1. Geography and employability 19 May 2016 RGS-IBG Education Centre A meeting hosted by the Research and Higher Education Division @RGS_IBGhe #employability

2. Programme 12:05 – Scene setting 12:30 – Presentations and discussion 1 13:15 – Break for sandwich lunch 13:45 – Roundtable 1 and feedback: Developing employable geographers 14:15 – Presentations and discussion 2 15:00 – Roundtable 2 and feedback: Measuring success 15:20 – Short break for tea & coffee 15:30 – Support from the Society 15:45 – Wrap-up and next steps

3. Geography is in good health

5. First year students, in first undergraduate degree, by subject code (Source: HESA) 2012/13 was first year of increased fees, resulting in 2014/15 qualifiers. Crude ‘completion’ rates of F8: 90% and L7: 95% for 2012/13 cohort, compared to 80% for all subjects in same period. Entry rates for both subjects have an upward trend over recent years. + 3% + 23%

6. Geography graduates are in demand Source: HECSU/AGCAS ‘What Do Graduates Do’ 2006-2014, using HESA DLHE survey. Students who are "Unemployed at time of survey“ includes those describing their employment circumstances as "Unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training" or "Due to start a job within the next month" Percentage of graduates not in employment or further study/training, six months after graduation

7. Teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice – white paper / legislation announced, with technical consultation on TEF underway Wakeham Review, Shadbolt Review – results of reviews of employability/outcomes and accreditation HEFCE revised ‘operating model’ for quality assessment – with impacts for external examining, degree classification algorithms and calibration of degree standards HESA consultation on Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) data/survey – feedback invited Changes to Unistats KIS (e.g. degree outcomes for integrated Masters; DLHE course threshold from 2017) Results of a QAA commissioned study Evaluating the Impact of HE Providers’ Employability Measures A changing policy context for employability

8. Careers advice needs to be tailored to subject; career options introduced early in studies and reinforced throughout course Responsibility for improving employment outcomes needs to be shared between HE providers, employers and students (Wakeham/Shadbolt 2016) Many student/graduate applicants are, from the employer’s perspective, unable to make themselves stand out from a crowd Employability offerings by HE providers are considerable and diverse, but: students are dissuaded by some offerings (e.g. certain sectors/recruitment channels), and take-up needs to be more strategically timed (early/throughout degree) and targeted by subject/course Employers have relatively limited engagement with HE providers; messages conveyed by employers carry more weight for students (IER/IFF Research/QAA 2016) Some recent findings…

9. The development of graduate attributes in geography comprise a range of approaches in the classroom, the field, and outside the curriculum, and leveraging a range of technology. (JGHE Symposium, Vol 40 2016) Graduates are arguably the best judges of the success of their outcomes and destination following an HE experience (not currently captured). Linked data combined with surveys is the most likely way forward. There is a strong and growing appetite for improved longitudinal data (of all types) about employment and enterprise, further study, well- being/satisfaction, ‘skills for life’, and other graduate outcomes. (HESA DLHE consultation, 2016) Some recent findings…

10. Course/subject vs career – not a simple relationship What employers (say they) want Is there a disparity between student and employer view of graduate ‘preparedness’? Deferring to market forces is a commodification of T&L? The changing graduate labour market, both regionally and nationally; Changing nature of employment, and measures of success The (unequal?) processes by which graduates are matched with graduate jobs The role of universities as intermediaries (before and after graduation): subject-based support, careers services, other interventions The profile of students and recent graduates Other factors

11. Skills, knowledge, values, attitudes, attributes, outcomes… Geography Subject Benchmark Statement, 2014

12. “Geographers can articulate the knowledge, understanding, skills and approaches that characterise the discipline as a whole.” “Within the context of understanding the distinctiveness of place and environment, a geography graduate possesses a substantive depth of knowledge through specialisation” within both, either, or at the interface of physical and human geography, and “a range of academic and generic skills …[and] personal attributes relevant to the world beyond higher education” Geography Subject Benchmark Statement, 2014 Skills, knowledge, values, attitudes, attributes, outcomes…

13. Employability is “…[a] set of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that make an individual more likely to secure and be successful in their chosen occupation(s) to the benefit of themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy” (Yorke 2004) Graduate attributes are “The skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that are distinguished from the disciplinary expertise associated more traditionally with higher education but which make a contribution to the profession. Graduate attributes are broader and more encompassing than “employability”, helping to develop academic citizenship and career competencies. They are an orienting framework of educational outcomes…” (Hill, Walkington & France 2016) Skills, knowledge, values, attitudes, attributes, outcomes…

