Preparing our Students for Employability:Responsibilities and Strategies

Vivien JonesUniversity of Leeds

Agenda

Drivers of change

Needs and definitions

Strategic responses

Examples from Leeds

Drivers of change Leitch (2006); CIHE (2008); Wilson Review (2012); Witty Rep0rt

(2013); NCUB (2014)

Increase in numbers accessing HE

% of students gaining graduate employment nationally from our institutions

Fees and ‘value for money’

‘The student experience’

“We need to align measurement of schools, colleges and universities more clearly with the outcomes that are needed for

sustained growth through people.”UKCES (November, 2014)

Needs and definitions

“Most employers are less interested in the precise details of what graduates have studied than in what the experience has taught them…What matters is that graduates have the framework which allows them to keep on learning.”

Richard Lambert, former Director General, CBI

Needs and definitions

Independence of mind: ‘becoming themselves and yet being responsive in a demanding and complex age ‘

Flexibility: unfazed by change and the unexpected

Creativity: problem solving; ideas generating

Enterprise

An international perspective

‘Passion’ – and the ability to communicate it

“all abilities unlikely to be replaced by developments in technology … (place) a premium on workers’ ability to adapt to new challenges”

Senior partner, Deloitte

Needs and definitions

‘… what the experience has taught them …’

Distinguishing between 2.1’s – the employer’s dilemma

‘Not just what’s achieved, but how’ academically co-curricularly

Getting that across to students to employers

Strategic responses

What and how: institutional education strategies and

structures measures of success curriculum and assessment design co-curricular activity employer / alumni engagement

Strategic responses

Some issues: Academic / pedagogic / instrumentalist – false distinctions? Subject specialism / functionalism / duty of care How we do we teach and assess response to the

unexpected? How do we teach and assess innovation? Who is responsible? Academic / professional partnerships

“Enterprise skills require responsiveness to unexpected pressures and tasks; they require reaction to changing circumstances and disruptive

interventions. These attributes are contrary to the established framework of assessment processes.”

Wilson Review, 2012

The Leeds approach

Student Opportunity Strategy vertical integration through partnership

Institutional and Faculty-level Employability Committees All faculties and/or schools have an Industrial Advisory

Board Students log employment readiness each year at

registration

On all programmes students have the opportunity to do: an industrial year an enterprise year a year abroad

Increasing numbers of programmes offering core subject ‘with enterprise’

The Leeds Curriculum

LeedsforLife

A web-based resource for every student:

‘living CV’ activity timeline co-curricular opportunities searchable by activity or

skill Shared space for reflection supported by personal

tutor

STEM case studies

“At a recent job interview, the

Chemistry: Idea to Market module was

a really great example… where

we had really taken ownership of

a project.”

“I’m looking forward to a placement at Unilever [which] I was driven to apply for because of this module.”

Maths at WorkChemistry: Idea to MarketOptional year 2 modulesStudents work in teams on industrial case studiesInclude lectures from Industrial Advisory Board members

Physics Group Industrial Project Live year-long projects with

industrial partners Close links to the Physics

Stakeholder Advisory Board Increases commercial awareness

and professional development for students

Led to a PhD CASE Award

“I felt that the pressure of not

letting others down meant that I

worked significantly harder than I would have done if I had been

working on my own.”

“I did eventually produce a decent working model of

the system, which I was very proud of.”

“It has been great fun and has allowed me to

learn many useful things that none of my other modules would

have given me the chance to.”

STEM case studies

Arts case studies1. Induction and Welcome Back All students receive employability guidance and advice at the start of each

semester Personal tutors provided with focussed resources

2. Level 2 Skills Audit Compulsory assessed task for all level 2 students Objectives:

raise awareness of transferable skills in module content increase confidence in transferable skills and knowledge

Accompanied by lectures and seminars on employability and careers

3. Optional Modules Providing opportunities for specific experience or skills development Examples include:

‘Students into Schools ‘ (placements in local schools for potential teachers and others)

‘Religious Mapping’ (fieldwork and community engagement professionalisation training)

‘Language, Identity and Community’ (using the Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture, working with three regional folk-life museums)

Arts case studies

HIST2550: Research Collaboration and Communication

A Level 2 module which requires students to produce public-facing research outputs, going beyond the horizon of the university

Students work in research groups with external partners, drafting a project outline (20%), writing a reflective log on their development (30%) and designing a research exhibition, debate or multi-media presentation (50%)

Module objectives: student development and challenge; student-led research impact; development of refined communication skills; historical knowledge adapted to new audiences in the region

Impact: the student as researcher, ambassador and communicator

Arts case studies

Marks & SpencerBurtonsMade in Leeds TVLeeds Kirkgate

MarketsLeeds InitiativeLeeds Black EldersGuardian OnlineHuman Glass Film

Leeds LibrariesLeeds Discovery

CentreHoward Assembly

RoomsArmley Mills MuseumAbbey House MuseumThe Thoresby SocietyHarewood HouseLeeds Carnival

The challenge

“To be successful, today’s graduates need passion, readiness to deal with the

unexpected and the unknown, and a growth mind-set .“

Dan Crow, Chief Technology Officer, SongKick;

formerly of Apple and Google