technology for employability - jisc, may 2015

Lisa Gray, Peter Chatterton and Geoff Rebbeck

Technology for employability 27/05/2015

Technology for employability 2

Technology for employability

Blog: employabilityproject.jiscinvolve.org

Twitter: #jiscemployability

27/05/2015

Geoff RebbeckIndependent consultant

Lisa GrayJisc

Peter ChattertonIndependent consultant

http://employabilityproject.jiscinvolve.org/wp/


Aims of today

» Share themes and issues, opportunities and recommendations, and provide opportunities for participants to add to and test out the themes

» Share our vision for ‘technology for employability’ and discuss the barriers and enablers to achieving it

» Consider how Jisc can best support institutions in achieving that vision

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Why is this important?

Employability » Increasing importance in policy and

strategy

› evidence of an ‘employability gap’

» Means to economic independence and active citizenship.

» Qualifications not an end to themselves

» Evidence that technology can be an enabler….

› But it’s not clear how institutions are using technology most effectively to support learners

» Digital savvy graduates are essential for shaping tomorrows entrepreneurial activities

› But digital literacies aren’t well articulated in relation to employability skills

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Technology


Jisc “Technology for Employability” study

» December 2014 - study funded

» Focus – technology to support the development and communication of employability skills

» February - open invitation for examples of practice

» April 29th – webinar to share emerging themes and

» 27th May – gathering of experts

» June – study completes

› Case studies

› Analysis of the technology and employability landscape

› Issues, challenges, gaps

› Recommendations for institutions and Jisc

› Good practice guidance

» June – next steps identified

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Effective practice examples

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Case studies - HE

Institution Subject

University of Greenwich Greenwich Connect: a joined up approach to employability in a digital world

University of Northampton Student employability development through social innovation and enterprise

Glasgow Caledonian University Problem-solving real business issues using wikis

Birmingham City University A range of creative approaches to developing student employability

Keele University ILM accredited e-portfolio-based employability award

University of Edinburgh Student-led e-portfolio-based assessments for evidencing graduate attributes

University of Birmingham Online employability skills pathway of the Personal Skills Award

University of London Employability skills MOOC

Staffordshire University Staffordshire Graduate Employability project

Bath Spa University International virtual internship programme

Oregon State University collaboration

Global student collaborative venture to compete in international student racing


Effective practice examples

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Case studies – FE and skills

Institution Subject

The Mindset Joint venture between Reed employment and 13 colleges – in campus branches

S&B Autos Supporting motor vehicle apprenticeships through Moodle and virtual reality

Job Centre Plus Using technology to support those out of work

Welsh Baccalaureate Digital literacies embedded into the qualification

My Worksearch An online employability service supporting learners on an ongoing journey

South Devon College Using an online employability course

South West College, NI Using technology to support partnership projects between students and industry

Portland College Project using video, accessed by QR codes to support learners with disabilities

Reading College A college-wide move away from the VLE to learner-centred approaches

City of Glasgow College An e-portfolio for stonemasons to best record their experiences in the workplace


Examples

Further education and skills

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InnoTech, South West College, Cookstown, NI


Examples

Higher education

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Framing and problem setting

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Challenge 1

Institutions are on various points of the continuum towards student employability “maturity”

» Different visions of “maturity” and variation in approaches to developing employability skills, capabilities and attributes

» Authentic experiences can develop skills, but depend on:

› the degree of “authenticity”

› the degree to which students learn/reflect on them

› the degree to which students articulate them

» Many creative uses of technology, but embedding remains elusive to many institutions

» Embedding employability/ attributes into curricula may be “ideal”, but there are challenges

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Challenge 2

Technology is under exploited for employability

» Variation in practices and understanding of potential of technologies- particularly with e-portfolios and social media

» Institutions could do a lot more to unleash student creativity in using digital networks/media to engage with employers, alumni and other stakeholders

» Digital literacies are not well articulated in relation to employability skills

» Employers and HE/FE generally have low aspirations in relation to “digital entrepreneurialism”

» Growing band of knowledge in terms of what technology infrastructure is required for "connected curricula"

