Employability

The Careers and Employability Service provide services for staff to help enhance employability in the curriculum.

Contact an Academic School careers adviser for further information.

Employability in the Learning and Teaching Strategy

Within the Learning and Teaching Strategy, Employability encompasses a number of different dimensions:

Personal Development Planning
Work-based learning
Skill Development
Work Placements
Strategy development
Community Volunteers

There are a wide range of resources available on the many different dimensions of employability. This section will provide a starting point for any member of staff who needs to explore the topic further and enhance the student experience capitalising on innovations and initiatives.

The Higher Education Academy has publications available for downloading on a range of aspects of employability:

2006

2005

Another published works on employability is the Student Employability Profiles. This includes 52 full student employability profiles and has been produced to help staff to explain (to prospective students and employers) the employability skills developed through the study of a particular discipline.

Employability-focused Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs)

CETL: Embedding, Enhancing and Integrating Employability (E3I)

University lead site: Sheffield Hallam University

Focus:

Enhancement of multidisciplinary and business orientated simulations
Production of bespoke Career Management Skills materials for courses
Providing guidance and advice through the validation process in terms of employability
Promoting the use of e-learning and Blackboard

CETL: Centre for Career Management Skills (CCMS)

University lead site: Reading University

Focus:

Establish a national centre of excellence for career management skills
Create a suite of teaching and learning materials and approaches that will support students on a career planning 'learning ladder' from foundation through to postgraduate level
Make the highly adaptable model developed at Reading available to FE and HE sectors, supporting institutions to modify materials to their own circumstances
Reward staff for excellence in teaching and supporting career management skills development at both Reading and throughout the HE sector
Support further academic innovation to enrich the Centre and the whole HE sector

Careers Education Benchmark Statement published January 2007

A Careers Education Benchmark Statement was published by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) on behalf of the UK Higher Education sector. This key document will be of particular interest to those involved in curriculum development or in educational development in the area of employability or career management skills. The Statement aims to serve as an external reference point for curriculum development and review using the QAA subject benchmarking concept and has been endorsed by a number of key sector organisations, including the HEA, CRA, AGR and SCOP.

The Benchmark Statement provides a valuable reference tool for academic staff engaged in the development of career learning and employability through specific modules, cross-curricular integration and outside the curriculum and in educational development staff in providing a focus for staff development in the area of employability. Both full and executive summary versions of the benchmark statement can be downloaded from the AGCAS website or in bulk orders from Sally West at the AGCAS Office at postage costs. Please note that while requests for bulk orders of the Executive Summary can be accommodated, numbers of the full documents are more limited.