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Employability in Higher Education
This document
All of us in higher education hope that when our graduates leave us, they will go on to lead
lives which are personally and financially rewarding, which contribute to the common good
and use the full range of their talents. Helping them to achieve this is therefore a key part of
the academic mission of a University. Furthermore, institutions are increasingly being
measured, by funding and quality agencies, and by many potential students, by their ability to
prepare their graduates for the world of work.
This task is not simple. The expansion of higher education, and an increasingly complex and
flexible labour market, challenge the assumption that graduates can easily get “graduate jobs”
with a little help from the Graduate Careers Service. Addressing this challenge calls for a
review of the relationships between academic departments and central services, of the various
needs of an increasingly diverse student body, and of how this relates to the development of
work with employers and regional agencies.
The report is about how HE institutions can and should respond to this growing challenge. It
is based on case studies of three universities. Each offers a snapshot of how a particular
institution has approached policy and strategy for employability. The studies are not
presented as ideal models to be imitated, since every HEI has its own traditions and
aspirations, recruitment and curriculum profile, but each of the three has examples of
particularly successful practice, and the contrasts between them help to illuminate the issues
which face any university or college.
The report focuses mainly on employability for the “traditional” student cohort: those who
enter HE for the first time directly from school or College in their late teens or early twenties.
Although such students are now a minority of all undergraduates, and the numbers of
students who are part-time, mature and work based are increasing, it is the young full time
experience which dominates the thinking of policymakers and academics. This does not mean
that employability is less an issue for the “non-traditional” students, and their concerns need
considering in developing a strategy, but the issues raised are complex and much less well
understood.
The report is written for senior managers in HE institutions, who need to develop the
organisational structures, systems, incentives, and funding mechanisms which support the
institution’s mission. It is therefore primarily concerned with how an institution can respond
to the challenge, rather than with questions of what to teach, or how to run particular services.
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Executive summary
The employability of higher education graduates is an issue for institutions because of:
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the changing nature of the graduate labour market,
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mass participation in HE
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pressures on student finance
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competition to recruit students
Factors which will affect how an institution approaches employability include:
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institutional history
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the regional/national/international focus of the institution
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the labour markets to which the institution relates
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the nature and extent of partnerships with other educational
institutions and with employers.
Questions which a strategy should address include:
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what is the student’s entitlement in terms of employability support,
and how is this to be delivered to all students?
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who is to lead the development of employability?
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who is to co-ordinate/manage work on employability?
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what balance is appropriate between academic departments and
central services, both of which have a role?
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How is employability dealt with in other relevant strategies1?,
particularly:
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teaching and learning,
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widening participation,
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equal opportunities,
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student retention,
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staff rewards and development, research,
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third leg activity,
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risk analysis?
how is employability work to be securely funded as a long term,
rather than a project based activity?
A strategy will need to take account of student diversity, including:
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patterns of student recruitment
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students undertaking formal work placement, and those with paid
part-time employment alongside their studies
It is not a requirement that HEIs have a formal published strategy for employability. However employability
must be an element of other strategies, notably widening participation and teaching and learning, and it we
believe that it is wise for institutions to bring together their responses to this issue in a single document.
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students based off campus and in partner institutions
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students likely to experience discrimination in the labour market,
including mature, disabled and ethnic minority students
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international students
A strategy will need to relate to teaching and learning strategy, including the institution’s
approach to:
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key and generic skills development
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personal development planning and recording achievement
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tutorial systems
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disciplinary diversity
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the role of formal work placements
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work based learning, including foundation degrees
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motivation and perceptions of the role of the academic
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systems of reward and promotion
Staff issues include:
Quality assurance issues include:
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relationship to national standards and codes of practice, including
CEIG and Matrix
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validation processes
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mentoring
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student satisfaction
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research and “third leg” work
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Why is graduate employability an issue?
All of us in higher education hope that when our graduates leave us, they will go on to lead
lives which are personally and financially rewarding, which contribute to the common good
and use the full range of their talents. Helping them achieve this is part of our core mission.
What is employability?
Being employable means more than simply being able to get a first job. Employable
graduates can find rewarding employment, but can also maintain this over a lifetime. They
may do this in what is traditionally thought of as a “graduate career” or in some entirely
different kind of occupation. They may spend their whole careers with a single employer,
work for many, or work freelance. To remain employable, they will need both the knowledge
and skills for the current job, and the skills to develop, learn and adapt to a constantly
changing environment. One of the tasks of higher education is to help them to do this.
Mass higher education
Traditionally the higher education curriculum focused on the discipline, the development and
dissemination of its knowledge base and the preparation of the next generation of academics,
and in many institutions this still underlies much of what is taught. This was perhaps
defensible when participation rates were at 5%, but makes no sense at all when it is
approaching 50%. For most institutions, a mass higher education system must mean a shift of
focus, giving more attention to developing each individual, and helping them to make good
use of their talents in a wide range of dimensions.
Accountability
Universities are under increasing pressure from external forces to account for what they do,
and performance indicators linked to student retention and motivation, and to graduate
careers are increasingly important in funding decisions. Similarly, as students and their
parents become more aware of the costs of their education, they ask harder questions about
the economic return. Although the lifetime financial return on a first degree is higher in the
UK than in any other OECD country, public perception is still that it is expensive, and many
will want evidence of value for money, in terms of career prospects and lifetime earnings.
Building on best practice
An employability strategy for an institution will often be as much about disseminating and
supporting existing best practice, as about root and branch change. The best academics have
always taken an interest in the broader development of individual students, and the academic
theory of careers guidance has always given more attention to these generic issues of identity
and autonomy than the public image of careers services as job brokers has recognised.
However, since employability has not previously been of such strategic importance to
universities, most universities do not have a coherent approach to it, and senior managers are
often not aware of the best practice in their own institutions.
The changing graduate job
For most graduates the first degree is not a direct qualification for a job. The academic
subject, which matters most to academics, and motivates many undergraduates to learn, is
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important, but it is not usually this that gets graduates into employment, nor is it what keeps
them there. Only a minority move immediately into jobs directly related to their degree
subject, where the knowledge and skills they have learned are applied directly. This is true
even for graduates in apparently “vocational” subjects like Law. Furthermore, although most
graduates eventually achieve “graduate” jobs, an increasing number begin their career in jobs
where a degree has not traditionally been seen as necessary. Wherever they begin, almost all
graduates need to acquire further skills and knowledge, while in employment, before they
become established in a career. For most then, the Honours degree is a generic qualification,
and the ability to continue to learn after leaving University is critical.
A whole institution issue
The qualities which make a student employable are developed from the whole experience of
being at a University, not only from formal study. Students learn to think critically, to take
initiative, to work with others, to gather, organise and present information, through the
subject, but also through the broader experience of living and working in a higher education
environment. The more these elements support each other, the more likely it is that all
graduates will be employable. A University therefore needs a coherent strategy, and
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating its delivery, which ensure that all Departments are
addressing the issues, and that the collective experience of HE is reinforcing this. This
presents increasing challenges for universities as their student bodies become more diverse.
Employability at the core of the curriculum
Many students do not think seriously about employment, or careers, until late in their time in
the University. Typically those most in need of help make least use of the central services
available. As a result, unless employability forms a thread of their mainstream curriculum,
which they must participate in, many students will not get the support they need. Strategies
for employability therefore need to define what support individuals are entitled to, and the
roles of academic departments and central services like the careers service. The two need to
be seen in partnership, although the balance will vary, as the case studies demonstrate.
Linkage to other developments
Employability also relates closely to other current developments in HE, including:
Personal Development Planning and Recording Achievement
Development of Key/Core/Generic skills
Learning from students’ part time work
Volunteering
Assessment and accreditation of generic skills
Empowering individuals
Finally, perhaps the most crucial element of employability for the graduate is self confidence
and a sense of autonomy. Graduates who know what they can do and know, and how it is
useful to other people, are likely to succeed in the labour market. It is important that their
experience of higher education gives them this sense of control over their own lives and
talents. That is a matter for everyone in the institution.
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The Team Development Programme - Exeter
The BP Team Development Programme operated in ten traditional
universities over a period from 1993-2000. It was introduced to Exeter
via the Vice-Chancellor, who had links with the company. The aims of
the Programme were:
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To give university students the opportunity to learn team skills
and thereby enhance their employability;
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To train academic staff in teamwork skills in order for them to
continue the delivery of courses to students;
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To enhance BP’s reputation by supporting the development of an
innovative and high impact training programme.
The student course comprises a series of (mostly) outdoor exercises
interspersed with current theories on effective teamwork. The emphasis
is on students’ learning from experience and review, with the intention
that such learning and specific insights gained from the course should
be continued in the context of future experiences, whether through
academic study or within the world of work. The tutor-training course
allows academics to undergo a similar experience to that of the students
but also incorporates aspects of skills in facilitation.
The increasing interest in the programme now provides evidence to
show that, despite being only one day in length, the course helps to set
the scene for independent learning supported through teamwork. It
provides a sense of belonging to an academic community as well as a
friendship group, it enhances academic outcomes and makes a start
towards students being able to evaluate their performance and plan for
improvements. There is a focus on ensuring that students do not
perceive the day as a one-off, fun experience, but take the lessons they
have learned into the academic context and beyond. This is the
essential link with employability and PDP, and the one that needs to be
further developed through learning and teaching provision. The
programme is also of particular interest in that it may be unique in terms
of staff being given the same training in the processes of thinking about
personal growth as the students.
In 2002-03, ten Schools with over 1000 undergraduates, and a pilot
group of postgraduates went through the programme. Whilst the Team
Development Programme is included in the Learning & Teaching
Strategy 2002-05, no funds have been committed to it beyond 2002-03.
The future of the Team Development Programme remains in doubt.
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The case study institutions
This document was produced by a working group based around three universities: Derby,
Exeter and Paisley. The aim was to draw on contrasting experience, to seek common lessons,
and identify some dimensions of diversity.
The institutions were chosen to illuminate the kind of choices institutions have to consider
when developing their approach to graduate employability, rather than as models of good
practice. All three are experiencing change, and reviewing aspects of their employability
work as they position themselves in a changing economy and higher education context.
However, they are a diverse group, and in many cases the structures which they describe are
currently under review.
Exeter is a well established civic University with a relatively “traditional” academic culture,
and a student body dominated by full time school leavers from the South of England. It has a