14. For the individual, the development of graduate attributes and long-term employability might be framed with reference to: Their assets in terms of the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes they acquire and possess They way they use and deploy those assets, including how they apply disciplinary knowledge to unfamiliar contexts and/or create new knowledge The way they present their assets/attributes to employers and peers Being able to reflect upon their experience of developing graduate attributes, and searching for (graduate) employment. (Hillage & Pollard 1998; Hill, Walkington & France 2016) Skills, knowledge, values, attitudes, attributes, outcomes…

15. Shared language, but different in how perceived, taught and assessed: Graduate attributes vs employability; acquiring vs enabling Variation in which skills, knowledge, values etc, how they form part of the graduate’s ‘toolbox’, and how they are effectively delivered/acquired Not all universities, or courses, are the same. Differentiation of the “offer” to students is a measure of success? In the classroom, in the field, outside the curriculum To what extent do students take responsibility for their emergent ‘post-graduation’ identities? What role for employers / other external input? (External) career guidance complementing curricula-based employability/graduate attribute acquisition Skills, knowledge, values, attitudes, attributes, outcomes… and gaps?

16. Departments deliver in diverse ways “Employability initiatives appear to be most effective at engaging students when embedded in the curriculum and/or supported at departmental level” (IER/IFF Research/QAA 2016)

17. “Many student/graduate applicants are, from the employer’s perspective, unable to make themselves stand out from the crowd in what remains a highly competitive graduate jobs market, and especially so for the traditional graduate jobs” (IER/IFF/QAA 2016) Developing employable geographers What makes a geographer more employable? What do you and/or your department do to help geographers to stand out in a graduate labour market?

18. Consultation on the principles and future requirements for the UK’s public interest data about graduates HESA has opened a consultation on Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey: Use of data linking (e.g. HMRC and other data) Which data should be collected? How can graduate outcomes best be measured? How should data collection relate to post-graduate pathways? Measuring success (Recording achievement) How is your department using DLHE? What issues are there with DLHE, affecting how we understand outcomes for geography graduates, that would benefit from a consultation response by the RGS-IBG on behalf of the discipline?

19. What are we measuring? The (effectiveness of) delivery of the employability measures/activities The acquisition of assets/attributes (employable skills, values, knowledge, attitudes) by students The employment outcome post-graduation The student’s perception of preparedness for the world post- graduate The ability to deploy employability assets for longer-term success Measuring success (Recording achievement) What measures of success, or records of achievement, does your department use? What would you like to try?

20. Society support (examples) Resources and inspiration Study Geography (before, during and after university) www.rgs.org/StudyGeographywww.rgs.org/StudyGeography Geography Ambassadors www.rgs.org/Ambassadors www.rgs.org/Ambassadors Data www.rgs.org/employabilitywww.rgs.org/employability

21. Society support (examples) Networks Departments Professional Geographers Alumni Recognition Individuals www.rgs.org/CharteredStatuswww.rgs.org/CharteredStatus Degree programmes www.rgs.org/accreditationwww.rgs.org/accreditation

22. Wakeham Review of STEM degree provision and graduate employability 2016 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stem- degree-provision-and-graduate-employability-wakeham-reviewhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stem- degree-provision-and-graduate-employability-wakeham-review Shadbolt Review of computer science degree accreditation and graduate employability 2016 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/computer-science-degree- accreditation-and-graduate-employability-shadbolt-review https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/computer-science-degree- accreditation-and-graduate-employability-shadbolt-review Evaluating the Impact of Higher Education Providers' Employability Measures. Findings of research conducted by the Warwick University Institute of Employment Research (IER) and IFF Research. 2016 - http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Evaluating-the- impact-of-employability-measures.pdf http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Evaluating-the- impact-of-employability-measures.pdf JGHE Symposium: Graduate attributes: implications for higher education practice and policy. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Volume 40, Issue 2 2016 - http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjgh20/40/2 http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjgh20/40/2 References

23. Hill J, Walkington H and France D (2016) Graduate attributes: implications for higher education practice and policy. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 40, Iss. 2, 2016 - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03098265.2016.1154932 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03098265.2016.1154932 HESA DLHE consultation -- Consultation on principles and future requirements for the UK’s public interest data about graduates. May 2016 - https://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/publishing/consultations/NewDLHE_Consul tation_May_2016.pdf https://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/publishing/consultations/NewDLHE_Consul tation_May_2016.pdf References