Graduate Employability: A Partnership Approach Dr Abigail Diamond, Director of Research & Evaluation Aaron Porter, HE Consultant and Freelance Journalist

Outline for this afternoon pm - Introduction to graduate employability pm - Interactive group session pm - Feedback and group discussion Coffee break pm - Interactive action planning pm - Feedback and closing discussion Close

What is graduate employability?

...it depends who you ask! Employability is defined as the ability to gain initial employment, to maintain employment, and to be able to move around within the labour market. (Bologna follow-up group, 2009) Employability covers a broad range of non-academic or softer skills and abilities which are of value in the workplace. It includes the ability to work in a team; a willingness to demonstrate initiative and original thought; self-discipline in starting and completing tasks to deadline. (CBI, Future Fit: Preparing graduates for the world of work, 2009)

Global competencyRanking An ability to work collaboratively with teams of people from a range of backgrounds and countries 8.2 Excellent communication skills: both speaking and listening7.5 A high degree of drive and resilience5.6 An ability to embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking 5.4 Ranking of global competencies

>Before the fact - forecasts based on the assumed characteristics of a graduate compared with the characteristics required by employers; and >After the fact - using the evidence of the employment status actually achieved by graduates. Both measures assume that success is measured by the attainment of a ‘graduate job’. Measures of estimating employability

Why is graduate employability important?

For students and graduates: >Burden of funding higher education shifted from taxpayer to individual >Aspiration of a seller-buyer relationship that will drive up standards >Improving job opportunities the most important outcome for 79% of ‘buyers’ (NUS/CBI survey) >All at a time of high graduate and youth unemployment

For employers: They don’t seem to be getting what they want. Although each source / survey suggests slightly different employer needs.

What employers are getting - Applications per vacancy, AGR Survey to "There was a lot of panic last year with students applying for anything. We had graduates applying for positions within lots of different schemes.”

For Higher Education Institutions >Institutions now need to report on employability. >Need to produce employability statements >Data on employment outcomes is now available on the Unistats web-site. >However, there appears to be widespread confidence amongst students that they are developing employability skills. >But only a small proportion (18%) believe that they were fully developing business and customer awareness skills. (CBI, Future Fit, 2008)

So what are institutions doing about graduate employability?

>Managing and maintaining relationships with employers. >Offering high quality work placements or sandwich years within courses. >Building employer involvement into course design and delivery. >Developing a clear sense of the employability skills that are expected from graduates. >Helping students to demonstrate competencies at interview – and or offering formal accreditation of employability skills. >Providing good quality careers advice. Many institutions are already...

Group Discussion 1: How is your institution responding and what challenges are you facing?

Group Discussion 2: What more could your institution do?

Some institutions are embedding global employability into pedagogy and learning by: >Providing viable opportunities to study overseas. >Enriching the learning experience (e.g. multicultural events). >Equipping students with highly agile learning skills (e.g. self-didactic learning, self-assessment, critical analysis). >Adopting frameworks and curriculum, to guide the delivery of courses and the student experience in a way that prepares students for global citizenship. Could yours? What more could your institution do?

For more information Abigail Diamond Aaron Porter