strong profile with traditional “graduate recruiters”, few part-time or mature students, and
few from ethnic minorities. Although it has recently embarked on a range of new activities –
regional collaboration, curriculum reform and work on employability - its culture remains
strongly based in academic disciplines, to which graduate employment is an important
adjunct, but an adjunct nonetheless. As a result, its approach to employability is strongly
embedded in academic curriculum, with a focused but light central support structure.
Derby is an institution with a long history of work on employability, but which is formalising
this in a written policy for the first time. Its concern with graduate employability is rooted in
its origins as a teacher training institution, and it has branched out into a much wider
curriculum range, although the University retains strong public sector links. It has also
developed partnerships across its region, operating on multiple sites, and has a substantial
proportion of students on Further Education programmes (governed by an entirely separate
funding and quality assurance regime). It also has a significant proportion of part-time,
mature and ethnic minority students. By comparison with Exeter, its thinking and structures
are influenced more by the world of employment and less by academic discipline, with a
large flexible modular programme alongside more conventional degrees. Its strong
employment focus is reflected in the existence of a large central team of staff engaged in
various kinds of employability work, providing not only guidance to students, but also staff
development, and consultancy to departments on curriculum, personal development planning,
and key skills.
Paisley is a strongly regional and vocational institution, based in South West Scotland, with
campuses to the West of Glasgow in Paisley itself, and in Ayr and Dumfries. One of its major
strengths is in widening participation, but one consequence of this is that many students have
relatively low, and strongly local, career aspirations. Almost all its students are recruited in
the West of Scotland, and they mainly find employment in that region when they graduate.
The University has traditionally provided strongly work related programmes linked to the
local employment base, but this has been undergoing radical change in recent years, and the
University has had to diversify its course portfolio in response. Most of its students work, and
in order to respond to these needs, and those of employers, it has developed a block timetable
which allows limited space for the informal and extra-curricular activities offered by many
universities. Historically, the strong links between academic departments and the local
industries which they served were an asset in securing employment for graduates, but the
transformation of the regional industrial base in recent years has undermined this.
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Graduate employability and the HE policy context
A successful, but changing, system
Higher education in the UK is remarkably successful. In all four parts of the Kingdom
participation rates, graduation and graduate employment rates are higher, and costs are lower
than in other OECD countries. For a graduate, the economic return on obtaining a degree is
higher than in any other country. Nevertheless, the system is facing major change, and in
England, Government has indicated in The Future of Higher Education that, while teaching
undergraduates will remain a major part of the mission of all universities, the system will
become increasingly diversified, with universities having varying degrees of concentration on
research, teaching, “third leg”, and widening participation activity. There will be more higher
education delivered in Further Education institutions, and more work based learning.
Institutional Strategies
An important trend in recent years has been the development of explicit institutional
strategies, and the expectation of both funding bodies and Government that these strategies
should be published, and lead to action. Although there is no formal requirement to produce a
separate strategy for employability, it forms a component of most of those which are
required, and it makes sense for a university to ensure that these various elements are broadly
compatible. The questions which employability raises for other areas of strategy include:
Teaching and
Learning
How does the content and process of teaching and learning make
graduates more employable?
Student retention
Are students aware of the importance of academic success to
their long term employability, and lifetime earnings? Does this
motivate them to persist with their studies?
Research
Does the University’s approach to research support or impede
attention to employability?
Widening
Participation
How does the University’s approach to employability address
the increased diversity of students?
Rewarding and
developing staff
Does the Staff strategy reward and motivate staff to attend to
employability, or does it signal that this is not a priority?
Risk analysis
Are the risks of a poor record of graduate employability, in
terms of recruitment, and performance in quality assurance
processes, adequately factored into the risk analysis?
Quality assurance
Does the institution’s approach to employability meet the
requirements of the various Codes of Practice, particularly the
CEIG Code for careers guidance?
Off campus and
partnership provision
How does the institution ensure that students studying off
campus or in partner institutions (including those on Foundation
Degrees validated by the University) have access to a
comparable employability entitlement to those on campus?
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Regionalism
The pressures for devolution of Government are being felt throughout the UK, and the 2003
English HE White Paper proposes that Regional Development Agencies should have a
greater involvement in Higher Education. This is likely to lead to more initiatives to develop
programmes in areas related to regional needs, and of a curriculum which helps graduates to
be employable in regional industry and business. RDAs also have the potential to build
bridges between the employer community and universities for mutual benefit. Together with
the new Sector Skills Councils, created to produce coherent skills strategies and plans for the
long term human resource needs of the various economic sectors, the RDAs can help in
addressing the problem of inadequate dialogue between the worlds of employment and HE.
International developments
A significant proportion of graduate employment is either based abroad, or involves frequent
contact with people in other countries, especially within the EU. This calls not only for
competence in languages, but also a broader range of employability qualities. It also raises
issues about transferability of qualifications, and credit accumulation across frontiers, which
the work arising from the Bologna Agreement seeks to address2. In attracting international
students, especially students from the EU, a University’s employability record may become
increasingly important.
New locations for HE
Increasingly HE is being offered outside conventional universities and HE Colleges, and the
main thrust of expansion proposed in The Future of Higher Education is to be in Further
Education Colleges, much of it through federal or collaborative arrangements. More students
will be studying part-time, flexibly or online, and an employability strategy must ensure that
the entitlements to support of such students are defined and delivered. Derby has been
working in this direction for some years, and UDerby Online which aims to provide the same
level of service to remote students as those on campus receive.
Postgraduate developments
Postgraduate education is expanding, stimulated by demand for higher level skills and
knowledge from the labour market, and by students’ needs to differentiate themselves in an
increasingly competitive market. It is important to ensure that postgraduate students have a
comparable entitlement to employability support, especially since academics may be
accustomed to assuming that such students are more focused on academic futures than
employment ones outside the University.
Work related learning
Recent years have seen a growth of work related learning in all its forms, and the
Government’s plans for expansion put very heavy emphasis on work based routes through
Foundation Degrees. Such developments raise new issues for many universities. Work based
students (i.e. students who are in full time employment and learning alongside work) may not
have an immediate problem in finding employment, but they may have difficulty in ensuring
that the outcome of their learning leads to real career progression. However, services
designed to help full time students may not be well tuned to helping such students.
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Some EU countries are pursuing this more vigorously than the UK
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Regional Enterprise - Derby
The University of Derby is keen to develop strong links with local business
and community. The Regional Enterprise and Development Unit (RED)
has developed an employer database to improve the way that different
areas of the university networking with the wider community.
The RED team manage the database for the University. It allows every
member of staff to access a password protected inter-relational database
that holds contact history details for every organisation the University
works with.
As a member of staff, it is vital in protecting your professionalism. It
provides information on, if and how, the University may already benefit a
potential customer of yours. It allows you to identify possible synergies to
provide further benefits to the customer and prevents duplication.
It only works if the information is accurate and current, so there is an
expectation on all staff to update the database after every customer
contact.
Businesses are starting to realise the enormous resources at their
disposal at their local University. The RED database allows the University
of Derby to serve them in the efficient, professional manner they expect.
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Graduate employability and the labour market
context
British Governments, like those of most OECD states, are firmly committed to an economic
strategy based on a high skills economy, which relies on a strong higher education sector.
This underlies the current attempts to reach 50% participation rates, and has implications for
the regional distribution of graduate skills, for the development of high skills small firms, and
for the use of graduate level skills in situations where graduates have not traditionally been
employed. The issue is regularly raised in publications from both DfES and DTI, and will
form a focus of the Government’s Skills Strategy for publication in the summer of 2003.
Universities, on the other hand, vary greatly in their individual relationships with the labour
market. Some, like Paisley, serve a strongly local and regional labour market, while others,
like Exeter, spread their graduates widely nationally and internationally (though in practice
with a heavy concentration on the South East of England). Often this profile varies between
disciplines or individual courses.
The “Graduate Job”
For most of the 20th Century, there was a fairly clear distinction between the kinds of jobs
which graduates did and the rest of the labour market. In general graduates worked in large
organisations, in clearly defined professional and managerial roles, or in academia. During
the 1980s and 1990s, as technological and social change led to a more volatile and flexible
labour market, and as the numbers of graduates emerging from universities rose, these old
patterns began to break down. Although many graduates still go into what used to be seen as
“graduate jobs”, many do not, or do not do so immediately. Furthermore, graduates are now
taking longer to settle into long term careers. Many take up interim jobs, or explore options in
a variety of roles before settling into a conventional career. Conversely, far more jobs now
require some of the skills expected of a graduate, and this trend is predicted to accelerate in
the future, while volatility in the market means that an enthusiastic graduate can more readily
create a rewarding graduate role from a traditionally “non-graduate” job.
Industrial change
A key feature of the new graduate labour market is the speed of industrial change. Most
young people make subject choices at 14 which determine the higher education routes
available to them, but many find themselves, seven years later, working in occupations or
industries which did not exist when they made those first choices. Institutions with a strongly
vocational focus are particularly vulnerable to this sort of change, as Paisley demonstrates.
Change also brings a growth in uncertainty. Although unemployment is at historically low
levels, the turnover of firms in the economy is high. Employment in a large established
company is no longer a guarantee of a job for life, and far more graduates experience
redundancy and unemployment in their 20s than a generation ago. Furthermore, graduate first
employment is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in the economic cycle. When the cycle
turns down the first economy measure which many firms make is to stop graduate
recruitment, leaving whole cohorts of new graduates at a significant disadvantage.
Employable graduates will be have the resilience, initiative and capacity to learn which
enable them to survive such upheavals.
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Small firms
Until relatively recently, most graduates found work in large, national, multinational and
public sector organisations (whose cultures and practises are often quite like those of
universities). Although most graduates still prefer to work in large organisations, the pattern
of actual graduate employment has changed in the last decade. A higher proportion of the
workforce works in smaller organisations, larger ones have tended to divide and shrink, and a
growing number of graduates work in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) whose
culture and structures are very different from large ones. Here a graduate is likely to need to
be more resourceful and flexible, and may be much more isolated, with his or her status and
expertise less well understood. Exeter’s Student Projects Office seeks to encourage SMEs to
make use of undergraduates as a way of increasing the confidence of both undergraduates and
SMEs in the contribution which graduates might make. Paisley, whose graduates typically
tend to remain in the region, is developing a new Centre with a similar role, working through
placement and part-time work as well as post graduation employment. Its Kickstart project is
building links with SMEs through providing vocational guidance to their employees.
Devolution and Regionalisation
Another emerging feature of the labour market is diversification by nation and region. The
Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish economies all have distinct features, and within England,
RDAs have an explicit remit to develop their regional economies, and raise the skills level of
their industrial base. However, while the undergraduate population is fairly evenly spread,
graduate employment is heavily concentrated in London and the South East, while in the rest
of England, most graduates are employed in the public sector. The result is a low skills
problem for the regions outside the South East which their RDAs hope to remedy.
Every English Region has published a Framework for Regional Employment and Skills
Action (FRESA), which maps the skills base and shortages, and proposes a strategy for
development, often targeting specific sectors for project work, course development and other
initiatives. To implement their FRESAs, the RDAs will be increasingly involved in work
with universities. Derby, operating in a region with an unusually low proportion of high
skilled jobs has worked with its RDA through senior University staff membership of key
RDA committees, and through a range of project activity. Derby and Exeter have both found
their RDAs a valuable source of labour market information, with RDAs making financial
support available for work in their key target sectors of the economy.
The role of employers
Employers have an important role to play in helping frame and deliver an employability
strategy. They can advise on emerging and current skill and knowledge needs, provide
placements and work experience, and paid work for the students who need to work while
studying (who now form a majority in most universities). However, local employers are more
typically focused on the short term needs of a particular firm or industry than the longer term
factors which will make a graduate employable, and they may not be representative of
employers in the national or international markets which many universities feed.
Furthermore, employers are not a homogenous group, and it is difficult for a few willing ones
