Investigating attitudes and approaches to employability

1. Investigating attitudes and approaches to employability Rehana Ladha Therese Svensson University of East London 10th September 2013

2. Overview • Identify students’ approaches to employability • Understand why students engage or disengage with employability services • Share areas of good practice to enhance engagement Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

3. Our Context • East London/Thames Gateway • 60%+ BAME students • 55% mature students • 40% lower socio-economic groups • 81% from the London area • 50% from East London Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

4. What does Employability mean to you? Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

5. What is Employability? • The ability to:- • Get a job • Keep a job • Progress in a job • Get a better job • Get a different job • Create your own job Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

6. UEL Research Internships • A 10 week scheme where students work on a real research project • Opportunities are provided for students to present their findings through various channels • Typically students are paired with academics rather than support services Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

7. Employability and Enterprise team Research Objectives (EET) • Identify the rationale for students’ decision to engage or disengage with EET services • Understand students’ attitudes and understanding of employability • Investigate students’ satisfaction levels with the service and any improvements to be made • Investigate academics’ attitudes to employability Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

8. Data Collection • Qualitative and quantitative research (June/July 2013) • Focus groups and case studies, 25 students/graduates in total • Clipboard survey with, 150 students/graduates • Diverse representative samples (BME, Male, Female) Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

9. What do you think students’ employability expectations are?(Group discussion and feedback)

10. GTI media research (January 2013) Responses from 2,300 students at 125 universities Very similar survey conducted six years ago with 2,500 students Over a third of respondents believe that the university has the MAIN responsibility for preparing them for working life

11. Students’ employability expectations at UEL and nationally? “More alumni contacts and networks” “Unrealistic employability expectations” Degree=job “More support for humanities subject support rather than business subjects” “Further develop links with the Students’ Union and student societies” “Employability emails specific to my area of study and interest” “Incorporating employability skills as key learning outcomes in core academic programmes” “Services tailored to their degree/career or sector choice” Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

12. Academics’ attitudes to employability “Get s tudents to start thinking about employability as soon as they arrive at university” EET road map “Core Employability skills should be part of several modules “ “Employability should be delivered by industry experts” “Hold employability conferences for staff/students “ “Course specific Linked-in groups” “Create more links with recruitment agencies/job outcomes” Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

13. It’s your turn…(20 minutes) Discuss the points below and draw pictures to present your findings to the rest of the groups? • Why do you think students engage/disengage with Careers Services/Employability Teams ? • How can we enhance student engagement? What works? (one person will feedback for the rest of the group) Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

14. Reasons for not engaging? Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

15. Reasons for not engaging (National Survey) 36% of respondents said the following: • 52% not yet got round to it • 37% too little time • 23% I don’t know where it is on campus • 12% opening times and events inconvenient for me • 18% I don’t think it could help me • 11% I don’t know how to access its website Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

16. Reasons for non-engaging UEL students 58 % of the sample said their reasons for not engaging were: • 48 % do not know the location of services • 40 % were not aware or sure • 28 % lack of time • 21 % not yet got around to it • 16 % do not think it will be helpful • 8 % because times are inconvenient Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

17. Quotes on reasons for not engaging • “Because they do not offer specialist career guidance in my field” • “ Focusing on university workloads, so did not think about using the services” • “Not aware of services” Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

18. Reasons for engaging Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

19. Reasons for engaging 42 % of the sample said their reasons for engaging were: • 51 % to find a job • 27 % for personal/ skill development • 21% for opportunities • 19 % to network with employers • 11 % for career recommendations • 11 % for business advice and start ups

20. Quotes on reasons for engaging • “ I think that it will help me develop and improve my skills and it will be an opportunity for me to get a job” • “ For internships and voluntary work experience” - “End of my degree looking for work” Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

21. How can we enhance engagement? • Engage with students from their first year (Core lectures/induction videos/self assessment checklists/prescriptions/student roadmap) • Empower academics to enhance students’ employability • Provide a flexible service • Employability champions • Increase social media presence • Services tailored to degree/career choice Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet

22. Recommendations • University employability strategy=service impact= invincible • Location and visibility is key • How you market your services is crucial • Practical skills sessions and interventions Employability and Enterprise Team www.uel.ac.uk/eet