Dr Andrea Wheeler, William Bancroft, Professor Simon Austin and Professor Jacqui GlassThe Centre for Engineering & Design Education, 1st Floor, Keith Green BuildingSchool of Civil and Building Engineering

E-mentoring: Developing powerful partnerships with industry employers

June 24th 2013

Moscow State Technical University, Bauman University

Higher Education Academy Award – Departmental Grant - School of Civil and Building Engineering £39,500 January 2012 – June 2013

E-mentoring for employability

CONTEXT

PROBLEM

METHOD

SOLUTION

IMPACT

Outline

CONTEXT

• Construction vacancies have dropped 50% since 2001 .

• 5.1% reduction in graduate employment from 2001 to 2012. (18.9% unemployed)

• Figures show that nearly 36% are employed in a lower skilled job compared with 26.7% in 2001 (the Graduates in the Labour Market 2012 report published by the Office for National Statistics).

Statistics

Humanities graduates find it particularly

difficult to find relevant employment.

Loughborough University Engineering Statistics

Graduate Employment Statistics for Loughborough Engineering Graduates (6 months after graduation)

Standard Publication Category Number of Graduates Percentage of Graduates

Full-time paid work only (including self-employed) 384 65.1%

Part-time paid work only 17 2.9%

Voluntary/Unpaid work only 4 0.7%

Work and further study 71 12.0%

Further study only 41 6.9%

Assumed to be unemployed 45 7.6%

Not available for employment 23 3.9%

Other 2 0.3%

Explicit refusal 3 0.5%

I really have worries about my post PhD life because I would like to be

involved with industry, but suddenly feel like I am a fresh

university graduate (even after getting PhD!). There is so much uncertainty, and if I am being

honest some lack of confidence on my part (Loughborough University,

School of Civil and Building Engineering, International PhD

Student 2011).

I spent my placement year working in Malaysia. I am a home student but have no work experience in the engineering or construction industries in the UK.

E-mentoringEmployability

Internationalisation

THE TEAMAssociate Dean for Teaching, Professor Simon Austin; Director of Under Graduate Studies, Professor Jacqui Glass; Staff Development Officer (Research Staff Mentoring), Michele Zala, Senior Careers Development Advisor - Susan Reed; Design Education Coordinator and the Regional Representative of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Malcolm Jackson.

Industry and Industry Body Support

THE SUPPORT FROM INDUSTRYInterserve ConstructionCH2M HillA-oneAMECEnvironment AgencyAtkins LtdSmith and Wallwork EngineersPick EverardMorgan TuckerCostainBalfour BeattyPick Everard

Arup Midland ConstructionJacobs EngineeringStomor LimitedNetwork RailMorgan SindallCarillionBritish Power InternationalAECOMHalcrowCostainInterservePrP UKKier Construction Limited Laing O’Rouke

Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) President, Richard Coakley

“Harnessing the energy of the ICE’s partnerships with industry and Government” presentation to the Department of Civil and Building Engineering

The President of the ICE, Richard Coackley:

The e-mentoring pilot scheme, headed by Professor Simon Austin, links students with construction professionals according to interest and career path to provide the principles of traditional mentoring but exploiting the free and readily available technologies of Skype, social media and e-mail to foster the awareness of professional practice and the needs of employers. This is an excellent example of harnessing the energy: with mentors using their time and energy to harness and refine the energy of their mentees providing them with important experience of industry. (Richard Coackley, 20th April 2012, Loughborough University School of Civil and Building Engineering).

PROBLEM

Can e-mentoring provide engineering and construction students, particularly those with an international perspective, with an educational opportunity which will significantly improve their employment opportunities?

If it can, how does it do it?

Literature review

I was brought in during the summer 2012 to review the first mentoring scheme and assist with the organisation of the second but I also took the programme into my final year dissertation so I am still involved in the project.

E-mentoring

…boundaryless, egalitarian and qualitatively different….…ease and immediacy…

Same function as mentoring added benefits…

But a difficulty in forming mentoring relationships virtually?

O'Neill, k. D., Li, S. & Weiler, M., 2005. Software support for online mentoring programs: a research-inspired design. Mentoring and tutoring , 13(1), pp. 109-131.

Single, P. B. & Muller, C. B., 2001. When e-mail and mentoring unite: the implementation of a nationwide electronic mentoring program. Creating mentoring and coaching programs , 1(1), pp. 107-122

Bierema, L. L. & Merriam, S. B., 2002. E-mentoring; Using computer mediated communication to enhance the mentoring process. innovative higher education , 26(3), pp. 211-227.

Zey, M. G., 1984. The mentor connection, IL:Dow Jones-Irwin: Homewood.

• e-mentoring programs… to “‘level the playing-field’ by providing mentoring opportunities for those who otherwise would be left out of important informal network”.