to represent the vast range of employers who recruit, or might recruit, graduates. Government
hopes that the creation of a number of strategic Sector Skills Councils will provide a channel
for employer voices to be articulated more clearly.
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Labour market information
In the past it has not been necessary for most universities to pay great attention to labour
market information, and where information was gathered it was through the careers service,
with a heavy emphasis on the evidence coming from traditional graduate recruiters, and on
the needs of current students. As universities become increasingly engaged with their local
and regional economy it will be important, as the Harris report on the Graduate Careers
Advisory Service recommended, to review what is being collected where, and how it is being
analysed and disseminated within the institution.
The quantity and quality of information available is now improving rapidly, with RDAs as
the focus at Regional level. RDAs gather and disseminate such information. The work of the
National Skills Task Force produced valuable information about longer term and national
trends, and this is being regularly updated. Such sources may in future be important in
judging plans for new course development and priorities.
the academic staff, suitable timing for students and relevance to their discipline.
Input into Media Theory and Production Course - Paisley
At the invitation of the course leader four two-hour sessions were coordinated by the Careers Adviser. These took place in class time
allocated for honours year students to work on dissertations.
Attendance was not compulsory and students attended seminars
which they considered most relevant to them.
Session 1 : Looking at careers options for media students using
graduate destination information and looking at other careers options.
Session 2 : How to get a job in media: ways of getting in to the sector
where jobs are advertised, an exercise on networking. This was
followed by a presentation from a former student who now runs a
video production business in Ayrshire.
Session 3: Creating a CV. Looking at traditional and non-traditional
CVs and a simulated selection exercise.
Session 4: Interview Skills. An employer led presentation on typical
competency based interviews followed by an interview of a volunteer
student with feedback.
Whilst not being fully integrated into the curriculum these sessions are
clearly placed within the timetable framework of the media course and
address the specific needs of students on this course. This has the
advantage of full support from
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What institutional structures are needed?
Policy and strategy
Since graduate employability is a product of all the ways in which the institution interacts
with students, the institution as a whole needs a policy and strategy, and it is important that
all staff feel some ownership of the employability agenda. This will affect an institution’s
approach to developing and implementing a strategy, recognising and disseminating existing
good practice, and encouraging innovation.
All three case studies outline a set of aims for employability policy. As the Harris report
recommended, there is a strong case for defining, alongside formal policy and strategy, what
students are entitled to, and the management arrangements for ensuring that this entitlement
is delivered.
Having a policy and strategy is not, in itself, enough. It is important that responsibility for
developing and implementing an employability policy should be clearly allocated, and that
those charged with such responsibility should be accountable for delivery. At the end of this
document we provide a checklist of employability related responsibilities, and we show how
the three case study institutions have dealt with these issues.
Who leads and who coordinates?
Serious impetus requires leadership at institutional level. Research on development in HE
regularly confirms that although formal approval by Senates, Academic Boards and other
committees may be important to securing authority, changes in the behaviour of academic
staff are much more likely to reflect signals from senior leaders in the University than from
any other influence.
Formal responsibility is not the same thing as leadership, at either institutional or
Departmental level. Enthusiasm, good networking, and personal commitment are important
in advancing work which may not have previously been co-ordinated within the institution, or
have high status in conventional academic systems of reward and recognition.
However, making an institutional system for employability work also requires people with
specific skills, at the centre and within academic schools, faculties and departments. The
personality, commitment and energy of these people is critical. In Exeter, the Deputy Vice
Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) exercises considerable influence through the Teaching
and Learning Committee as well as through managerial relationships, but is supported by an
Employability Co-ordinator (herself a former academic). This model ensures that the issue is
seen as an integral part of the University’s Teaching and Learning Strategy, with appropriate
central support to Departments and academics in implementation. The power of the Deputy
VC to require Schools to appoint employability representatives, and to replace them if they
fail to deliver, is an important one.
Similar issues arise at Departmental level. New developments in HE often begin with
enthusiastic individuals who champion a new cause or approach and gradually convince
colleagues and the institution. Many institutions have used this as a strategy for securing
commitment to employability. Derby’s use of Link Careers Advisers is an example,
providing specialist consultancy to support the early stages of development, and then
progressively handing over responsibility, as Departments gain experience and confidence.
15
This is particularly important in disciplines where there is a close relationship between
professional practice and the academic community.
How much should be centralised?
The Harris report argued strongly for embedding employability work in academic
Departments, and not leaving it to the Careers Services. However, institutions vary greatly in
how far responsibility is devolved to Schools/Faculties or Departments, and this will affect
the nature of the strategy. Paisley’s structure, with a Careers Education Information and
Guidance Group at University level, comprising representatives from all Schools, allows
some central coordination and quality assurance, but also the recognition of disciplinary
difference and staff preference. Derby adopts a similar approach, laying down a framework
centrally, which individual Schools then interpret in their particular contexts.
What is the role of central services?
No HE institution can provide adequate employability services to its students entirely through
academic departments, and all have some central services which play a role. The most
important of these is usually the careers advisory service, which in many institutions has been
seeking to broaden its role beyond the traditional delivery of individual advice interviews and
seminars, by engaging with curriculum development and consultancy to academics. Different
institutions have adopted different approaches to this. Paisley has perhaps the most
traditional, with a relatively small central Careers Service and some specific work conducted
through Departments with strong industrial links. Derby has extended its Careers remit to
embrace a much wider range of activity, including curriculum development and delivery,
while Exeter maintains a traditional careers service alongside an independent Employability
Coordinator.
The Graduate Careers Advisory Service
Locating the coordinating responsibility for employability with the careers service has many
attractions. The service is often the focus of relationships with the employer community, and
has a great deal of experience of working with students to manage their career planning and
job application. However, it has the disadvantage of being seen by many academics as a
marginal “non-academic” service, and as a result its influence over the mainstream
curriculum may be limited. This dilemma was explicitly recognised by the Harris review of
University Careers Services in 2001, which recommended that:
Institutions should review the missions and performance of their Careers Services
to identify those areas, if any, where working relationships with academic
departments and other units and services of the institution need to be improved.
Networking arrangements need to ensure that duplication and conflict are
minimised in the areas of employability, employer liaison and developing
students’ career management skills. Institutions may wish to establish Service
Level Agreements between Careers Services and other parts of the organisation,
if appropriate.
Later recommendations ask universities to ensure that their management and resourcing
arrangements were adequate to deliver this mission. Derby demonstrates one careers service
which has extended its role into a wide range of activities, including mainstream curriculum
delivery and development.
16
Teaching and Learning Services
In most institutions, some form of central support structure exists for teaching and learning,
ranging from the secretary to the Teaching and Learning Committee in some, to a substantial
team of specialists providing support to development of curriculum, technology, special
needs and other areas of teaching and learning work. Again, such units may play a central
role in employability, but are likely to need to work in close collaboration with other services.
“Third Leg” structures
A third set of services derive from “third leg” or HEROBAC funding in England, which was
created to strengthen institutions’ capacity to relate to the external community and
particularly to the world of employment. Where units have been set up to address this, they
may have a role to play in supporting employability, through work placements and
experience opportunities. Derby has such a unit, and HEROBAC funds are used to pay for
the Work Experience Coordinator, who is a member of the employability team.
How to pay for employability?
The Harris report draws attention to the need to ensure that the entitlements proposed in
policy and strategy papers can be resourced and managed within available resources, but
employability is still regarded in policy terms as a matter for the mainstream teaching grant,
and there is no separate national funding stream. Most institutions have embraced the work
within the broad frame of their careers service funding, though some have also used teaching
and learning funds. Exeter has funded its Employability Coordinator post through
HEROBAC.
For specific development activity external funding may be available. The Active Community
Fund is available to fund work on student volunteering, and Derby and Exeter have both used
this. Derby has also obtained funding from its Local Learning and Skills Council to develop
work experience, while Exeter has participated in the BP Team Development Programme
which provided funding for work with both staff and students. However, the use of such short
term funding streams inevitably brings problems of embedding when the funding stops,
which require attention before the work begins.
Within institutions, relatively small sums can be useful in encouraging Departments and
central units to undertake development work. Exeter allocates some Teaching and Learning
funding explicitly to employability. However both Exeter and Derby note the risks associated
with using short term funding to address long term strategic issues.
What can student unions contribute?
Since employability is a concern for all students, it is natural that their unions should take an
interest in supporting it, and while many students are motivated by initiatives led by
academics, others are more responsive to those led by their peers. In many institutions the
Union has initiatives and programmes designed to help its members to develop their
employability.
Examples of initiatives run by student unions include: skills courses to develop generic and
transferable skills; volunteering schemes which provide students with the opportunity to
develop a wider range of skills; and assessment of generic skills, sometimes including formal
certification. Student run “job shops” also often seek to protect students from unreasonable
terms of employment, and actively seek the kinds of work which can develop transferable
skills. Some provide resources to help students to reflect on the learning they achieve in the
course of such work.
17
There are delicate issues for a University in developing these approaches. Students unions as
self governing bodies must determine their own objectives and priorities, and the fact that
they are led by elected officers, who are necessarily transitory means that the union’s
commitment to employability may vary from year to year despite the fact that the issue
remains an important one to every generation of students.
How to promote development?
Innovation in HE takes many forms, but three strategies for fostering it have been prominent
in the case study institutions, and are mirrored in other development work in recent years.
Firstly comes the importance of identifying and celebrating existing good practice. Such
practice is often unrecognised, hidden in particular Departments, course teams or central
units, and often concealed by historical perceptions and prejudices about the roles of central
services, and by issues of status and communication between academic and other staff..
Those who carry it out are sometimes unaware of its importance or quality. Any institution
beginning the process of developing a strategy would do well to audit such activity before
launching into new ventures. As part of the implementation of its new strategy Derby is
planning an Employability Skills Template for use in internal audit, with this in mind.
A second strategy is the combination of “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches. Initiatives
seen as being directed from the top in HEIs rarely take root in the mainstream academic
culture, but conversely, good ideas from mainstream academics often do not become
accepted institutional policy. It is for this reason that strategies to invite bids for projects, to
appoint Departmental champions and bring them together to share practice and help shape
policy are important.
A third strategy used in all three case study institutions is internal consultancy. Recognising
that many services cannot be provided centrally for all students (and few would come if they
were offered), they provide support to individual Departments in the development of
curriculum, assessment strategies, and external networking for a limited period while
academics develop the confidence and knowledge to deliver unaided. Derby provides a Link
Careers Adviser to each School, and an Employability Toolkit for use by academic
Departments, while in Exeter Schools introducing the Independent Work Experience Module
receive seven days of consultancy support initially, and three days a year thereafter.
18
Using students in evaluation - Derby
Using students in evaluation, either short or long term, adds ‘customer’
perspective in the design and delivery of careers activities. It helps the
Career Development Centre to make plans for the future provision of
services and events in line with what students really want! Student
evaluation also uncovers areas where promotional activities are not
working effectively.
The Career Development Centre actively seeks the opinions of students
through a variety of methods: paper questionnaires, comments cards,
‘Brand Manager’ activities, focus groups and evaluation forms for specific
events. Analysis of the responses and feedback influences the annual
planning cycle and new events are planned to attract ‘customers’,
established events are updated with fresh appeal and core events which
students should be engaged in are promoted in a language and style
which will make them irresistible to every student
The benefits are obvious, the challenge is to encourage students to
participate in evaluation exercises. That is where bribery is a legitimate
tool to use. Free lunches, hard cash and prize draws have been offered to
attract as many students from as wide a range of courses, years and
specific groups as possible.
The flip side of the coin is the danger that student demand cannot be met
because of resources or practicalities. Whatever methods are used
expectations need to be managed
19
Responding to student diversity
Students vary greatly in their expectations of University, and of the relationship between their
study and their future employment, and widening participation is increasing this diversity.
Paisley’s students come usually with a strong vocational motivation and commitment, while
Exeter’s are much less focussed on employment as an outcome of a period of growth and
widening horizons. In designing its employability strategy, and setting targets and objectives,
the university will need to look carefully at:

