…
Numbers of students undertaking a work placement or period of study abroad
Still 65% of students not going on work placement or undertaking study abroad (NBS UG students approximately 600 at each level)
Passport to Employability • 65% of UG students still neither undertaking a work placement nor studying abroad • What employability skills can they demonstrate to employers? • Aims/objectives of P2E • To bridge the CV Gap • To guide students to co and extra-curricular activities which will enhance their employability skills • To offer activities which will enhance their employability skills(P2E day) • To provide a vehicle to record their employability leading to an award. • All within three categories of activity: • Work experience • Community engagement • Global engagement • To provide evidence for employers of employability skills attained.
Pilot • Students • Level 4, UG • BA Business With Marketing • BA Accounting • Meetings • Three timetabled meetings per cohort each semester • Blackboard organisation • P2E file • The award
Activities • Personal Development Planning • Key skills • Talks from industry • Training sessions • Work Experience • Community engagement • Global engagement
Recording & Validating the Award • Activities 1 and 2 are compulsory • Activity 3: up to 10 credits can be gained from work undertaken up to 2 years ago • For activities 3 – 5, 10 credits are gained from 10 hours spent on these activities.
Recording & Validating activities • Validating the activities as employability skills • Undertaking activities • Recording activity • Validating activity • Using forms • Recording activity and hours undertaken • Reflective statement outlining employability skills gained
Some of this year’s activities • Passport to Employability Days • Guest speakers from industry • National Business competitions • Outward bound team challenge • Marketing Volunteering scheme • Starting your own Business day • Travel Scholarship • Range of internships • Volunteering through the Students Union • Business positions through the SU • Helping out at Open Days • Northumbria skills sessions • Programme Representation
Challenges to pilot • New students • Limited activities for L 4 students • Resourcing supporting and validation • Timing – when to validate • Engaging students • Blackboard site • Overuse • Time to upload
Going forward • Business & Engagement Champion to concentrate on this initiative • September 2014: non-compulsory award for all FT NBS Undergrads • Follow the student journey • open days, • welcome week • Programme meetings (Programme leader buy-in) • Student engagement centre • Social media • Still lots of questions • Levels of award • Recognition of placement and study abroad • Recording of achievements and validation via Pebble Pad (?) • Resourcing • Consider validating past activities • Identify external award body – C & G • Longer term credit bearing module? Pass/Fail…….