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Challenge 3

Insufficient engagement and partnership working with employers

» Core employability skills, capabilities and attributes are continually evolving

» Unclear the degree to which employers (large and small) are involved in defining and developing employability skills

» Not much evidence of institutions evaluating impact of employability policies/initiatives with employers

» Not always easy to identify “truly” authentic learning experiences with employers for ALL students

» HE and FE need to find ways of improved working with a broader range of employers e.g. SMEs

» Need to raise aspirations for “digital entrepreneurialism” with employers

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Challenge 4

Variability in resources to support institutions in using technology for employability

» Lack of awareness of e-portfolio resources and their value to institutions

» Insufficient emphasis in sector resources on “making the case” for using technology

» Guidance on digital literacies could be better contextualised and articulated in relation to employability skills

» Minimal resources relating to digital entrepreneurialism

» Insufficient guidance on effective use of social media to support employability

» Potential for greater adoption of multimedia communications approaches

» Resources on their own are insufficient – institutions need to be supported in using them effectively

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Activity

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On your tables, discuss:

» Do these challenges resonate with you?

» Provide examples from your contexts

› What is the problem, and for who?

» What is missing?


Activity

» In the light of these challenges, think big about how these might be solved

‘What if……’

» Write one per post-it

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Visualising effective practice

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Three thematic ideas for institutions to enhance practices

Idea 1

"Maturity" is probably best developed through "connected curricula" - embedding employability in curriculum and assessment combined with authentic experiential learning and employer engagement and underpinned by technology.

» Some excellent examples of "connected curricula" where employability embedded into curricula and assessment

» "Connected curricula" inextricably linked to assessment for learning approaches and authentic assessment

» Curricula and assessment must incorporate student articulation of their experiential learning and employability skills

» "Connected curricula" map well to the QAA "Flexible Curricula" framework **

» "Connected curricula" requires a learner-centred connected technology infrastructure

27/05/2015

** enhancementthemes.ac.uk/toolkits/flexible-curriculum

http://enhancementthemes.ac.uk/toolkits/flexible-curriculum

http://enhancementthemes.ac.uk/toolkits/flexible-curriculum



Idea 2

“Lifelong employability in a digital world” needs to be a core student capability – with students encouraged to take ownership early on”

» HE and FE need to prepare students for taking ownership of identifying and developing their employability skills and capabilities - using technology

» “Lifelong employability” is a key employability capability in its own right

» Lifelong employability aligns with lifelong learning, self-review, self-management and learning directions concepts

» Self-directed personal and professional learning (planning, reflection, managing, recording, review) can be effectively supported by e-portfolios

» (Digital) feedback and engagement with a variety of stakeholders including employers to help develop learner self-regulatory skills can be facilitated by technology

27/05/2015



Idea 3

Institutions can better prepare for supporting student employability through technology in five key ways

» Embedding and aligning technology for employability into polices, plans and resources

» Developing staff digital literacies for employability – for themselves and their students.

» Technology tools, resources, infrastructure and support for employability and student-centred flexible curricula

» Improving communication and collaborations to drive change in technology for employability

» Quality assuring and continuous improvement through employability data monitoring, analytics and review

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Technology for employability – a framework

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Technology-enhanced

authentic and simulated learning

experiences

Technology-enhanced lifelong

learning and employability

Technology-enhanced

employability skills

development

Employer-focused digital

literacy development

Digital communication

s and engagement

with employers

22


» Active and “real world” learning experiences – supported by technologies – that help to develop employability skills

» Simulated experiences

Technology-enhanced


experiences

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23


» Researching, identifying and developing contacts and relationships with employers

» Developing “digital” and “employability” identity

» Developing “digital collateral” as evidence of student “rounded self”

» Showcasing student “rounded self” to employers and personal clients

Technology-enhanced


experiences


s and engagement

with employers

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24


» Self-directed personal and professional learning (planning, reflection, managing, recording, review) – supported by technology

» (Digital) feedback and engagement with a variety of stakeholders including employers to help develop learner self-regulatory skills