the nature of its student recruitment,

the mix of full- and part-time students, of age and work experience

its pattern of graduate destinations and how many of their undergraduates experience
formal work placement or informal paid work during their time in the university,

whether they typically go on to work in regional, national or international labour
markets.
Among the case study institutions, Paisley and Derby both recruit locally but whereas Paisley
graduates stay in the region, Derby graduates are less likely to do so. Exeter recruits most of
its students from outside its region, and they move away again when they graduate. The
labour markets into which the institutions feed, and the opportunities available, are thus very
distinct.
Derby and Exeter both note the problem that the students who make best use of central
support services tend to be those with the least serious needs. Derby notes that students
whose awareness has been raised by employability work in the main curriculum are more
likely to use central services as well, having had their appetite whetted. Paisley notes the
difficulties of timetabling central activity with a high proportion of students with family and
work commitments.
Widening participation
Widening participation has important implications for employability. The Harris report
highlighted the need to identify those most likely to need additional support in career
management at an early stage, and this applies equally to the development of employability
skills more broadly. As participation in higher education widens, students will enter with
more diverse expectations of the University and the employment opportunities which it opens
up to them. Paisley notes that first generation HE students sometimes lack graduate role
models, and that when this combines with family commitments and expectations the result
can be an unnecessary limit on employment aspirations, which may be compounded by low
self confidence
Widening participation, and increased financial pressures on students means that an
increasing proportion of students in many institutions will be part time, (in reality if not in
formal status), and this will affect their availability and willingness to participate in explicit
employability related activities. Although Paisley’s students are formally full time, a high
proportion are in substantial paid employment. The University’s block timetable allows for
this, but one result of this is a relative lack of time for activities not directly related to the
formal curriculum, and less capacity for volunteering and other extra curricular activities
where students in other institutions develop some of their generic skills. On the other hand,
some may be developing those skills in the other areas of their lives outside HE.
20
Who wins and who loses?
In November 2002 HEFCE published Access to What, a study of the careers of 4300 UK
graduates over the first four years after graduation. The study demonstrated very clearly that
a series of key factors affect the career chances of new graduates. The most disadvantaged
group were most likely to be working in smaller private sector firms in the North and
Midlands and were likely to be:
The first student in their family to go to HE
From ethnic minorities (especially if they were female)
Over 24 at entry to HE
Studying a “non-vocational arts” subject at a post-92 institution
with substantial part time work while studying
Although most were clearly better off that if they had had no degree, four years after
graduation such students were less likely to be satisfied with their jobs, were more likely to
feel that they were not using their skills, and their prospects and pay were poorer than their
more fortunate peers.
Conversely, those whose experience on these issues was positive were working in larger
private sector firms, more often in the South East, and were:
21-24 at entry
with graduate parents
white and male
studying at a pre-92 university
with formal work placement/experience
engaged in significant extra curricular activity
with access to informal networks for job search
Most of these factors are outside the control of the HE institution, but universities clearly
have a responsibility to see that as far as possible students are prepared to overcome the
hurdles which they will meet.
Specific groups
Disabled and ethnic minority students
Disabled and ethnic minority students share a number of features, notably overt or covert
discrimination in the labour market. In the case of some disabled students there are practical
difficulties to be overcome as well as prejudice to be challenged, although the SENDA
provides some legal support in doing this. The experience of ethnic minority students varies
greatly, since discrimination happens differentially to different groups. Derby has a sizeable
proportion of ethnic minority students who regularly face discrimination in the labour market,
and need additional support as a result.
Off campus learners
A further group of students who may have particular requirements are those enrolled on HE
programmes off campus. They may be in associated institutions, on Foundation Degrees in
FE Colleges, work based or online/distance learners. The institution will need to clarify what
their entitlement is to support for developing their employability.
Postgraduate students
Postgraduate students are often overlooked in considering employability and careers
strategies, but they can often have greater difficulties in entering the labour market, since the
specialisation which enhances their career opportunities in HE may be a disadvantage in the
21
wider labour market. Exeter identifies this issue and plans to incorporate provision into the
new framework for postgraduate skills development.
Unemployed graduates
A further group requiring special attention are those who have already graduated, but remain
unemployed. The size of this group varies from institution to institution, and in line with the
patterns of recruitment which follow the economic cycle. They may need particular support,
and some universities have designed special programmes to provide them with both the
generic skills and the self confidence to enter the labour market.
“Vocational refugees”
Finally, there is a group of students who enrol on occupationally specific programmes, whose
outcomes are strongly geared to the needs of a particular employer or industry, as is the case
with many programmes linked to the Health Service. The direct employability links from
such programmes are among the strongest, but they present particular problems for students
who discover in the course of their studies that they do not wish to pursue that particular
career path. Often responsibility for employability in such institutions is heavily devolved to
academics who know a great deal about the specific industry, but may be unable or unwilling
to help those wishing to go in other directions. Such students can also be made to feel failures
in such a context, weakening the self confidence which is a critical component of
employability itself.
Part-time employment
The scale and desirability of student part-time work is a controversial topic in HE. The
majority of students currently do some kind of paid work alongside their study, but their
motives vary greatly. Some seek to maximise income to cover the costs of living and
maintaining dependants, others seek employment to support a more expensive lifestyle. The
potential of paid work to contribute to developing employability skills will vary between
these two groups. Those with urgent financial needs will also be less likely to participate in
volunteering initiatives, which can sometimes offer richer opportunities for learning, and a
broader scope of responsibility in work. The Access to What report suggests that the impact
of paid employment is more severe, on academic performance and morale, for non-traditional
students than for their more fortunate peers. Paisley addresses some of these issues by
incorporating career planning and CV preparation into a centrally delivered module, which
ensures that students have a well prepared CV to present to potential employers.
Work based learners
A growing proportion of students in HE are in full time employment, and The Future of
Higher Education proposes that the main thrust of expansion in the next decade will be
through Foundation Degrees, which are designed to be work based. Where a student is also
an employee, and may be studying on an HE programme in an FE institution it is important to
be clear where the responsibility for employability issues rests. Much can clearly be carried
by the employer as part of the normal HR function, but students may not wish to follow the
course mapped out by their current employer. Similarly, it is important to be clear how far
support is to be provided through the HE institution rather than the FE one. This issue is
difficult since the funding available for such partnerships is not always perceived to cover the
costs of such services, and can be difficult to agree apportionment between the partners.
22
PESCA Profiling in Law (1998- onwards) - Exeter
PESCA (Personal, Employment, Social, Career, Academic) was devised
as a generic IT package with a focus on achievements, skills and
competences, interests and pursuits, employability, and taking
responsibility for personal development and future goals. It acts as an
electronic database and information can be entered into each category.
These records can subsequently be used to generate a CV, a report for a
personal tutor or a summary of career plans and employment experience
to be used in careers interviews.
In the academic year 1999-2000, PESCA was trialled with over 200 Year
1 undergraduates in the School of Law. It was customised to incorporate a
section relating strongly to the academic content of modules (e.g. Criminal
Law and Contract Law). In this way, rather than being a generic tool, it
could be recognised by Law students as being integrated into their
curriculum and relating to the learning outcomes for each Law module. To
further emphasise the integral nature of this version of the profiling
system, students were expected to send a summarised version of entries
to their personal tutor once per term. This was to be used, along with a
report based on performance in workshops and tutorials, as a focus for
individual tutorials.
The use of PESCA is intended to enable undergraduates to become more
effective as independent learners and to develop skills in reviewing their
own progress. It is also linked to an ongoing shift of emphasis in the
School in terms of teaching - from didactic to more interactive methods.
23
Employability and the curriculum
Why are generic skills critical?
Above all, employability is a matter of motivation and generic skills. An employable
graduate will be keen to work and possess the qualities which recur in all studies of what
employers seek in graduates – initiative, critical thinking, problem solving, data handling,
communication, team working etc.. These qualities can be developed in many ways, but
above all they are learned in a context. Although “employability modules” can help, for most
students these qualities are best learned in close association with the mainstream curriculum,
although alternative strategies, like voluntary work, can provide equally powerful contexts,
and some qualities like teamwork can be well developed outside the mainstream curriculum,
as Exeter’s experience of the BP Team Development Programme demonstrates.
To pay attention to employability is not to suggest that subject teaching is anything but
central. The generic skills are usually best developed through application in a context:
learning “communication skills” in the abstract is intellectually sterile, unexciting for learner
and teacher alike. Learning to shape an argument in Physics or Economics, and present it to
different kinds of audience is a key part of learning the discipline, as well as of developing a
key skill. It is important that those who teach the subjects are conscious of these issues, but
also that the environment and support structures are in place to underpin and consolidate this
learning.
Some clear messages emerge from the research and development work. One is that whatever
such skills are called, high on the list of qualities which make graduates attractive to
employers are a set of characteristics which are generic, in that they can be developed in a
wide variety of academic and non-academic contexts. Some institutions have sought to assess
and accredit these, either as part of a degree programme, or through some additional award
(made by the institution or an external body like the City and Guilds Institute). Exeter has
adopted its own list, and their validation processes require all modules to incorporate them.
The general consensus is that such skills are best developed in a context – one learns to
communicate best through learning to communicate about something one cares about – but