• Earliest e-mentoring programs focused on creating educational and professional opportunities for underprivileged or underrepresented populations.

The history of e-mentoring

Less stereotyping within mentoring relationships…Outsiders…more impartial

advice… less vested interest

Sproul, L. & Kiesler, S., 1993. Connections: New ways of working in networked organisations, Cambridge: MIT Press.

Single, P. B. & Single, R. M., 2005. E-mentoring for social equity: review of information to inform program development. Mentoring and tutoring , 13(2), pp. 301-320.

E-mentoring v. mentoring Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages

It creates an egalitarian environment Slower relationship development

Mentors provide impartial inter-organisational advice

Lesser role modelling

Logistics / ease (communicate anywhere any time)

Reduced commitment?

Miscommunication

Computer and writing skills needed

 

Employability

• The impact of social and cultural capital: graduates from less privileged backgrounds are less likely to know how to “work the system”

• Developing ‘soft skills’, personal qualities and dispositions is easier for some than others.

• Students often do not know what they want their working lives to be.

Employability – the literature – the problems

Drivers for a changing work context

• Extreme longevity• Computational world• Superstructured organisations• The rise of smart machines and

systems• New media ecology• Globally connected world

Willen-Augenti (2012) Society 3.0 How Technology is Reshaping Education, Work and Society

Changing skills/ Future Work Skills 2020

1. "transdisciplinarity" (understanding concepts across multiple disciplines),2. "virtual collaboration" (proficiency in working as part of geographically dispersed teams),3. "cross-cultural competency" (ability to operate in multicultural settings).4. “Social intelligence” (workers who can build collegial and productive online relationships will be in high demand). “As organizations expand globally, social intelligence will help managers build virtual workgroups comprising the right blend of talent and personalities,”

Universities engage with employers

• Even within an increasingly internationalised HE context international students can lack cultural competence: the ability to make correct attributions about the cultural values, beliefs and behaviours and norms of the new society.

Internationalisation – the literature

“Intercultural competence”

…the ability to communicate those working in or from different cultures – free from prejudice and motivated to continued learning: A set of cognitive, behavioural, and affective/motivational components that enable individuals to adapt effectively in intercultural environments.

• Still asking can e-mentoring improve employability and how? Also, asking: are there new ways thinking about employability emerging from a changing and more internationalised Higher Education community – from students, academic and industry collaborators - demanding curriculum support from HE;

• Do e-mentoring schemes provide a testing ground for the discovery of this need for change?

• Can e-mentoring schemes support international students whose work experience (or lack of) can differ significantly from UK based or European students

• Can such programmes prepare them for work either in the UK or internationally where industry is becoming increasingly globalised?

Research Questions

METHOD Two pilots, each 5 months. 12 relationships in each pilot (self- selecting). Launch event (meeting for the first time), interim questionnaires, interviews and final “cafe-event”/workshops. Qualitative evaluation of both mentor and mentee experiences

The E-MENTORING Pilot 1: “Improving Student Employability Through E-Mentoring”. (February 2012 – June 2012)• Recruited mentors and mentees. Mentors were

young, 2- 7 years post qualification. Mentees from the School of Civil and Building Engineering (without placement experience).

• Invited to a launch meeting to meet mentors/mentees and have some training (all online).

• Left to get on with it. Some emails. Some invitations to feedback via online questionnaires.

• June – August interim interviews.• September, review of programme and revision

ahead of pilot 2.

The E-MENTORING Pilot 2: “Improving Student Employability Through E-Mentoring”. (October 2012 – March 2013)

• Recruited mentors and mentees (included some PhD students).

• Invited to a launch meeting to meet mentors/mentee. Refined and less formal meeting.

• Left to get on with it. Some emails. Some invitations to feedback via online questionnaires.

• Interim questionnaires.• Cafe event • Videos

THEMES

Success (mentee and mentor benefits)Limiting factors (including mentee motivation)Matching (poor matching)Communications, type and frequencyRelationship progress (poor relationship development)

Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Insights• Success - mentees have reported (to various degrees) career development, networking, and

in some cases, role modelling. • Limiting factors - PhD and Masters students weren’t able to commit sufficient time to the

scheme; • Matching - more parallel educational and career paths were, the more the mentoring pair

perceived their match as a success. • Communications - all mentoring pairs who explored communication technologies but didn’t

have regular contact showed some heightened relationship levels but not to the levels of mentoring pairs with regular contact. In terms of technology use there was no general consensus as to which method was better for facilitating an e-mentoring scheme.

