Graduate Employability: A Partnership Approach

1. Graduate Employability: A Partnership Approach Dr Abigail Diamond, Director of Research & Evaluation Aaron Porter, HE Consultant and Freelance Journalist

2. Outline for this afternoon 2.05 - 2.20pm - Introduction to graduate employability 2.20 - 2.45pm - Interactive group session 2.45 - 3.00pm - Feedback and group discussion Coffee break 3.15 - 3.45pm - Interactive action planning 3.45 - 4.00pm - Feedback and closing discussion Close

3. What is graduate employability?

4. ...it depends who you ask! Employability is defined as the ability to gain initial employment, to maintain employment, and to be able to move around within the labour market. (Bologna follow-up group, 2009) Employability covers a broad range of non-academic or softer skills and abilities which are of value in the workplace. It includes the ability to work in a team; a willingness to demonstrate initiative and original thought; self-discipline in starting and completing tasks to deadline. (CBI, Future Fit: Preparing graduates for the world of work, 2009)

6. Ranking of global competencies

7. Measures of estimating employability • Before the fact - forecasts based on the assumed characteristics of a graduate compared with the characteristics required by employers; and • After the fact - using the evidence of the employment status actually achieved by graduates. Both measures assume that success is measured by the attainment of a ‘graduate job’.

8. Why is graduate employability important?

9. For students and graduates: • Burden of funding higher education shifted from taxpayer to individual • Aspiration of a seller-buyer relationship that will drive up standards • Improving job opportunities the most important outcome for 79% of ‘buyers’ (NUS/CBI survey) • All at a time of high graduate and youth unemployment

10. For employers:They don’t seem to be getting what they want.Although each source / survey suggests slightly different employer needs.

11. What employers are getting - Applications per vacancy, AGR Survey 1999-2000 to 2010-2011 "There was a lot of panic last year with students applying for anything. We had graduates applying for positions within lots of different schemes.”

12. For Higher Education Institutions • Institutions now need to report on employability. • Need to produce employability statements • Data on employment outcomes is now available on the Unistats web-site. • However, there appears to be widespread confidence amongst students that they are developing employability skills. • But only a small proportion (18%) believe that they were fully developing business and customer awareness skills. (CBI, Future Fit, 2008)

13. So what are institutions doing about graduate employability?

14. Many institutions are already... • Managing and maintaining relationships with employers. • Offering high quality work placements or sandwich years within courses. • Building employer involvement into course design and delivery. • Developing a clear sense of the employability skills that are expected from graduates. • Helping students to demonstrate competencies at interview – and or offering formal accreditation of employability skills. • Providing good quality careers advice.

15. Group Discussion 1: How is your institution responding and what challenges are you facing?

16. Group Discussion 2: What more could your institution do?

17. What more could your institution do? Some institutions are embedding global employability into pedagogy and learning by: • Providing viable opportunities to study overseas. • Enriching the learning experience (e.g. multicultural events). • Equipping students with highly agile learning skills (e.g. self-didactic learning, self-assessment, critical analysis). • Adopting frameworks and curriculum, to guide the delivery of courses and the student experience in a way that prepares students for global citizenship. Could yours?

18. For more information Abigail Diamond Abigail.Diamond@cfe.org.uk Aaron Porter aaronrossporter@gmail.com 0116 229 3300 www.cfe.org.uk