1. Context Early in 2009 Edinburgh Napier University adopted a revised Employability policy of aiming ‘to create a learning environment which maximises the potential of all individual students and develops graduates who are the first choice of employers, professional bodies, the community and the higher education sector’. Subsequent new strategy documents such as the University Strategy 2009-15, the Corporate Plan 2009-12 and the Academic Strategy 2009-15 also highlight the aim of producing ‘Confident Employable Graduates’ from all areas of the University. Students are often unaware of what they don’t know and feel they already have sufficient expertise in the types of skills they need to develop. Reponses from unemployed graduates suggest that lack of development of employability is a contributing factor in their unemployment, 63% did not start their job searching until after graduation, for example. Only 65 % of first year students are confident of getting an appropriate job (Yorke and Langdon, 2007) More than a third of last year’s unemployed graduates hadn’t thought about how they would get a job before they graduated. (DLHE survey, 2010) An average of 48 people apply for every graduate vacancy (Association of Graduate Recruiters, 2009) Edinburgh Napier students stand out as having awareness of how business works as well as their technical expertise (Alan Colquhoun - Selex Gallileo, 2009) Employability skills and positive attitude are more important than the degree classification or subject studied. (Future Fit, CBI, 2009) Students don’t necessarily find the transition to more reflective and process based learning obvious or easy (Yorke and Langdon, 2007). Over 83% of Edinburgh Napier Graduates gained graduate level employment after graduating in 2009 (Provisional HESA, DLHE statistics, 2010) The best thing I have learnt is how to impress employers while I am at work (workshop feedback from 3 rd year business student) If students are to become actively involved in increasing their independence they need to acquire the ability to learn how to learn. (Teaching Expertise, 2004) Only about 50% of students who book a place at Careers events go on to attend (Edinburgh Napier Careers statistics, 2010) 98% of the students who attended a recent Careers workplace behaviour workshop before setting out on placement said they found it useful References. Association of Graduate Recruiters (2009) available at: http://www.agr.org.uk/ (accessed on 28 th May 2010) Bloxham, S. (2004) Embedding skills and employability in higher education: an institutional curriculum framework approach, Higher Education Academy, available at: www.heacademy.ac.uk (accessed on 25 th May 2010). Confederation of British Industry (2009) Future fit, preparing graduates for the world of Work. available at: http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk (accessed on 25 th May 2010). Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education 2008/9 (2010) Report to Edinburgh Napier Quality Committee June 2010. Teaching Expertise (2004) ‘Developing Independent Learning Skills’ available at: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles (Accessed on 28 th May 2010). Yorke and Langdon (2007) The First Year Experience in Higher Education in the UK, Higher Education Academy, available at: www.heacademy.ac.uk (accessed on 25 th May 2010) Some Influencing factors in workshop development Students often neglect personal and professional development in final years due to assessment pressure (Bloxham, 2004) Examples of successful partnership working A customised workshop on professional behaviour for 2 nd year students in the School of Computing immediately before a work placement. A tailored ‘Make an Impact’ course on preparation for getting a job after graduation. for the School of Engineering and the built environment. A package of job application skills workshops for the School of Nursing Midwifery and Social Care. At a key stage in their final year. Some ways that working in partnership with Careers throughout a programme can help a programme team To further prepare students for the 21 st century labour market with employability provision throughout their programmes. Prepare students to get the most out of a placement. To promote reflection, planning and setting of career goals in all stages of programmes. Assessing the need within a programme Programme teams might like to ask questions around, What needs to be developed? Where in the programme is the development addressed? How can the opportunity to develop these skills and attributes be provided? What is the most appropriate place in the programme for this development An example of how Careers can work with programme teams is in helping to map elements of the ‘Understanding of professional practices’ elements of the Edinburgh Napier Student Employability Model (2010) to their programme. Students said... ‘I have learned how to treat my placement colleagues right from the first day’. (2 nd year SoC student.) ‘This has given me a great insight into what my body language is saying to other people’. (2 nd year SoC student). ‘ I had no idea that online applications were often short-listed in a different way from paper ones’. (3 rd year SoNMSC student). Careers Workshops Careers have developed a range of workshops that address areas which contribute to employability. They are ‘customisable’ to suit different applications at critical points in the student journey and can be blended with other employability development such as ‘Confident Futures’. workshops to suit particular situations. David Surtees., Head of Employability Services (June 2010)