• Relationship progress - during pilot scheme 1 an international student reported finding it hard to break the ice in the questionnaire but when interviewed 2 months later reported having a close and meaningful relationship; this was backed up with a dramatic increase in communication and a change in communication technique. A handful of mentees reported not feeling comfortable asking probing questions of their mentor even at the end of the e-mentoring scheme, but a lot of mentoring pairs built very close relationships and have continued the mentoring outside of the Loughborough programme.

Does e-mentoring improve skills for the graduate employment market ?

E-mentoring provides an opportunity for mentees to discover the skills they may need in a rapidly changing work context. But it is also much more than this…

giving confidence, networking, discovering work skills they don’t know they have

The main discussions were about identifying the skills the mentee has got

and bringing it out and presenting it nicely whether that is on the CV or whether that is at interview. For

example, some projects or coursework he has done that he is not aware that

could be used to show the development of, or skills he has got, actually I brought

that out from him. […] So it is mainly about identifying his skills but also about providing advice about how he could get employed through fairs, through journals

and through relationships with people really. So giving advice, sometimes

encouraging and giving him confidence, I think that’s really important especially in this economic climate, as I am sure he is a good candidate. He will be employed.

MENTORconfidenceskills he did not know he had

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfWDGmmu2Kw

Mainly it was about the CV, tweaking it to specify for certain companies or

certain audiences. And Chartership, looking at how to get yourself chartered, just developing the professional side of your personality with professional skills so that they can all add onto your CV.

Even if you’re just starting your Chartership or your personal

development plan, put that in you CV. Stuff that I wouldn’t have even thought about, even though I haven’t completed

it, show I’ve started it, shows your willingness to engage and willingness to progress your knowledge. […] Where to look for jobs don’t look where everyone else I looking, there’s a good reason why everyone is looking there but you’ve got

more competition, things like cold calling, letters, looking at who’s doing

well in the news, industry specific magazines and things, so they will have a good chance of recruiting, and approach them but with a tailored CV to make sure you [seem like] you’re going to them in

the first place.

MENTEEStuff I had not even thought about

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJSa4ip7rM

MENTORActually we didn’t have a very good start with my mentee because he couldn’t attend the first meeting so we didn’t have the first face-to-face conversation with him. But I just dropped and email and then everything started. It went quite well actually I got quite nice responses from him and so we are still in contact and you know sharing ideas, just telling what’s going on in his life and his application he’s done lately. So yes it is quite good. […] He is looking for a graduate engineer role in a large sized company and he wants to know how he can find a job of course but he does have enough experience in interviews, so generally we are talking about job interviews and using the job search tools and how he can find a job on the internet. Well we started with LinkedIn because I’m sort of active on LinkedIn so I just shared all my networks so he can just see recruiters HR people headhunted etc., he is quite good with that one. […] I advised him to create a profile on LinkedIn and he did. We started with that but we will try the other websites where he can look for a job and also I am planning to send him to graduate engineers in my company so he can share ideas with them because I know there are some specific websites just for graduates.

networks and networking skills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V97XkN1O35c

MENTEE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvo-7IY0l08

It has been a wonderful experience having someone who you can call a mentor has been the greatest experience as we’ve been discussing earlier, there are so many avenues in terms of what’s available to help you out in terms of getting a job or becoming more employable but these avenues are very one dimensional. For example I could use a magazine and it would tell me what I need to do with my CV and what you need to say in an interview but this is very one dimensional […] whereas having a mentor they can give you various perspectives on what these interviews or job opportunities have and they can give you more than one route to follow. That is one of the greatest things mentoring can provide. Discussions are around what I as a mentee have been facing discussion and have looked deeper than what the mentors have said and it is about making yourself an all rounded person beyond the CV. The CV is the first point of contact but when you’re called in for an interview the CV becomes a side issue, they want to see what you are as an individual.

Not one dimension avenues in terms of employability, various perspectives…Discussions look deeper, start with what I as mentee have been facing…

Can e-mentoring facilitate an understanding of inter-cultural employment skills - working practices across cultures ?

• Understanding different working cultures• Mutual development of intercultural competence

– mentors and mentees

Internationalisation - Narratives and experience (Mentee Pilot 1) A different work culture

…things that really stand out for me are that at this level after Masters when we go back home we’re going to be more of manager’s than technical people. People management, which is a very difficult thing, working with big groups, I’ve learnt a couple of things about that. The thing I’ve learnt is about strategies, this was completely new to me, you know. Every business, everything in life, there’s a strategy. You need to know where you want to go and have some sort of plan to get there. Before we just used to wake up and do things and get there (International Masters Student).

Things are good in Kigali Rwanda. Yes am still in touch with him. I got a new job since I returned so I run that concurrently with my private business. Its all in real estate and architect consultancy.

I hope life is good for you in UK. Thanks for asking. Do keep in touch.

