Theology Employability Kim Layton 16 th June 2009

Why was employability chosen as a topic? Lack of confidence to apply what is, for many, a non-vocational degree A lack of information for students on how to use their degree for specific future employability purposes Many without a sense of purpose or ideas regarding career paths

The ultimate goal for the project was to help the department produce students who recognise that they are competitive in the graduate field.

How did you get the results? Questionnaires Focus group

Results Only of 45.6% students thought that they could identify their own skills in relation to job/career opportunities 31.6% of students thought that they could present oneself effectively in CVs, applications and interviews. 38.9% of third year students thought that the Theology degree make them competitive graduates.

Analysis More awareness of opportunities available to use the degree in an employment context -. careers advise sometimes suggests a Theology degree leads to social work, education or roles related to religion. We found students were looking into charity and social work, PR, creative arts and design, human resources, hospitality and events, education, financial management and accountancy alongst others Relevance of the employability service % of students said they would find a website dedicated to employability issues useful

In response to the statement ‘There is nothing I would like to improve about the employability services available to Theology students’ only 3.5% of students agreed

Recommendations Employability addition to department website Personal Tutors Staff co-ordinator Link to Theology Society