» Employer-supported/ related assessment for learning

Technology-enhanced


experiences




s and engagement

with employers

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25


» Learner skills diagnostics

» Technology-enhanced development for skills gaps

» Computer-aided assessment

Technology-enhanced


experiences



Technology-enhanced


development


s and engagement

with employers

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26


» Developing student technology-enhanced employability skills

Technology-enhanced


experiences



Technology-enhanced


development




s and engagement

with employers

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Technology-enhanced


experiences



Technology-enhanced


development




s and engagement

with employers


Activity

» Using the templates on your tables, consider what ‘effective practice’ looks like for one or more of the five dimensions above

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Concept development

Shaping the recommendations – how to get from A to B

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Options for Jisc to consider to support the sector

Options

So far, from our research, we are recommending that Jisc can potentially support institutions in six key ways

» Benchmarking and effective practice toolkits

» Easily accessible, usable and navigable resources

» Facilitating an institution-led communications and engagement plan

» Online spaces to support creative collaborations between institutions, students, alumni, employers and professional & sector bodies

» Support services to institutions

» Staff-student-employer partnerships

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Activity

» Select a cluster of ‘what ifs’ and get into groups

» Decide as a group which of the ideas you’d like to work up in more detail as ‘solutions’

» Develop the ‘solution cards’ for presenting back at the end

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Related Jisc activity

Where to find out more

» Prospect to alumnus - jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/prospect-to-alumnus

» e-Portfolios – updated guide currently in development - jisc.ac.uk/eportfolio

» Students as Agents of Change - jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/change-agents-network

» Digital Literacies - jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-digital-literacies

» Assessment and employability - bit.ly/jisc-assess

» Curriculum Design - bit.ly/jisccdd

» Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development - repository.jisc.ac.uk/5993/

27/05/2015

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/prospect-to-alumnus



http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20140614112544/http:/www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios.aspx

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20140614112544/http:/www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/change-agents-network





http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-digital-literacies

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/improving-student-assessment



http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/12458422/Welcome%20to%20the%20Design%20Studio



http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/5993/

http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/5993/

33

Prospect to Alumnus – Employability Data Services project a)Employability Skills Match* and Data Services:

enabling learners to demonstrate soft skills and capabilities, gained through extra-curricular activities (eg P/T work), through open badges pre-defined by employers’ consortia

b)Learner Cradle to Grave Data Service**..that allows students to own & manage a digital record of their educational & extra-curricular achievements throughout their lifelong & life-wide learning. Supporting student credit transfer and mobility.

*This will be extended into an Employability Data Service, enhanced by an updated Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR)**This will integrate HEAR, Personal Learner Record, Enterprise Passport and open badges.


Find out more

» Lisa Gray - [email protected]

» Peter Chatterton [email protected]

» Geoff Rebbeck - [email protected]

» Googledocs: bit.ly/1blC97E and bit.ly/1GaYdKx

» Project page: jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/developing-student-employability

» Join the conversation on the blog: employabilityproject.jiscinvolve.org/

» and on twitter #jiscemployability

27/05/2015

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1htyppd2De2JJ_btcZvSoJSJGyeU0sC-i4qDRKLdN7yA/edit?pli=1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qMsuTcPcgDg-QR4y0ZA4Gu2BCbqGycGX23RLLRaR58M/edit?pli=1

http://jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/developing-student-employability




http://employabilityproject.jiscinvolve.org/wp/


Also on the horizon….

Higher Education Academy

» Embedding employability strategic enhancement programme

» 37 Higher Education institutions

» Using the HEA employability framework - heacademy.ac.uk/node/6797

» Completing end of July 2015

Joint AGCAS / CRA seminar

» Presenting yourself for the 21st Century’

» Birmingham City University, Monday 8th June

» Register at: tinyurl.com/k9jxncr

27/05/2015

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/6797

http://www.recordingachievement.org/news-and-events/events/all-events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/06/08/776/-/Zjg5MTFkMzFhOTYzMjVlZjYzYjFmNzNmNmE2MDg2NzI=.html

technology for employability - jisc, may 2015

Technology

employability study

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