Careers Skills (L12350) Introduction School of Economics

Outline 1.The Nottingham Advantage Award 2.Aims and Outcomes 3.Programme of Activities 4.Assessment 5.Recording Skills 6.Questions?

1. The Nottingham Advantage Award NAA details can be found at: s/start/advantageaward/index.php

Aims To raise the profile of employability issues within the undergraduate programme To provide students with the opportunity to reflect formally on their learning and wider experiences while at university To develop skills of reflection and recording amongst the student body 2. Aims and Outcomes

Learning Outcomes B Intellectual skills: Students must be able to: B1 apply complex ideas to solve problems (E) B3 reason logically and work analytically (E) B4 perform with high levels of accuracy D Transferable/key skills: Students must be able to: D2 communicate effectively and clearly in written and oral formats D3 analyse and solve complex problems accurately D5 undertake independent study of a problem or subject

3. Plan of Activities Why this module and why now? Employability as an issue - Locally - Nationally (competition) Employability working group - Students, staff and CCD Emphasis on self-help approach Second year most appropriate

Centre for Integrative Learning (CIL) Promotes approaches that encourage students to enrich their development by drawing connections between different learning experiences Helping students to think critically and creatively across lines and transfer their learning between contexts Sponsorship of the module Website at

Features of the module: Year-long Non credit bearing Appears on individual transcript “Light touch” approach to delivery Builds on existing mechanisms such as the personal tutorial and the e-PAR Emphasis is on students taking the initiative Academic staff are not trying to become careers advisers!

Why it should matter to you 1.The module is here to help you by providing an opportunity 2.More you put in, the more you get out 3.Minimum requirement is a low hurdle If more effort is expended, much greater benefit will be gained

Semester One Programme 1. Employability skills mapping (Week 2) 2. Work experience (Week 3) 3. Application forms (Week 4) 4. Update on the job market for graduate economists (Week 5) 5. Interviews (Week 6) 6. Royal Bank of Scotland skills session (Week 7) 7. Government Economic Service (Week 8) 2 – 5 run by Jan Perrett of the CCD

Semester Two Programme 1. Employer presentations 2. Presentations by alumni 3. Postgraduate study Details of all sessions can be found at: and ching/modules/L12350.htm

Semester One Two-side CV (Friday 4 th December) Semester Two One-side personal skills audit plus one-side of reflection/evaluation (Friday 7 th May) Grades correspond to submission rather than quality (0, 50 or 100%) Feedback will be provided via personal tutor 4. Assessment

5. Recording Skills 1. Subject specific academic skills as part of your degree (outlined in your Handbook) You are developing skills in a number of areas 2. Transferable skills within your degree 3. Transferable skills developed in study activity such as work, travel, volunteering etc.

Recall from last year’s talk “Making the Most of the University Experience” by Jan Perrett Skills in demand communication skills leadership numeracy problem solving and analytical skills negotiation and persuasion IT literacy flexibility team working ability to initiate change

The skills map on the module homepage lists the learning outcomes we expect a graduate of the School to have but…… ……level of those skills will vary from person to person Need to consider each and assess yourself honestly in relation to them N.B. The degree covers subject specific and some transferable skills

Recording Skills Entirely up to the individual but you can use: the e-PARS system a paper system or devise your own Whichever system, record the experience, the evidence for it and then evaluate it

Doing something is not enough, you should be able to: evaluate it - was it useful, what skills did you learn, would you do it again? reflect on it - what has it taught you about yourself, what would you do differently next time? build on it - extend your skills, add new experiences

Two examples might help 1.Group presentation in a seminar Skills – communication, groupwork, negotiation, IT ability Reflection – undertook the task of gathering team together which worked well but my actual presentation was a little weak as I read the notes Areas for improvement – work on speaking without notes

2. On Hall Council Skills – leadership, communication, persuasion, negotiation Reflection – good election campaign with lots of communication, perhaps not strong enough when problems arose at formal dinner Areas for improvement – be more decisive and take control of situations

Where to begin? Look at the skills map on the module page and the types of areas covered in the degree Look at CCD materials including the list above Look at the CIL website and also Use the skills to form the basis for a table or matrix to record your experiences, reflect and offer areas for improvement

6. Questions?