Still in touch…

“If I’m honest he didn’t really raise many questions to me. [...] It was more me trying to force the issue sometimes. He’s a very polite guy, he’s a very nice guy, I wonder whether he’s almost too polite to ask me certain things thinking he was taking up my time. [...] I mean some of the things – he kind of indicated stuff as he was sending an email through he’d say coming towards the end of his PhD kind of thing and from that I kind of latched on to you know what are you thinking of doing? This is what I did, you know use the library to look at companies and stuff and we kind of got a bit of a rapport going near the end and I think it had some success hopefully. He was thinking that he would have to go back to Nigeria and possibly into academia and I kind of said actually there are different routes through.

He’s almost too polite to ask me certain things…

SUMMARY – A different sort of employability programme - a student led approach to employability and a unique time and space ?

Less limiting definition of employability: an opportunity to being the live the lives they value – to discover the sorts of working lives they would like, identify aims, and begin to make decisions that will allow them to achieve these lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJzHY9LN7F8

We’re been talking about how I can help him improve his CV and a lot about interviews. At the start there was a lot about this but as the conversations moved on it was more about what should I say at interview, what’s the industry like, what sort of job roles should I pin point, life experience in general. You know I’ve been working afew years now and I’ve got experience to tell him …you should really avoid this sort of thing but if you enjoy this sort of thing go for it and do your best.

MENTORCVs and interviews but about life experiences in generalInsight into the industryTailored advice, what he should avoid and what to go for

I was in placement in another country so I still didn't have UK experience. I was in Malaysia with a UK contractor but it was still a lot different to what it would have been with a UK contractor. He offered to help me in a variety of different ways including course work with the University but we chose to focus on employability and applying for jobs, helping me with my CV and he was open most of the time so I could speak to him whenever I wanted to . It was good for me as I always had someone to speak to about subjects quite formal but he gave me the opportunity to speak quite informally so it was very comfortable for me.

MENTEEHe was open to me so I could speak to him whenever I wanted to.He gave me the opportunity to speak quite informally.He helped me make decisions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBL6IO54RY

Solution

“But the one sort of big area I reckon you could improve would be to have like a central knowledge exchange or database, kind of like a website essentially where …you could have information, again about how to be a good mentor, what to expect from the mentee’s point of view and perhaps you could have things on there like….

Mentee and mentor participation in the specification for the website/ “tool-kit”

WorkInsight (website) http://www.workinsight.info

Improving Student Employability Through E-Mentoring (HEA title)E-mentoring for Employability

Impact

Municipal Expert Panel of the Institute of Civil Engineers, project on e-mentoring:

“Passing knowledge and experience to a new generation of municipal practitioners”.

Dr Andrea Wheeler

Teaching and Learning Co-ordinator (Projects),The Centre for Engineering & Design Education

a.s.wheeler@lboro.ac.uk

Dr Andrea Wheeler, Dr Paul Rowley, Martin Hamilton

An Innovative Knowledge Platform for Business and Community Engagement A co-developed service model for online continuing professional

development in the energy sector

A CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY CPD:

MEGS-KT

CONTEXTMidlands Graduate Energy School

The Problem

How to develop a relevant, up-to-date desirable platform for “CFD” opportunities, opening up University resources and allowing SMEs to share their knowledge.

Questionnaires and Interviews SMEs

• 10 paper filled questionnaire• 18 online surveys• 16 transcribed interviews• 1 work shadow day (excellent data but too time

consuming)• 3 planned “co-design” workshops

Building the MEGS-KT community of practice – the Jisc, the fellows (the catalytic individuals) and SMEs team

Fellows Lecture Series

17/10/2012 Robin Nicholson, Edward Cullinan Architects24/10/2012 Russell Smith, Parity Projects14/11/2012 Terry McGivern, The Institute for Sustainability and the Flash Programme05/12/2012 John Davis, Domestic Green Deal Assessor16/01/2012 Carl Benfield, Prescient Power30/01/2012 Keyur Vadodaria, Researcher, CALEBRE project20/02/2012 Rich Cartwright, RDC Energy , Jonathan Gilbert, The Rapid technology Transfer Group, and Tracy Thomas

To ensure the sustainability of the project CEDE has agreed to fund the continued development of the community and engagement with the demonstrator / website through monthly evening lectures.

Catalytic Individuals and Our Social Media Fellow Tracy Thomas

LinkedIn Community (50+ additional members in the East Midlands)

Twitter Group 920 Followers

Barriers and limitations to this sort of primary research

• Hard to engage SMEs • SMEs don’t know what their knowledge needs

are (they don’t know what they don’t know)• Professional bodies/networks limiting access

to SMEs by “outsiders” (difficult to send out questionnaire via professional bodies)

• Concerns about sharing commercial information from SMEs – “I prefer not to say”

The Community Views

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx602KnOiFM

http://www.greenenergyheroes.org