that graduates’ ability to transfer the experience of communicating about physics to
communicating a business proposal depends on whether they have been encouraged to think
about communication, and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses.
How to deal with disciplinary difference?
Every higher education institution embraces a diversity of disciplines. Each has a distinctive
culture, traditions and values. Some are closely linked to particular professions, with
curricular and assessment requirements imposed by professional bodies, others are less
directly linked to particular fields of employment. Within an individual discipline some
institutions will place a stronger emphasis on employment in particular fields than others.
Staff working in these different fields bring with them distinct sets of values and expectations
of their students and of higher education itself. An employability strategy needs to take
account of these distinctions, in its expectations of staff, and the ways in which it promotes
employability.
24
To embed or deliver separately?
A major issue for institutions is the extent to which employability work should be embedded
in the curriculum, where it is most likely to impact on all students, but may be carried out
with varying degrees of competence and enthusiasm by subject based academics, or whether
it should be taught separately by specialists, in which case the quality and consistency may be
higher, but the reach to all students is less likely. A variety of models exist, and the case
study institutions illustrate approaches from both ends of the spectrum. One powerful model
is to use the specialists, from teaching and learning units, or from the Careers service, as
internal consultants, helping mainstream academics to design relevant materials and teaching
strategies, perhaps co-teaching while new approaches are embedded, and then withdrawing.
Some institutions use these central staff to comment on validation proposals, or to assist
Departments facing external QA visits.
Derby is the institution with the most generic approach to employability, reflecting the fact
that its curriculum is neither strongly academic nor narrowly vocational. It therefore offers
generic employability modules through its central services, and a minor degree pathway in
career management studies for those with an academic interest in the subject itself. By
contrast, Paisley’s careers service provides seminars on career planning to programmes in
specific subjects and to the Contract Research Training Programme.
Whichever route is adopted as the major strategy of the institution it is important to recognise
that alternative routes are important for those who do not fit the conventional pattern, and as a
backup where School based systems fail.
How to embed in personal development planning and the tutorial process?
The key to graduate employability is the process which enables each individual to reflect on
their developing skills, knowledge and capability, to record and consciously develop these
qualities. This is often a embedded in some kind of tutorial system, which requires students to
discuss critically their progress, developments and future direction with a member of
academic staff. The instrument for such a conversation is often some form of personal
development planning. The process parallels closely systems of staff development and
annual review for academic staff themselves, so the mechanisms themselves should not be
unfamiliar to most academics. Similarly a growing number of professions operate similar
systems, and some students encounter them on work placement. As with other issues, the
question is the extent to which the institution imposes or develops a central model for this, or
devolves it to Departments to reflect their particular disciplinary cultures. Exeter has
developed, with DfEE funding an institution wide electronic profiling system (PESCA),
which is available to all students, and PDP is being rolled out across the institution through
the Employability Group. Derby is developing a PDP model which embraces both the FE and
25
dimensions of its work.
Minor degree pathway in Career Management Studies - Derby
Career Management Studies (CMS) as a minor degree route is a subject
option available to students following the University’s undergraduate
Combined Subject Programme (CSP). Those studying CMS will have either
opted to take three minor pathways or have chosen a major/minor pathway.
Modules within CMS are available in stages 1,2 and 3 offering a
combination of skills development and theoretical modules, looking at how
the world of work has changed and examining the relevance of traditional
and contemporary career theory. In addition to the minor pathway, CSP
students who have not chosen CMS as a minor subject can gain credits for
a number of ‘unattached’ modules in year, 1 and/or 2. These mainly focus
on personal development and employability skills. Modules are delivered by
a teaching team within the Career Development Centre, through a mixture
of traditional and online learning activities.
Our first cohort of the minor pathway graduated in 2002. Despite active
marketing, so far numbers participating have been low (8 currently in their
final year). However, feedback from participating students has been
positive. It seems that in the main they find the modules interesting, relevant
and useful. Students studying Human Resource Management seem to be
particularly attracted to the subject. Delivering modules through the CSP
provides students, who do not have a specialist ‘home’, with the option to
access careers education whilst also promoting CMS as an academic
discipline in its own right. The fact that it is a relatively new subject for
undergraduates is a possible reason for its low take-up.
Should employability be assessed and accredited?
Some institutions offer students the opportunity to have their generic skills formally assessed.
There are broadly two approaches to this. The first is embedding the assessment of skills in
the mainstream curriculum, so that all students are required to demonstrate them as part of
their courses. The most well known example of this is the model developed by Alverno
College in the US, where the whole college curriculum is built across all disciplines around a
single set of core skills, and students are assessed against these. This model has been
developed and adopted across a number of British universities, but it can raise issues about
staff capacity to undertake such assessment.
The alternative approach is creating separate assessment and certification processes, so that
students obtain a certificate alongside their main degree. This model is easier to deliver
consistently across a University, but raises questions about the linkage to the main discipline,
and students can come to see it as an optional extra. Exeter has developed the Exeter Personal
Development Award, while other institutions use external certification.
What is the role of work experience?
One of the ways in which students develop their employability is through the experience of
paid or voluntary work. Most undergraduates have done some form of paid work before they
graduate, and in many institutions a majority are working during term time. There have been
successful projects which provided opportunities for students to link the learning from such
26
experience to their personal development planning, and in some cases to their academic
work. The skills learned in running a busy bar on a Saturday night may seem far removed
from the requirements of a graduate, but for many employers the capacity to work under
pressure, to take initiative to solve problems, to deal with difficult people and situations and
to make clear rapid decisions are all invaluable, and rare, qualities in a graduate recruit.
Many universities have organised student Job Shops or similar services, either through the
University itself or through the Students Union, to try to ensure that students are not unfairly
exploited in their part time work, and to try to encourage the kind of jobs which can enhance
graduates employability.
Sandwich degrees have become rarer in recent years, and across the UK only about 10% of
all undergraduates undertake a traditional full sandwich year. However, in four universities
the proportion exceeds 45% (with one reaching 90%), and the seventeen universities which
have more than 20% of students on sandwich degrees all have graduate employment rates
above the national mean.
A further issue is the link between student work experience and third leg funding. Exeter and
Derby have both used HEFCE HEROBAC funding to establish work experience
coordinators.
Some institutions have developed work experience modules, providing the framework for
managing and securing the quality of learning from work experience. Some include voluntary
work, while others embrace both formal traditional placements and student paid work.
Foundation Degrees
Those who progress to Honours degrees will come with different experience and vocational
expertise, some of those who leave with the Foundation qualification may encounter
problems because the qualifications are unfamiliar in the labour market, while others may
find that the employer links built into Foundation Degree design make long term
employability easier to achieve.
27
The implications for staff
Staff experience
Most academic staff enter University early in their careers and have little experience of
working elsewhere, while those who have worked outside higher education may not have
done so recently, and their knowledge and awareness of the world of work as experienced by
their graduates is therefore necessarily limited. Furthermore, as Exeter and Derby both point
out, many academics see employability as a marginal concern, far from the core business of
academic life. In a research led institution in particular, giving substantial time to graduate
employability may be seen at best as eccentric, and at worst as not being a “serious
academic”. This can be reinforced by systems of promotion which recognise teaching and
research but bracket employability work as “administration” – the least prestigious of the
three core academic tasks. Paisley notes that in the more vocational fields the motivation to
engage with employability may be very strong for those graduates who are keen to follow the
vocational routes, but this may be less true for those who wish to progress elsewhere.
Staff motivation
As with any other development in higher education it is clearly important to convince staff
that employability is important, to listen carefully to anxieties about new demands,
workloads, and expectations which lie outside people’s perceptions of their area of expertise.
It is important that employability is seen as enriching the academic functions, not competing
or conflicting with it.
Like many emerging areas higher education, employability work is often undertaken by staff
on short term, temporary or part-time contracts. This can seriously damage the credibility of
the work and the motivation of the individuals. It is very difficult for junior, temporary staff
to exert serious influence on sceptical academics, or an unsupportive institutional policy, and
such staff either need powerful support from senior managers, or a higher status. Recruiting
staff with identifiable academic reputation and qualifications can make a significant
difference.
Expectations of academic staff need to be clear and explicit, supported by mechanisms of
monitoring, and systems of rewards and sanctions which are understood and accepted by
individual staff.
Staff development
Staff development is one obvious route for increasing staff awareness of and competence in
employability development. It is clearly important to ensure that the issues are discussed in
the induction programmes for new staff which all universities now provide (and most
require). It is also important to provide it for more established staff. Derby, reflecting the
higher profile which employability has across the institution, is rolling out a programme of
staff development work, beginning with senior staff in Schools, and cascading down to
others.
28
The Augmentation Scheme (1996-1998) - Exeter
The Augmentation Scheme was funded internally through the University Learning &
Teaching Committee. It aimed to address the University’s proposal to develop 'the
additional capabilities needed to support staff; whether new or experienced, in the
realisation of the University's learning, teaching and research strategies’. The
scheme, organised through the Staff Development Unit, was devised to generate
more effective approaches to teaching and learning and to enable departments to
implement their teaching and learning development plans. The project took place
from September 1996-1998. The target was to have a cohort of ten mini-projects
from different departments during the first year and to extend this number in the
second year. Projects were expected to belong within one of three themes:

