Fostering a critical awareness of employability in social sciences where linkage to professional career development is less clearly articulated

Kety Faina, Gordon Heggie, Jade McCarroll, Neil McPherson, Paul McShane, John Melia, Donna Russell, Iqra Tusadiq

British Conference for Undergraduate Research 2014 Nottingham

Unpacking the employability agendaEmployability and higher education

‘Many of the graduates I met were unprepared, uninformed and lacking in self-

awareness. They struggled to demonstrate what it was they wanted from a job

and what they could bring to it.

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (2006)

‘To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be secure’

Peter Hawkins, 1999

Targets, targets, targets

• By the end of AY 14/15, UWS will achieve a graduate-level employment rate of 65% within the annual DLHE survey

2013-14 SFC-UWS Outcome Agreement

• By the end of AY 14/15, UWS will achieve a minimum graduate-level employment rate of 75% for our graduates within 3 years of graduation’

2013-14 SFC-UWS Outcome Agreement

But employability…

• ‘Employability…is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and

more on ‘ability’. In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical,

reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner.’

(Harvey, quoted in Pegg, 2012: 4)

• ‘Is clearly not the same as graduate employment rates’ (Knight & Yorke 2004: 9)

• Nor is it… ‘something that can be quantified by any single measure. Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey is a measure of employment not employability’

(Cole & Tibby 2013: 6)

The employability agenda Questioning the role of the University

‘[Employability] is now claiming time on syllabi at the expense of academic

subjects and inculcating market values at the expense of free and critical

thinking’ (Sarson, 2013, non-paginated)

How do we make employability real for social science students?

Understanding what employers want

Most important factors considered when recruiting graduates

Source: CBI. Learning to Grow - Education and Skills Survey 2012

Understanding our peers

0 20 40 60 80 100

Language

Degree classification

Work experience

Degree subject

Employability skills

Hamilton

Paisley

Which of the the following do you think are the most important factors employers consider when recruiting graduates (%)

Understanding our peers

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Do you have a particular job/career path in mind after you finish your studies? (%)

Paisley

Hamilton

Understanding our peers

Survey of L7 social science students undertaken in week 1

• ‘I like how broad it is because I might change my mind later in the course. I know people who have a [social science degree] and went into different kinds of jobs.’

• ‘I think there is actually a reason...why there are so many social science graduates with…graduate jobs because there are so many different things you can do.’

Understanding our peersFrom the focus groups

Employment and the social sciences

Employment and the social sciences

Making employability ‘real’

Our employability-integrated assessment map