Employability

• Curriculum• Future needs• Definition of employability• Key facets• Where/how can they be developed• Who is responsible• Next Steps

Journey Journey

GrowthGrowth Becoming

ProcessDevelopment

‘Graduateness’ as a stage on the journey

• what – knowledge – skills– attributes– attitudes

subject/discipline content

sense of self;

efficacy

Skilfiul practice

knowing

doing feeling

Being

Total learning experience

-Family-Friends

-Lecturers-College culture-Media

-engagement-Culture/sub

culture

What?What’s in and what’s out

For whom?Economy; person; society;

knowledge

How?Teaching and learning

How do weknow?

Assessment; types; link to being

Doing Thinking/feeling

Knowing

EMPLOYABILITY – 21st Century Graduate• Define employability

• What knowledge, skills and attributes (qualities; dispositions, attitudes) should a graduate have

6

UCLAN

• Employability is having a set of skills, knowledge, understanding and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful.’

– (Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007)

6

Employability

• No just job getting – being employable• Capacity to function in changing world• Pro activity• Focus on self fulfilment • Focus on needs of market place

Why should we include Employability

The purpose of education

Need for resilient lifelong learners (critical thinking not just simple up-skilling)

Personal Development

Social/Civic responsibility

Ethical and environmentally responsible

Why should we include Employability

Need to manage self and careers over life span Critically aware problem solvers Global Citizens Changes in the workplace – de-layering; downsizing; Needs of employers Need for entrepreneurs Part of Strategic Plan

Future Graduates?One of the most fundamental questions in planning for the future is: what are the right skills for the graduates of 2015 and of 2030 and what mix of skills should we pursue as learning outcomes of higher education? To address the societal needs over the coming years, increased attention must be paid to

core skills such as quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, communication skills, team-working skills and the effective use of information technology. The emphasis has switched from over-specialisation towards deeper and broader disciplinary foundations, with learning objectives that explicitly seek to nurture in students the creativity, enthusiasm and skills required for continual engagement with learning. In this context, the arts, humanities and social sciences have a key role to play. The Innovation Taskforce emphasised the importance of independent thinking

and ‘the development of creative, high-skilled graduates as well as lifelong learning, mentoring and continuous professional development’. (Hunt Report, 2010)

The 21st Century Graduate

• ‘The self reliant graduate is aware of the changing world of work, takes responsibility for his or her career and personal development and is able to manage the relationship with work and learning throughout all life stages’

(The association of Graduate Recruiters: ‘Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century)

Careers Open to all Graduates

Up to 70% of graduate vacancies in both Ireland and the UK do not ask for specific degree subjects

Employers look for:• A degree• Transferable skills• Work Experience

Retail Management AccountancyMarketing Public Relations PersonnelJournalism Banking Civil Service

Success depends on:

Combination of:

• Choice of subject • Type of course (vocational vs non vocational)• Choice of HEI• Skills and qualities• Work Experience• Class of degree

View of IBEC

• We need to identify a set of achievements, understanding and personal attributes that help students reach their potential, meet corporate expectations and support values of citizenship.

Tony Donohue – IBEC (conference entitled-Inventing the University: Creating a New Vision in Dublin City University - June 2010)

“Employers were less satisfied with graduate’s ‘ability to work autonomously’ expecting them to be better able to work on their own initiative, manage their time effectively and be responsible for themselves and their tasks.

Attitudinal skills and an approach to work that suggests enthusiasm and willingness to learn and develop were also highlighted as areas for improvement.

The survey suggests that employers are now expecting higher education institutions to embed generic or employability skills more fully into their curricula.

IBEC – Education and skills report – November 2010

Carl Gilleard, CEO of AGR says:" …… nearly half of recruiters expect to face

difficulties in fulfilling recruitment objectives – with the largest factor being a lack of applicants with the right skills. Employers are likely to be looking to graduates who can demonstrate softer skills such as team-working, cultural awareness, leadership and communication skills, as well as academic achievement."