promoting curriculum design for greater (structured) independent learning;

fostering (planned) personal transferable skills development;

devising assessment strategies to support these developments.
Positive outcomes were case studies of ‘good practice’ and generic materials such
as formal assessment and peer evaluation schedules that could be used by any
department. Alongside practical developments, there were articles and conference
papers that were important in persuading academic peers that something
worthwhile was being done.
A common strand was the requirement for students to be active learners, managers
and evaluators of their learning. This does not always come easily to them and may
run counter to expectations. Effective independent learning requires students to
develop an awareness of the processes of learning - beyond the simple and
enduring transmission/regurgitation model. The most successful of Augmentation
initiatives suggest that:

preparing materials to promote independent learning is not sufficient in itself;

independent learning needs well-designed support strategies for students,
whether through staff monitoring and feedback, and/or through student
group work to provide peer support;

such strategies and assessment require careful planning and
implementation if students are to appreciate the value of new methods of
learning;

skill development needs to be explicit and assessed for it to be valued by
students.
Each of these issues applies equally well to the notion of a ‘structured and
supported process’ that is central to PDP, and each has been given careful
consideration in this context. The provision of a tool for PDP will not, of itself,
provide development in PDP; support and motivational strategies will be
paramount.
29
The implications for quality assurance
One of the reasons why Government invests in universities is to enhance the skills of the
graduate workforce, and naturally it is keen to monitor and evaluate success. However, direct
measurement is impossible, since graduate employability can only be directly measured years
after graduation, by which time other factors will have intervened, and the HE institution
itself will have changed substantially. Proxies therefore have to be used, based either on input
measures, which describe resource use but not effectiveness, or on conformity to external
standards, which assume that particular processes will lead to specific outcomes. Both are
used in QAA audit of institutions, and the QAA’s Code of Practice for Careers Education,
Information and Guidance (CEIG) provides a framework for the latter.
Student entitlement
The Harris report stressed the importance of clarifying student entitlements in a way which
makes it possible to assess whether they are being delivered. This is clearly critical in
employability, and institutions will need to define this, for both traditional and non-traditional
students, including off campus and online learners, and be able to demonstrate that they are
providing an equitable and accessible service. A continuing concern is those students who
choose not to participate in employability related activities.
National standards and benchmarks
There are a number of clear national requirements. The most critical for HE institutions is the
QAA’s Code of Practice for Careers Education, Information and Guidance (the CEIG
standards, whose precepts are at Annex *** below). These provide the framework for
examination of employability through Quality Audit.
In addition the National Guidance Council produced a set of national standards for
Information, Advice and Guidance services across all sectors. These are now maintained and
managed independently as the Matrix Standards. These are designed to measure the quality
and organisation of services which provide IAG to people of all ages, and are being widely
used in education and training organisations.
The Employment National Training Organisation has now taken responsibility for the
development and maintenance of occupational standards for practitioners of guidance in all
contexts (which include many of those supporting employability work in HEIs)
QAA’s approach
Externally, QAA requires institutions to demonstrate that they are paying appropriate
attention to graduate employability, and HEFCE’s performance indicators (albeit based on
the unsatisfactory First Destination Survey) are a significant factor in measuring institutional
performance. Exeter began with an employability audit across the institution, which the
Employability Group is using to assess the impact of the strategy. Paisley is planning a
review of all School curricula against the QAA Code and the institution’s PDP plans. Derby
has produced an Employability Framework which can be used by Schools to audit their
curriculum, and Exeter has carried out a Careers and Employability Audit. The
documentation from such exercises is likely to be important evidence in future Quality
Audits.
30
First destination survey
The traditional measure of graduate employment (not employability) is the First Destination
Survey, which counts the numbers of graduates who are in employment or further study six
months after graduation, with the data gathered through graduate careers advisory services.
However, the FDS suffers from a number of methodological problems. Response rates are
variable: while many graduates are relatively easy to trace, many move house and jobs or are
unwilling to respond to enquiries. The time which graduates take to find employment varies
according to subject, and in some fields self employment is much more common than others.
A growing number of graduates spend some time in temporary jobs, for personal reasons or
to test out options before launching themselves on a particular career. As a result of these
difficulties, HEFCE and Government sought an improved measure for employability, but
after some debate and research concluded that, despite its shortcomings, a refined version of
the First Destination Survey was the approach most likely to generate reliable and valid data.
Generating the FDS data is a major task for Graduate Careers Advisory Services, but some
services can and do produce more detailed information for their own internal or institutional
use. Such reports include the employment sectors, and firms where graduates are working,
and may include data on the destinations of graduates filtered by subject, department or other
features.
HEFCE’s first set of performance indicators of graduate employment (not employability)
were based on the First Destination Survey for those graduating in 1999-2000, and this is
now repeated annually.
Quality of employment
Nevertheless, the FDS does not distinguish work as a professional engineer from work
cooking hamburgers although, as the labour market becomes more complex and volatile, the
notion of a “graduate job” becomes more difficult to define. To address this dilemma, the
Institute of Employment Studies has reviewed the first destination data in some detail to seek
to clarify the vexed question of whether graduates enter “graduate jobs”, and has proposed a
tripartite distinction between “graduate jobs” (the traditional definition where a degree is
expected as an entry requirement), “graduate track” jobs (new occupations where a degree is
becoming the norm, or where progression to a “graduate job” might be expected, and nongraduate jobs where there is no reason to expect that the skills of a graduate are required.
Student satisfaction
Government have become increasingly concerned to measure student responses to policy
interventions, and student feedback is clearly important in the quality assurance process for
employability. Paisley is currently developing a learning and teaching feedback strategy to
incorporate employability issues.
Derby have enrolled students, on a paid basis, to conduct student satisfaction surveys. They
have found that students are more willing to respond to fellow students and that the volume
and quality of feedback is better by this route
Validation and course review
Validation and periodic review are important instruments for refocusing academic attention.
Some institutions have found that incorporating employability criteria into the requirements
for course validation or review encourages academics to think about the issues, and to
address them in their teaching and programme design. Derby is incorporating this as a
31
requirement into all validations, but allowing Schools to interpret the ways of doing this in
accordance with their disciplinary cultures and preferences.
Longitudinal measures
Perhaps the best attempt made to date to measure employability directly is the study
undertaken for HEFCE by the Centre for HE Research and Information at the Open
University (CHERI) in 2002, published by HEFCE as Access to What . This examined the
experience of the 1995 graduate cohort , using the 4340 UK participants in a major
international study of graduates and HESA data for the same cohort. The study did not
attempt to compare institutions, but undertook a detailed analysis of the factors which are
associated with labour market success. These were found to include background
characteristics (socio-economic background, ethnicity and age) as well as HE related ones
(type of institution, subject of study, entry qualifications and degree classification). Further
work is continuing to explore institutional variables in more detail.
Personal Branding for Career Success - Paisley
A small-scale survey of Crichton University Campus student views on
careers input was undertaken in 2002. The results from the survey showed
that some students would prefer careers input to take place during class
time. Many students, particularly those who have come from school, but
also those who have articulated from college have “careers education
fatigue”. In order to overcome this the programme has been based around
Personal Branding and the idea of presenting yourself as you wish to be
seen.
The skills required e.g. producing a graduate CV, have not changed
however they have been integrated within a programme of four seminars
based on the concept of developing a Personal Brand. The programme
helps students to become more self-aware and increase their career
management skills by encouraging them to plan for career success.
The Personal Branding for Career Success programme is being run as a
pilot with a group of Year 3 BA Business Information Technology students
undertaking an In Company Project.
32
Framing a Strategy: a checklist
The following is a list of issues which the LTSN working group felt needed consideration when
framing an institutional approach to Employability. The way in which the case study institutions have
addressed these is shown in the table which follows
Policy and Strategy
1. Drafting employability policy
2. Approving employability policy
3. Drafting implementation strategy
4. Ensuring linkage to other strategies (teaching and learning, widening participation, 3rd
leg/business relations/outreach)
5. Approving implementation strategy
6. Co-ordinating implementation
7. Monitoring implementation
8. Promoting employability work within Schools/Departments
9. Reporting on progress
10. Acting on unsatisfactory progress reports
11. Managing Careers Service
Student diversity
12. Ensuring equitable treatment in employability for non-traditional students (part-time,
ethnic minority, disabled, first generation HE)
13. Ensuring appropriate provision in partner institutions and in off-campus provision
Curriculum issues
14. Employability curriculum development
15. Development of key/core/transferable Skills
16. Implementation of PDP
17. Delivery of employability/career management modules
Work related issues
18. Employer liaison
19. Management of student work placement/experience
Staff
20. Providing support materials for staff
21. Supporting academic staff in implementing strategy
22. Providing staff development for employability
Quality assurance
23. Embedding employability in QA processes
33
The checklist in the case study institutions
Note: this chart displays the way in which staff responsibilities were allocated in the three
case study institutions at the time the data was gathered, in January 2003. All institutions
were at that time reviewing structures, and this may not represent the situation at a later date.
Function
Exeter
Paisley
Derby
Responsibility
Accountable
to
Responsibility
Accountable
to
Responsibility
Accountable
to
Employability
Co-ordinator
Employability
Group &
Learning and
Teaching
Committee
Director of
Student
Advisory
Service
Chair of
Learning and
Teaching
Board
(Assistant
Principal)
Dean of
Student
Services
PVC Client
Services
Policy and
Strategy
1. Drafting
employability policy
(is also Head
of Careers
Service)
Head of
Careers
Director of
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching
2. Approving
employability policy
Employability
Group; Learning
& Teaching
Committee
Senate
Learning and
Teaching
Board
Senate
Academic
Board
Senior
Management
Team
3. Drafting
implementation
strategy
Employability
Co-ordinator
Employability
Group;
Learning &
Teaching
Committee
Careers
Education,
Information
and Guidance
(CEIG)
CEIG
Steering
Group
Dean of
Student
Services
PVC Client
Services
Head of
Careers
School
Working
Group
4. Ensuring linkage
to other strategies
(teaching and
learning, widening
participation, 3rd
leg/business
relations/outreach)
Employability
Co-ordinator
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
5. Approving
implementation
strategy
Employability
Group, Learning
& Teaching
Committee
Senate
6. Co-ordinating
implementation
Employability
Co-ordinator
7. Monitoring
implementation
Employability
Co-ordinator
Director of
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching
Assistant
Principal
Head of
Careers
Dean of
Student
Services
CEIG Steering
Group
Vice
Principal
Academic
Board
Senior
Management
Team
Employability
Group, DVC
Learning and
Teaching
CEIG School
Working
Group
CEIG
Steering
Group
Head of
Careers
Dean of
Student
Services
Employability
Group, DVC
Learning and
Teaching
Learning and
Teaching
Board
Senate
Quality Office
Pro vice
Chancellor
Client
Services
Director of
Student
Advisory
Service
34
8. Promoting
employability work
within
Schools/Departments
Employability
Co-ordinator
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
School
Deans
CEIG
Working
Group Chair
Assistant
Principal
Link Careers
Advisers
Head of
Careers
Careers
Service
9. Reporting on
progress
Employability
Co-ordinator
Employability
Group, DVC
Learning and
Teaching
CEIG School
Working
Group
CEIG
Steering
Group
Quality Office
Pro vice
Chancellor
Client
Services
10. Acting on
unsatisfactory
progress reports
DVC Learning
and Teaching
Learning &
Teaching
Committee
Academic
Schools
Learning and
Teaching
Board
Deans
Pro vice
Chancellor
Academic
Development
11. Managing
Careers Service
Director of
Careers Advisory
Service
Academic
Secretary
Director of
Student
Advisory
Service (also
Head of
Careers)
Assistant
Principal
Head of
Careers
Dean of
Student
Services
Student
diversity
12. Ensuring
equitable treatment
in employability for
non-traditional
students (part-time,
ethnic minority,
disabled, first
generation HE)
Employability
Group
Learning &
Teaching
Committee
Chair of CEIG
Working Group
Deans
Career
Development
Centre
Equal
Opportunities
Committee
Schools
13. Ensuring
appropriate
provision in partner
institutions and in
off-campus
provision
Not an issue
Head of
Careers
Academic
Board
Pro Vice
Chancellor
Academic
Development
Schools
Deans
Career
Development
Centre
Head of
Careers
Curriculum
issues
14. Employability
curriculum
development
Employabilit
y
Coordinator;
LaTiS;
Employabilit
y Group;
Careers &
Employabilit
y Tutors
Learning &
Teaching
Committee;
Accreditation
Committees
Schools; Careers
Service; Staff from
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching
Learning &
Teaching
Board
Link Careers
Advisers;
Programme
Leaders
Head of
Careers; Dean
of School
15. Development of
key/core/transferabl
e Skills
Key Skills
Advisor,
Employability
Co-ordinator
Director of
LaTiS,
Employability
Group, DVC
Learning and
School supported
by staff from
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching
Learning
and
Teaching
Board
Head of
Careers/
Dean of
Student
Services
Deans
Pro vice
35
Teaching
Chancellor
Academic
Development
16. Implementation
of PDP
Employability
Coordinator;
Key Skills
Adviser
Employability
Group; DVD
Learning &
Teaching
Student
Experience Sub
Committee
Learning &
Teaching
Board
Head of
Careers;
Deans
Dean of
Student
Services
17. Delivery of
employability/career
management
modules
IWE 2000 –
LaTiS
Learning &
Teaching
Committee
Careers
Service/Academic
Staff
Faculty
Learning
and
Teaching
Board
Academic
staff
Dean of
School
School Link
Careers
Advisers
Head of
Careers
Director, CAS
Careers Service
Assistant
Principal
School Link
Careers
Advisers and
other Career
Development
Centre staff
Head of
Careers
Work related
issues
18. Employer liaison
Employer
Liaison
Officer
Placement Office
Schools
Currently under
review
Deans
Deans
Academic
staff
School
Regional
Enterprise
and
Development
Co-ordinators
19. Management of
student work
placement/experienc
e
Schools, the
Guild, the
Careers
Advisory
Service,
LaTiS
Learning &
Teaching
Committee
Placement Office
Deans
Schools
Currently under
review
Placement
officers and
Academic
staff (where
placement is
part of
curriculum)
Dean of
School
Head of
Careers
Career
Development
Centre staff
(extracurricular
placements)
Staff
20. Providing
support materials for
staff
Employability
Co-ordinator
& Key Skills
Advisor
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
Careers Service
21. Supporting
academic staff in
implementing
strategy
Employability
Co-ordinator
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
CEIG Working
Groups
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching Staff
Assistant
Principal
School Link
Careers
Advisers and
other Career
Development
Centre staff
Head of
Careers
Assistant
Principal
School Link
Careers
Advisers and
other Career
Development
Centre staff
Head of
Careers
Assistant
Principal
School Link
Careers
Advisers and
other Career
Head of
Careers
Careers Service
Centre for
Learning and
Teaching
22. Providing staff
development for
employability
Employability
Co-ordinator
& Key Skills
Advisor
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
Careers Service
Centre for
Learning and
36
Teaching
Development
Centre staff
Quality assurance
23. Embedding
employability in QA
processes
Employability
Co-ordinator
DVC
Learning and
Teaching
Schools
Monitored
by Quality
Enhanceme
nt Unit
School
Quality
Managers
Quality
Office
Sources and References
Careers Service Unit Graduate Market Trends, quarterly at www.prospects.ac.uk
DfES (2001) Developing Modern Higher Education Careers Services: Report of the Review
led by Sir Martin Harris. London DfES at www.dfes.gov.uk/hecareersservicereview/
Harvey, L Locke, W and Morley, A (2003) Enhancing employability, recognising diversity,
London, UUK
HEFCE (2002) Access to what: analysis of factors determining graduate employability. A
report to HEFCE by CHERI, Bristol, HEFCE
Hepworth M. and Spencer G. (2003) A Regional Perspective on the Knowledge Economy in
Great Britain, DTI , London
LTSN, Online Directory of Employability Resources at
www.ltsn.ac.uk/genericcentre/index.asp?id=17224
Oakland, R. (2002) Directory of Employability Resources, York, LTSN Generic Centre
Purcell, K and Pitcher J. (1996) Great Expectations: the new diversity of graduate skills and
aspirations, Manchester, Careers Service Unit
QAA Code of Practice for the Assurance of academic quality and standards in higher
education: Career education, information and guidance at
www.qaa.ac.uk/public/COP/COPcex/contents.htm
Skills and Enterprise Network Newsletter monthly at www.lscdata.gov.uk/sen
Smith, McKnight and Naylor, Graduate Employability Policy and Performance in Higher
Education in the UK
Gareth Williams – How HE enhances the employability of graduates
SHEFC (2002) Report and recommendations of the Working Group on Careers Education,
Information and Guidance in higher education in Scotland, at
www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/consult/2003/hec0103/ceig_report.pdf
37
Case Study: University of Derby
Gillian Brewin: Head of Career Development Centre
Introduction
Employability at the University of Derby is defined as:
“Having the capability to choose and gain employment, maintain employment and obtain
new employment if required. This capability is achieved by a continuous and progressive
process whereby an individual:

Recognises and responds to the changing needs of the labour market

Identifies individual strengths and needs in order to make informed and realistic decisions

Seeks learning experiences that develop the assets of knowledge, skills and attitudes
demanded by the labour market

