CEMPS Employability A Student Perspective

Employability : A Student Perspective Contents 1.Introduction 2.Student Perspective 3.Extra Curricular Provisions 4.Recommendations 5.Education Forum Oresund Link Road, Denmark/Sweden

The Project  Review the provision of employability services in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences (CEMPS)  View to presenting outcomes and recommendations to staff  Initiate open debate on the topic of employability  Promote sharing of ideas between college members TGV, France

Why Employability?  An area of increasing importance  Concerns staff and students  A collaborative area  An area in which small changes can make a big difference Airbus A380

Positive Graduate Outlook  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates are key to providing the higher level skills that are required for economic recovery and long-term prosperity in the UK (HE Academy, 2010).  It is essential that we raise the level of our STEM skills (BIS, 2010).  Two-fifths of employers struggle to find the STEM talent they need (Times Online, 2010) Wind Farm

Realistic Graduate Outlook 1.School leavers and graduates are lacking basic skills, says CBI survey  Weaknesses in time management and team work in graduates 2.45% of graduates at top universities (inc. Exeter) view career prospects as ‘very limited’  Competition for graduate jobs has never been fiercer 3.Graduates ‘paying £8000 for internships’  Students paying companies to set up work experience 1. Times Online (17/05/10) 2. BBC.co.uk 3. Telegraph.co.uk (18/12/09) Pendolino Tilting Train, UK

Employer Demand Attributes% Communication skills86 Team-working skills85 Integrity83 Intellectual ability81 Confidence80 Character/personality74 Planning & organisation skills74 Literacy71 Numeracy68 Analysis and decision making67 Source: CIHE Graduate Employability: Employers Where do these skills come from?  Degree  Work Experience  Extra Curricular Activities Pelamis Wave Generator, Portugal

Current College Employability Services Why is attendance low?  Don’t feel will help me – 42%  Inconvenient time – 39%  Perhaps students think they know what they want to do  Busy schedule – hard to find time  Maybe they should be attending... Source: CEMPS Employability Survey What services does the college offer?  Employer in the foyer  Careers drop-in  Company presentations  ITMB guru for IT

Who would you like to work for? Where do our graduates work? Source: CEMPS Graduate Destinations & Employability Survey  Ambition - large multinational companies  Reality– predominantly small and medium sized local enterprises  Do our students end up where they think they will?

Student Feedback What would students like to see?  “More one to one level of help”  “More help organising placements”  “More encouragement to get summer placements”  “List of summer placements and deadlines”  “Short presentations by multiple companies in an dedicated lecture”  “More presentations aimed at students looking for summer placements” Source: CEMPS Employability Survey Hang on, don’t these services exist?  Careers advisor drop-in  Dedicated placement coordinator  s with opportunities and encouragement from careers staff  Work placement database  Similar idea with Gradcracker, however low attendance  Employer in the foyer? Oil Platform

Recommendations New Developments  Dedicated ‘Placements Coordinator’ Recommendations  Invest in ‘Placements Coordinator’  Work placements data base and profiling  Enhance the CANDI module  Focus on helping students to make the most of the services available to them Recommendations  Try to encourage PDP as an important part of employability  Increase student awareness of past graduate destinations  Make students and staff aware of transitional programmes such as KTP and GBP  Utilise alumni and take advantage of our excellent reputation  Make use of institutional links Large Hadron Collider, CERN

Education Forum - Debate  Employability services offered by University and College are excellent  The changing graduate employment market means we need to keep up to speed  How can we encourage students to make use of the employability resources and support already available to them?  How can we further develop students' skills and employability throughout their degree programme? Milau Viaduct, France

Education Forum - Outcomes  Participation a big issue across CEMPS  More targeted marketing of events  Potential for integration of PDP into degree  Small tutorial classes in which all issues are discussed (Physics)  Integration of advice into booklet for joining students  Distribution of findings of SACA project to students Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong