1. Gill Frigerio – University of Warwick Amanda Monteiro – London South Bank University AGCAS Biennial Conference 2011

2. By the end of the session, participants will get an overview of managing placement and careers from an centralised or non centralised approach taken from the view point of the student, practitioner and the wider institution:

3.  Context  Starting points  Pros and cons  Different perspectives: institutional, departmental, practitioner and student  Dealing with change  Discussion  A bit about the Management of Student Work Experience Qualifications

4. Changing labour market Student experience Impact of fee changes; managing institutional and student expectations Diversity of institutions – unique selling points needed Employability - a developing imperative Push for career and placement learning in and outside the curriculum

5. What is the starting point? Discuss with those around you the starting point in your own institution. Relevant differences will include subject mix, profile, size, etc etc

6. Proscons  Existing links with personal tutees  Employer links also inform research, CPD and recruitment  Employability sets within the curriculum- it is everyone’s responsibility  Students engage with the activities as it is seen as course related  Personal contacts  Academic involvement  Duplication of links from careers and other departments  Guidance skills?  The right use of academic time?  Cultural factors impede collaboration – no one wants to share contacts  Focus tends to stay subject specific – not necessarily right from the breadth of the graduate labour market

7. Proscons  expertise shared across the career, placement and information teams - aids professional development  Wider variety of services offered under one name  Sharing employer contact across subject areas  Drives up quality in weaker areas  Easier to quality assure good practice  Once stop shop - standardised system and procedures across the whole university, makes record keeping more effective  Easier to be non subject specific  Duplication of links from departments  Harder to link with subject knowledge  Accessible to all?

8.  Cost effectiveness in terms of expertise, funding, one to one guidance  The impact that is has on the ‘brand’ of the university to the external world.  Quality assurance – how centralised are other QA processes?  Impact on destination data

9.  Who manages the information – all in one place or spread across the campus  How do you measure quality assurance, consistency and delivery of information, advice and guidance  Is this best use of skills, expertise and resources?

10. Professional identities been challenged The professionalism of roles such as placement officers, advisers, administrators & academics The changing role of a Careers Adviser – from helper to change agent? What role for those with sector experience? Academics – teaching, research and advising? Placement Officers – from administrator to educator? Q – How do we see our professional identities – does structure effect this ?

11.  Students making sense of their own positions in the labour market  Employability – how do we make it real and who does this?  Developing a multitude of individualised ‘narratives of employability’  Centralised or not – students need accessibility not a battle of internal structures  Balance between levels of support and perceived ‘competition’

12. Orientation to market (ends) CareeristRitualist RebelRetreatist Non-market orientation ActivePassive (means) Tomlinson, M (2007) ‘Graduate Employability and Student attitudes and orientations to the labour market’, Journal of Education and Work Vol 20 No 4 pp 285-304 Student Orientations to Employability

13. Question: What in your opinion would be a pro and con for a student in operating either one of these approaches?

14.  Best local solution will depend on institution and approach to employability  Regardless of the structure we still need to prepare our students for the labour market  Students are not as aware of the differences in our professional roles as we are!

15.  Are we meeting the needs of the students?  Is it open and accessible to all the stakeholders?  Is it recognised and rewarded?  Is it endorsed as an element of a students learning experience?

16.  We need more flexible models of placement than the 45 week assessed year. Can departments innovate, or does that need to be driven centrally?  Cost – placement provision needs to justify the fee. And what happens to the money?  What about postgraduates?  Robust and consistent systems needed to manage student and employer records  Examples of (mis) use of guidance and employability terminology. Boundaries and referral remain important. Grade difference between guidance and placement staff discussed

17. Management of Student Work Experience Qualification PG Certificate – 3 Modules Learning from Work Experience (PGA), The Recruitment Process (PGA), Employer Relations PG Diploma – 6 Modules An additional 3 from Management, Marketing the Service, Enhancing the Effectiveness of your Service, Special Study MA Option Dissertation (n.b. requires previous Special Study) Blended Learning Coursework only assessment Module fee (£550) plus residential fee where applicable (approx £699) Residential delivery = Course director + practitioner trainers

18. For more information Talk to me at the conference! Website: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/careerstudieswww.warwick.ac.uk/go/careerstudies Email: career.studies@warwick.ac.ukcareer.studies@warwick.ac.uk Tel: 024 7615 1390 Applications online to University of Warwick Graduate School

19. Placements  www.asetonline.org www.asetonline.org  www.placenet.org.uk www.placenet.org.uk Careers  Agcas  ICG Employability  HEA  HESCU  NASES Social Media  LinkedIn groups: placement and employability professionals, placenet

20.  Importance of senior academic and student support champions and clear strategic steer  Support and encouragement from heads of departments and faculties, a provision of targeted staff development for embedding in and outside the curriculum.  In order for a policy like this to get institutional support all parties need to support it from top down and bottom up, the leadership role is important for encouraging buy in from all the parties that are involved (which is everyone!)  Define roles and responsibilities for the whole process. Standardised practice and structure agreement careers and placement provision  The creation of a centralised steering group- to report back on progress to allow for an effective monitoring across the institution- there should be an employability champion in every faculty/department/school