Forfas Expert Skills Group

– Specialist/technical skills, with breadth of understanding of others areas – interdisciplinary understanding & ability to work with other disciplines

– People-related skills - communication, interpersonal, team working, customer-service skills

– Conceptual & organisational skills - collecting & organising information, problem-solving, planning & organising, learning-to-learn skills, innovation & creativity, systems thinking

– Prepared for Continuing Learning – will have many jobs during working career, may change careers, may occupy a role that doesn’t exist now

– Knowledgeable about the significance of Regulation, Governance & business ethics

– Flexible, good attitude & aware of workplace expectations

– Knowledge of world of work – key element of this is undergrad & post-grad work placement – ideally 6 months

Graduate Careers Ireland - New Times, New Challenges, New Thinking: HE Guidance – 2010 & Beyond 19 May 2010 - Una Halligan, ChairpersonExpert Group on Future Skills Needs

teamwork

Comm Skills

Ethical

Enterprise

ReflectiveProfessional

Self reliant &Resilient

Leadership

Manage Self +

Others -EQ

IT literacy

Creativity

Problemsolving

Criticalthinking

Empoutcomes

EmployabilityOutcomes

CulturalSensitivity

Willingness to

learn

Resilient

confidentAdaptable/

Flexible

Decisive

Lifelonglearning

Achievementorientation

Initiative

AAttributes

Attitudes

Qualities

InformalCurriculum

Societies

CareersStudentUnion

Work Experience

Volunteering

Curriculum

Employability

SchoolEmp policy

Teaching &Learning

Practice &Resources

Expert skillsGroup – futureSkills needs

Employerinput

CourseReview

EmbedEmp’y

outcomes

Career Learning

Courseteams

Curriculum

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Criticality and will to learn• “Higher Education: A Critical Business” Open University Press / SRHE 1997 by Ron

Barnett• Critical persons are more than just critical thinkers. They are able critically to engage

with the world and with themselves as well as with knowledge” (1997, p1)

• students encouraged to critique ways of knowing and acting in the world rather than just focusing more narrowly on skills and what works

– requires exposure to multiple discourses - intellectual, experiential and practical– exposure to wider understandings and questionings, and potential impact of

their intellectual field– willingness of students to see world from other perspectives, willingness to risk

critique

• levels and domains of criticality– skills questioning to awareness of standards of reasoning within the discipline to

a wider ability to critique by introducing new perspectives– knowledge (critical reason) to self (critical reflection) and world (critical action)

Critical reflective learning• Underpins development of skills, attitudes and attributes• Capacity to

“self assess, to be able to decide what is good quality work, and be confident when they have achieved it”

How – Make skills and knowledge outcomes explicit– Explicitly assess (formatively and summatively the full range of

abilities – not just knowledge)– Clear assessement critieria and give feedback against criteria– New forms of teaching and learning

Harvey L, n.d. New realities: the relationship between Higher Education and Employment,accessed 12 March 2011, www.qualityresearchinternational.com/ese/relatedpubs/New%20Realities.pdf

Reflective competency

• A skill which can be learned and applied life wide

• Reflection on performance – can lead to better performance in a skill set– help develop ability to transfer skills across

context– Relates skills to experience

Reflection

• Reflection is focused thought, focusing on theways in which you respond to, understand,develop and apply your learning in new situations

• Reflection is a way of learning from your directexperiences, rather than from the second-handexperiences of others

• This is known as ‘experiential learning’ – realactivity with real consequences

What’s important & what I like

Values and Interests

Personality

Skill

s & k

now

ledg

e

What suits me

What I can do and know

Your career motivation

Will you do the job ?Values and Interests

Personality

Skill

s

Will you fit the industry/company culture?

Can you do the job?

Company requirements

Will you do the job ?Values and Interests

Personality

Aptit

ude

Will you fit the industry/company culture?

Can you do the job?

Will you do the job ?Attitude

Attitude

Skill

s

Will you fit the industry/company culture?

Can you do the job?

Will you do the job ?Attitude

Attitude

Aptit

ude

Will you fit the industry/company culture?

Can you do the job?

The Will

Attributes & Attitude

Aptit

ude

Disposition towards

The Capacity

Tomorrow’s graduate

Attributes & Attitude

Resources

• Excellent Audit tools for courses; work placements; employability www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/audit.aspx