Presents these assets effectively to current and prospective employers”
This definition acknowledges the relationship and inter-dependence of skills development,
work experience and career related learning in developing undergraduate employability. The
personal development planning aspect of the Progress File is seen as a vehicle to help
students to assess and develop their employability.
Employability initiatives at the University of Derby encompass both activities for students to
access directly through the Careers Development Centre, and the development and
recognition of employability and skills within the curriculum. This case study focuses on the
curriculum development aspect of the work.
In 1998 Academic Board approved the Strategy Paper for Embedding Career Management
Skills. This resulted in a series of School-based initiatives but did not achieve an institutional
framework that provides a consistent entitlement. A new employability strategy was
presented to Academic Board in April 2003. It is to be implemented across the institution by
the Directors of each School and followed up with practical support and resource provision
from the Career Development Centre.
1. The institutional context
History and Location
The University of Derby is one of the newest universities. The institution promotes a culture
of accessibility and innovation. Following a transfer directly from College of Higher
Education status in 1992, the university underwent a rapid expansion from 5,000-25,000
students during the 1990’s. It is the only university in Derbyshire and has a strong profile as
community institution serving regional and local needs
A recent university restructure has included central services. The Career Development
Centre is to be located within a Customer Service Department, which will provide
information and advice to students from pre-entry to graduation and beyond. In addressing
the need for the delivery of efficient and coherent customer services it will be important to
recognise that employability is best delivered by effective collaboration between the Career
Development Centre and Schools. Whilst the restructure is still at the consultation stage,
38
account has been taken of the specialist role of careers staff in the delivery of a curriculum
based approach to employability.
The University of Derby is a FE and HE institution following a merger in 1998 with High
Peak College, Buxton. Some members of the Career Development Centre team are based at
the main FE site and contribute to Key Skills and employability initiatives for post 16 leavers.
Whilst many of the themes are the same, employability in FE is approached in a different
way due to the prescriptive nature of externally validated qualifications, direction given by
the DfES, and the existence of more interventionist systems of pastoral support at this level.
Recent learning and teaching development has focused on distance learning and the move
from teaching to learning. The importance of the innovations in distance and e learning are
clearly reflected in institutional strategy. The university commitment to flexible and open
learning takes many forms e.g. on-line learning, work-place learning and ‘training clubs’
based in local communities. On-line learning is targeted at learners both within the region and
throughout the world, through the Global University Alliance (GUA). Increasingly campus
based learners are taking up the option of on-line modules which affords them flexibility and
delivers a new learning experience. Distributed learning and e-learning also offer potential
for continuing professional development and lifelong learning by providing a form of
learning which removes the geographical and time-related barriers which often prevent those
in employment from accessing courses. This emphasis upon flexibility has had to influence
the delivery of services, including support for employability, as well as of curriculum.
Curricular Focus
The University has a broad curriculum portfolio including a number of areas of particular
strength. The institution’s origins as a teacher training college founded in the C19 have
influenced the growth of a strong range of programmes leading to work in the public sector,
particularly in professions allied to medicine, teaching and social work. The Derbyshire
Business School offers programmes in management, IT, accounting, HRM, marketing and
law. The Institute of Hospitality and Tourism has recently developed new and innovative
programmes at both FE and HE level. The Institute is shortly to open a working hotel and spa
training facility in Buxton and has been awarded COVE status3. The School of Art, Design
and Technology has a strong national reputation and offers courses ranging from fine art to
textile design. The university has a very large Combined Subject Programme that
accommodates over 2000 undergraduate students, most of whom choose a joint honours or
‘major-minor’ degree pathway.
The curriculum has recently undergone review and change in response to the demands of the
market. The outcome has been a re-profiling of the academic portfolio and a reduction in the
number of academic units (Schools) from seven to four. There has been a degree of decentralisation whereby each enlarged School has an increased level of autonomy and identity
as a unit.
Recruitment profile
The student population at Derby is diverse. This reflects both the university’s efforts to widen
participation and the commitment to be an institution “Where learning is for life”, by
offering flexible and accessible learning options at all stages of academic and career
development. Only half of Derby students are full-time, the remainder a combination of part
time, distance learners and franchise students. Part time learners currently represent 39% of
3
Centre of Vocational Excellence. The Learning and Skills Council provides additional resources to develop
specialised provision in identified institutions with “excellent” work in a given vocational field.
39
the student population. Students joining the university also come from a wide range of
educational backgrounds. Half hold ‘A’ level qualifications the remainder progress from a
diverse range of other qualification routes. Over 50% of University of Derby students are
over twenty-one and 34% are over 25 when they start their programmes. The university has a
diverse ethnic mix; around one fifth of students are from ethnic minority backgrounds. There
is a strong tradition of recruiting and supporting students with disabilities at the university.
Around 6% of the student population are registered as having disability, but many who have
not declared do access financial or practical disability support after joining.
2. The labour market context
Characteristics of the local labour market
The local labour market is important to Derby graduates because many will seek to enter (or
re-enter) it on completion of their degree course. The unemployment rate in the East
Midlands is relatively low; 4.5% in 2002 compared with 5.2% for the UK as a whole. The
region has high economic activity rates, which exceed the national average, but is still
relatively reliant upon industries such as manufacturing, which are characterised by low value
added activities and have been subject to long term decline. Overall the East Midlands has an
under-representation of jobs at the top of the occupational hierarchy and an over
representation of jobs in the middle and towards the bottom. Only one other region has
proportionally fewer jobs that require high–level qualifications. East Midlands jobs take less
time to train for, are less complex, and wage levels are well below the national average. The
region has relatively fewer people occupying professional and managerial positions and an
over-reliance on very 'low knowledge' employment sectors. As a result only 1 in 20
employers in the region have reported experiencing skills shortages which have affected
productivity.
The East Midlands Development Agency has identified the need for action to drive up the
demand for skills and increase the creation of more challenging knowledge-based jobs in the
regions businesses.
Destinations of Derby graduates
The percentage of Derby graduates who were unemployed in the 2002 First Destination
Survey was 8.5%. Which compares favourably to the national average of %. However, in
common with the graduate labour force as a whole, it is the ‘under-employment’ of graduates
rather than unemployment which more urgently needs to be addressed. Average salary levels
six months after graduation are below the national figures for graduates and graduates often
enter positions for which a degree is not a pre-requisite. However, graduate underemployment is similar to the national picture. In considering these statistics the evidence
presented in reports such as Moving On (IER, Warwick) - which suggest that a significant
proportion of graduates take twelve to 18 months to progress into what they perceive to be
appropriate level graduate jobs - needs to be taken into account.
University of Derby graduates progress into a wide range of employment. The final
destination statistics illustrate that very few of these are traditional graduate opportunities in
large companies. This results from both the recruitment patterns of larger employers and the
fact that many Derby students’ requirement to remain in the area limits their choices. A
significant number obtain work in the public and voluntary sectors. This reflects the high
success rates of students progressing from vocational courses such as teaching or professions
allied to medicine. It is also influenced by the opportunity structure in the Midlands where the
public sector remains an important employer for those with higher level skills. Fifty five per
40
cent of ‘knowledge economy’ jobs in the East Midlands are in health, education, social work
and public administration.
A relatively high proportion of Derby graduates obtain work in SMEs but, in common with
the national picture, this is not representative of the proportion of the population employed in
SMEs as a whole. The Regional Development Agency is keen to help SMEs recognise the
benefits of recruiting graduates and develop challenging roles for them that will increase
innovation and productivity. The university had developed initiatives such as ‘Graduate
Programmes’ to facilitate the recruitment of graduates into business driven projects in SMEs
and is currently working with the RDA and the Chamber on a ‘Get on with Graduates’
initiative which facilitates project work in local companies.
Paid work plays an extremely important part in the university experience of the vast majority
of Derby students. A high proportion are part time, but increasingly full-time students are
also seeking paid employment, often up to 20 hours per week. Anecdotal evidence suggests
that the vast majority of students do work of some kind during term time and that many do
this for ten hours or more.
Regional Enterprise and Development (RED)
The Regional Enterprise and Development (RED) Network has been consolidated by
securing of HEROBAC funding. The RED Office at the University of Derby is a 'one-stopshop' for all business development needs. Through the RED Office employers and
organisations in the region have access to all the services the University can offer, including:
Collaboration on research projects, Training needs analysis, Consultancy, Work placements,
Short courses and Work based learning
The RED Office is staffed with both University and HEROBAC funded appointments and all
the Schools have appointed RED co-ordinators.
3. Employability in the institution’s strategic planning
Mission Statement
The University mission statement “Where learning is for life” refers to the institution’s role
in the ongoing maintenance of employability at all levels, ages and stages of career
development.
Corporate Plan
The Corporate Plan strategic aim 4 states that the university will:
Ensure that people acquire the skills and knowledge they need for employment,
personal growth and career development.
Employability strategy paper and implementation plan
The aim of the employability strategy paper is to outline how the University can provide an
“entitlement to employability support “ to all its students. The paper emphasises the need for
shared responsibility in delivering this agenda.
The employability strategy paper was produced at the request of the Pro Vice Chancellor for
Client Services for presentation at Academic Board. If it is adopted the paper will be
articulated through an institutional plan. This will accelerate the development of a more
strategic approach to the embedding of employability skills into the University's curriculum.
41
At the same time there is recognition that examples of good practice in both Further and
Higher Education already exist and the value of sharing these should be acknowledged.
The proposed Employability Framework provides a summary of key actions that require a
shared responsibility between the Career Development Centre and the School. Actions
include:
a) The establishment of a University definition of employability and the creation of an
Employability Skills Template which is appropriate to the needs of all students. This
template can then be used by Schools to audit their curriculum and from which a School
Action plan could be drawn up. Particular attention needs to be made to Subject
Benchmarks and their emphasis on transferable skills.
b) The development by the Career Development Centre of an Employability ‘Tool Kit’ to
support the Schools to embed employability into their curriculum. This Tool Kit will
include guidance on integration, assessment issues and resources. One of the resources
will be a Work Based Learning Tool Kit for students covering work placements,
volunteering, casual and part time work.
c) The creation of a Quality Framework for Employability, an institutional system for
monitoring the embedding of Employability within the curriculum. This will be integral to
the new Validation Approvals procedures for HE and a responsibility of the FE Quality
Committee. Staff development will need to be provided both centrally as well as within
Schools/subject areas.
d) The embedding of the employability 'message' into the University Guidance Strategy with
the intention of establishing an Employability culture. This message needs to be delivered
at induction and within the tutorial system in order to introduce the concept and
importance of employability to students. The message needs to include a clear definition
of student entitlement to support with the development of their employability both within
the programmes, during work-based learning and through extra curricular activities
including volunteering.
The strategy paper emphasises that it is vital that employability becomes the common thread
uniting a number of initiatives that are currently under development across the University.
This includes the introduction of Progress Files within both FE and HE, the integration of
Key Skills within the FE curriculum, the expansion of the work based learning route of
Foundation degrees and the implementation of the QAA Code of Practice covering Careers
Education, Information and Guidance.
4 Teaching and learning strategy
The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy includes a strategic aim focusing on the
development of student skills. This seeks to ensure that students acquire the skills to become
deep and independent learners, able to continue learning and developing. Explicit reference is
made to the inclusion of generic or key skills and how these should be developed and
monitored within programmes:
Aim 2.1 The following are identified as key skill areas if students are to become
autonomous learners, capable of effective communication, and able to work both
independently and co-operatively.

