Employability is:
A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal
attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and
be successful in their chosen occupations’. (Yorke, M. 2004)
Passport To Employability:
Initiative to record, validate and give an award
for employability skills acquired through co and
extra curricular activities.
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Rationale behind the P2E initiative
What is it about?
The Pilot
What was learnt from the pilot – challenges!
What next?
Third of under 25 yr
olds unemployed!
Fewer Graduate jobs
52 applicants
for every graduate
job!
Rationale behind Passport to Employability
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Generally recognised that whilst a good degree is a pre-requisite in the graduate
employment market, this alone is no longer enough to secure that first graduate job
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The 2011 CBI/EDI Education & Skills Survey showed that employability skills are the single
most important consideration for 82% of businesses when recruiting graduates.
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Newcastle Business School – ranked in the Top 10 for Graduate Level Employability, ‘The
Sunday Times Good University Guide 2012’
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‘73% of employers would recruit a graduate with volunteering experience over one
without’ (Timesbank. Reed Executive)
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In a survey conducted by CIHE, 29% of employers felt overseas study experience makes a
graduate more employable
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30% of NBS students undertaking a work placement get offered a full-time job for after
graduation
How can you
make sure
you stand
The economy!!
Higher numbers of
graduates leaving
University
NBS co-curricular activities
• Year long work placement
– Better degree classification
– 30% offered jobs after graduation
– Leave as boys, return as men
• Study abroad
– Increasing numbers taking a single semester or a
whole year studying or working abroad.
– Employers see it as important
• The numbers…
Numbers of students undertaking a work
placement or period of study abroad
Still 65% of students not going on work
placement or undertaking study abroad
(NBS UG students approximately 600 at each level)
Employability skills gap
Passport to Employability
• 65% of UG students still neither undertaking a work placement nor
studying abroad
• What employability skills can they demonstrate to employers?
• Aims/objectives of P2E
– To bridge the CV Gap
– To guide students to co and extra-curricular activities which will enhance their
employability skills
– To offer activities which will enhance their employability skills(P2E day)
– To provide a vehicle to record their employability leading to an award.
• All within three categories of activity:
• Work experience
• Community engagement
• Global engagement
• To provide evidence for employers of employability skills attained.
Pilot
• Students
– Level 4, UG
• BA Business With Marketing
• BA Accounting
• Meetings
– Three timetabled meetings per cohort each semester
• Blackboard organisation
• P2E file
• The award
Activities
• Personal Development Planning
• Key skills
– Talks from industry
– Training sessions
• Work Experience
• Community engagement
• Global engagement
Recording & Validating the Award
Level 4
1. PDP
Self analysis 40
Skills analysis
10
Careers analysis 10
2. Key Skills
Skills sessions
20
Skills/careers
session
10
Skills/careers
session
3. Work experience
0 -20
10
10
4. Volunteering &
Community
5. Global focus
0 -20
10
10
0 -20
10
10
Action plan
10
Reflection
10
10
100
•Activities 1 and 2 are compulsory
• Activity 3: up to 10 credits can be gained from work undertaken up to 2 years ago
•For activities 3 – 5, 10 credits are gained from 10 hours spent on these activities.
Recording & Validating activities
• Validating the activities as employability skills
– Undertaking activities
– Recording activity
– Validating activity
– Using forms
• Recording activity and hours undertaken
• Reflective statement outlining employability
skills gained
Some of this year’s activities
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Passport to Employability Days
Guest speakers from industry
National Business competitions
Outward bound team challenge
Marketing Volunteering scheme
Starting your own Business day
Travel Scholarship
Range of internships
• Volunteering through the
Students Union
• Business positions through the
SU
• Helping out at Open Days
• Northumbria skills sessions
• Programme Representation
Challenges to pilot
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New students
Limited activities for L 4 students
Resourcing supporting and validation
Timing – when to validate
Engaging students
Blackboard site
– Overuse
– Time to upload
Going forward
• Business & Engagement Champion to concentrate on this initiative
• September 2014: non-compulsory award for all FT NBS Undergrads
• Follow the student journey
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open days,
welcome week
Programme meetings (Programme leader buy-in)
Student engagement centre
Social media
• Still lots of questions
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Levels of award
Recognition of placement and study abroad
Recording of achievements and validation via Pebble Pad (?)
Resourcing
Consider validating past activities
Identify external award body – C & G
• Longer term credit bearing module? Pass/Fail…….