1. Rising to the challenge: frameworks for employability in the new HE landscape A strategic approach to embedding co- curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to enhance employability in the undergraduate experience at the University of Plymouth.

2. Workshop aims Stimulate and facilitate discussion/sharing around: Things that work (or might work) for you and your institution in principle. Implementation strategies Challenges in implementing a strategic approach to an employability framework.

3. Workshop Structure Brief presentation on Plymouth strategy. Break up into discussion groups to review: Things that work (or might work) for you and your institution in principle (10 mins) Feedback from each group (5 mins) Implementation strategies and challenges in implementing a strategic approach to an employability framework (10 mins) Feedback from each group (5 mins) Where next for you and your institution?(10mins) Feedback from each group (5 mins)

4. University of Plymouth Strategic positioning: enterprise, student experience, graduate employability. Mission : to significantly enhance graduate employability. Strategic convergence: – Student experience, – Employability framework, – Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) trial.

6. UoP stakeholders Academic staff : all, but particularly work based learning coordinators in each school (reporting to HoS). Support staff: particularly work placement coordinators/managers in each Faculty (reporting to associate Dean T&L). Careers Service: all. Part of individual role is to service specific Faculties. Links to employers. Central service/Directorate. Challenge of perceptions of role.

7. Some Challenges and responses. Development and Ownership of institutional strategies (central, devolved, top-down, bottom-up etc). No single effective response to this challenge! Defining roles and responsibilities at Faculty/Directorate level. Response: talk, debate, resolve, disseminate decisions. Identification of stakeholders: students, employers, careers service, academic staff, support staff, etc. Response: audit, advocacy, identify effective champions in each stakeholder group tasked with taking employability forward. Employability of graduates is a concept and potentially differently understood and measured by different stakeholders. Response: discussion & debate at all levels: programme, Faculty, institutional, leading to common understanding. DELHE data is simplest KPI but flawed. Some stakeholders can use this to advantage, others are inherently disadvantaged. Response : disaggregate DELHE data to programme level. Invite comment and alternative KPIs.

8. Developing and implementing a framework : a fine balance! Pick up best practice developed within programmes and share. Employability yes, but not expense of academic integrity. Enhancement of employability not displacement by employability. Ownership is key: hub and spoke model and DELHE data. Central direction and support but owned and contextualised by programmes. Accountability by programme. Consciousness of student journey: the career development cycle. (denial, acceptance, ownership, action). Stage 1 is too early. Stage 2 is critical. Stage 3 is too late!

9. UoP Employability Framework Within curriculum: basic career development cycle; PDP/personal tutorials (lifewide learning); accredited work placements/work based learning opportunities; principles and experience. 5-10 credits per stage. Owned by programme. DELHE KPI. Co-curriculum: enhancement of employability through additional, optional, credit-rated modules, up to 20- credits per stage. Development of accreditation framework. Delivery by range of stakeholders (careers service, academics, SU staff, HR staff, professional services staff). Key elements: theory, practice, reflection, articulation. Extra-curriculum: Plymouth Award and Leadership Award. Not credit-bearing. Life-wide, experiential learning. Key elements: experience, reflection in- and on-action, articulation of learning achieved.