study skills

IT skills
42

communication skills

intellectual skills (including numeracy)

interpersonal skills
These skills can be broadly categorised as ‘transferable’ that is applicable to a
wide range of subjects and contents. Students will also continue to acquire skills
related to the vocations and/or subjects they study, which will be the main context
for acquiring transferable skills as well.
Aim 2.2 Schools will develop methods that help students to understand the need
to develop their skills as well as their subject knowledge. It is thus important to
assess learning needs at the point of entry onto a programme for which
diagnostic testing including self-diagnostic methods are essential tools.
Aim 2.3 The University will provide guidance and support for Schools on the
development of student skills, which draws upon research evidence and best
practice in the sector, and on appropriate ways of supporting students in different
modes of learning. The development of both subject-based and transferable skills
is the responsibility of all teachers and support staff, from the moment students
begin their courses to when they leave the University. Skill development is a
continuous process of refinement and enhancement, and will form a part of all
curricula, and student assessment processes.
These sections of the Teaching and Learning Strategy were developed in consultation with
the Head of Careers.
5. Management responsibility
The Employability Strategy paper emphasises a cross-institutional responsibility for
delivering the employability agenda. It is envisaged that the established partnership approach
between individual Schools and the Career Development Centre will continue and be
developed. It is necessary, however, that a more formalised system of monitoring and
accountability be implemented. The single most important reason for the remaining gaps in
the embedding of Career Management Skills is the lack of a clear, formalised management
responsibility at and below the level of Dean.
This shift is partly a response to the emphasis on employability as an institution-wide priority
in national documents such as the Harris Review of Higher Education Careers Services and
the Code of Practice for Careers Education Information and Guidance. These reports strongly
advocate that institutions ensure that responsibility is embraced by academic departments and
not seen as the preserve of a detached central department. It is recommended that this be
recognised at policy level.
The Employability Strategy aims to provide a framework setting out clear accountabilities for
each party. Each School is responsible for auditing curricula and drawing up an action plan
stating how employability will be integrated across programmes. Following this the School
will be expected to embed career management, work experience learning and key skills by
choosing the most appropriate methods to develop, recognise and assess student’s skills and
knowledge in each programme. The Head of the Career Development Centre is responsible
for ensuring that the work is promoted, supported and developed across the institution.
43
The Dean of each School is responsible for ensuring that the action plan for their School is
completed and implemented across all programmes. They will be asked to encourage their
staff to promote the employability message to students from induction onwards in order to
establish an employability culture within the institution.
Programme Leaders will be required to consider how employability is to feature when
developing or re-validating modules or programmes. There are a number of different models
of integration depending upon the structure of the programme and the needs and interests of
the students.
The Quality Office will be responsible for ensuring that employability has been addressed
and explicitly referenced in re-validation documentation.
6. Embedding employability in the curriculum
A Partnership Approach
The Harris review calls for a co-ordinated approach between Careers Services and academic
staff, where both accept responsibility for student employability and make an appropriate
contribution. Academic input is needed to grant access to curricula, agree appropriate
methods of integration and ultimately to deliver employability as part of each degree
programme.
At the University of Derby a significant proportion of staff time is spent on curriculum
development and Career Development Centre staff have developed a strong consultancy role.
This involves the provision of up to date resources and expertise on matters relating to
graduate employability.
The role of the School Link Careers Adviser is central. Each careers adviser is assigned
responsibility for one or more Schools, which enables them to develop knowledge of subject
areas and related careers and to build effective working relationships with academic staff. An
understanding of the needs and interests of students on each programme and the design and
delivery of the curriculum helps the Link Careers Adviser to design and agree an appropriate
input for each School. Success depends as much upon individual pro-activity and negotiation
skills as it does upon knowledge and professional skills. Not all Careers Advisers achieve the
same degree of penetration in their School, but it is difficult to quantify to what extent this
relates to the skill of the individual rather than contextual factors like the mix of courses and
the level of co-operation from academic staff.
The employability team, based within the Career Development Centre, includes staff with
expertise in key skills, work experience and Progress Files. The team includes a Work
Experience Co-ordinator, Student Employment Agency Co-ordinator, Employability Officer,
Volunteering Officer and Employability Development Co-ordinator. These staff are engaged
in developing resources and supporting the Link Careers Adviser in the delivery of the
employability strategy in each School.
A decision was made to designate the Link Careers Adviser as the main contact in each
School. This is to ensure that one person maintains an overview of all the employability
activities taking place in each School. Equally one contact means that academics are not
approached by a range of staff bringing similar messages about different aspects of
employability. The Link Careers Adviser typically works in partnership with Programme
Leader, or another appointed individual, in each degree course in the following ways:
i. Auditing of existing good practice
The employability strategy requires an audit of existing practice as a first step.
44
Inroads have been made across the university into developing key skills, PDP and work
experience opportunities as well as the embedding of career management skills.
Advisers seek to disseminate any good practice and build on existing initiatives,
ensuring that staff in Schools do not perceive their previous work on teaching Career
Management Skills as being abandoned or superseded. The message is that the
employability strategy will expand upon and draw together these initiatives.
The Career Development Centre’s employability team will develop an audit template in
conjunction with academic staff in each School. Schools, with the support of the link
Careers Adviser, will then audit their curricula and produce a School Action Plan. The
School Action Plans will be drawn together by the CDC Employability team to create
the University Employability Implementation Plan. This process will ensure that a
planned approach is taken at every level.
ii) Identification of appropriate methods of integration
As HE Programmes are designed and delivered in many different ways it is
fundamentally important that any employability initiative take account of this. Practical
and resource considerations must be considered at an early stage of development. A
Quality Manual produced as a guide to embedding Career Management Skills proved to
be a helpful and well-used resource. This has been expanded to include other aspects of
employability and incorporated into the employability toolkit. It details the different
methods of integration and provides examples of existing good practice from within the
institution. Either a specific model can be adopted or a new one designed drawing on
the most appropriate elements of each model.
iii) Resource provision
The success of the Career Management Skills strategy was founded to a large extent on
the practical resources provided to academic staff in the form of teaching and learning
materials. This approach has been repeated in the employability strategy, with the
addition of an employability toolkit which brings together all essential resources/
references in one pack.
The aim is to provide generic resources ranging from single exercises to complete
undergraduate modules in career management, volunteering and employability.
Modules can be tailored to suit the degree subject and validated as part of a programme.
The Career Development Centre can supply a wide range of resources including books,
reports and teaching materials. These include lesson plans, sample assessments,
learning outcomes, exercises, questionnaires, self-assessment tools, videos and
interactive CD-ROM’s. Many materials are available in an on line format. These can
be used to construct modules which are fully on line and include teaching, discussion
etc. or individual activities can be used as directed learning to be accessed on line.
Many staff have chosen to take entire modules developed by the Career Development
Centre as a starting point and enhance the content by including additional material
relating specifically to their subject and related occupations.
The provision of an extensive range of tried and tested resources enables academic staff
to embed employability into curricula without spending a prohibitive amount of time on
the production of basic content. This allows them to focus on tailoring the material to
the specific needs of their programme.
iv) Staff Development
Link Careers Advisers and the Employability Team provide staff development.
Initially, to launch the strategy, sessions covering external drivers and the delivery of
45
the employability initiatives will be delivered for senior academics in each School.
Following this a generic staff development programme will be offered with bespoke
options available relating to School/subject needs.
Combined Subject Degrees
In order to offer a similar entitlement to students who are not studying for a specialist degree,
optional employability modules are offered within the Combined Subject Programme.
Students can opt to take an ‘unattached’ module in a subject such as Career Management,
Employability Skills or Student Volunteering. These modules are available at stages 4 and 5
(ordinarily the first and second years) and focus upon helping the individual to recognise and
develop their skills, make career decisions and get the most out of their university experience.
There is also the option to take a minor degree pathway in Career Management Studies
(CMS), an emerging academic discipline. The minor route in CMS focuses upon drawing
together themes relating to work and career by exploring theories of occupational choice,
career development and changes in patterns of work and career. It draws from the disciplines
of psychology, sociology, HRM and Business Studies and looks at career management from
the perspective of the individual and the organisation.
Central Services
The Career Development Centre delivers employability through two distinct routes. The first
is the curriculum based employability strategy outlined above, the second is the direct
provision of services to students via the Career Development Centre. Examples of the type
opportunities students can access directly include an ‘Employability Programme’ of
workshops and speakers, individual advice and guidance and a ‘one stop shop’ for work and
work experience opportunities called the WorkHouse.
The WorkHouse offers a range of services to students seeking work, voluntary work or work
experience and brings together a menu of paid and unpaid opportunities in one place. The aim
is to combine students’ motivation to earn with the chance to encourage them to take steps to
enhance their employability. A wide range of vacancies are on offer, spanning from part-time
casual vacancies to more meaningful project-based opportunities, which engage students in
challenging activities and develop their skills. An in house Student Employment Agency
which operates as a commercial agency is an important source of part time work. Students
visiting the WorkHouse are encouraged to balance their need for immediate funds with the
longer-term objectives of developing a range of graduate level transferable skills and gaining
interesting and relevant experience to enhance their CV. Resources are being developed to
encourage students to reflect on how they have benefited from ad hoc work experience and to
take a planned approach to the development of their skills and knowledge whilst they are an
undergraduate.
In addition to the WorkHouse, each School has a Placement Office and one or more
Placement Officers. Their remit is to help students to obtain and prepare for placements that
constitute a formal part of the course, normally sandwich placements. Placement Officers and
Career Development Centre staff meet together in a placement forum.
A university-wide volunteering initiative is currently supported through the Higher Education
Active Community (HEAC) fund. Students are encouraged to consider the benefits of
voluntary work, which can involve activities unavailable to them through paid employment
or formal placements. In some cases students may be given self- contained projects in areas
such as research, marketing or IT where they are afforded a significant degree of autonomy.
Promotional materials encourage students to balance the need for funds with the longer-term
46
benefits of volunteering. In order to make volunteering more attractive to students a
framework of modules has been developed in each School. This allows students to earn
academic credit for volunteering activity.
The Student’s Union provides a wide range of opportunities designed to help students to
develop and evidence their skills. These include volunteering, clubs and societies and training
for programme representatives. The Students Union contributes to the Career Development
Centre’s Employability Programme and is active in promoting employability initiatives.
Career related articles written by CDC staff regularly feature in UDSU and Alumni
magazines.
Teaching and learning support is available through the Learning Centre. This is an important
point of referral for students who need support with study or with particular skill areas such
as giving presentations or report writing. Many students standard of English is poor and
extensive one to one support is available.
Direct employer links are made by the Career Development Centre and by Schools. Partly in
response to the needs of local students the Career Development Centre focuses on developing
relationships with employers within the region, particularly SMEs. In some curriculum areas
contacts are shared and developed in partnership. The development of the Regional
Enterprise and Development (RED) unit has encouraged the sharing of community and
business links across the institution and provided a database containing up to date
information relating to interactions with employers by any member of university staff.
7. Paying for employability
The Centre is well resourced via core funding and project monies. It currently employs 25
staff including 10 careers advisers, and teams of information and employability staff.
Employability initiatives at the University of Derby are paid for by a combination of
mainstream budgets and project funding from external sources. More than three-quarters of
Career Development Centre posts are permanent. School budgets are ‘top sliced’ to pay for
the delivery of central services. At some point in the near future this relationship will be
formalised by the introduction of Service Level Agreements.
A work Experience Co-ordinator post based in the Career Development Centre is funded
through Higher Education reach-out to Business and the Community (HEROBAC) monies.
The Work Experience co-ordinator is responsible for developing an institution-wide
entitlement to work experience support. The focus of the post is to address the needs of those
students who do not access work-experience as part of their course of study. The
recommendations of an institution-wide audit are currently being implemented.
The programme of volunteering opportunities currently being implemented across the
university is funded by HEFCE Higher Education Active Community Fund monies.
Over an initial period of two years each school will be developing and offering an
undergraduate module in volunteering. This involves a volunteering placement and a course
of study focusing upon personal development.
Many of the (paid) project-based work experience opportunities on offer through the Career
Development Centre are subsidised by small amounts of funding from sources such as the
LSC Local Initiative Fund. This is currently funding a number of paid mentoring projects in
local schools. The BT Higher Education Award provided a post for two years to facilitate
student placements to develop the use of e-mail and the Internet in the voluntary sector.
47
The University has recognised the importance of its role as a key supplier of higher level
skills to the local economy. It also acknowledges the importance of the local opportunity
structure to a high number of its students. In response to this, university staff at the highest
levels are involved in the strategic development of regional initiatives and active in a wide
variety of regional and local partnerships involving Government Office, the RDA, the LSC
and employer forums.
8. Gaining support from academic staff
The commitment and involvement of academic staff will be crucial to the creation of a truly
institutional employability strategy - as opposed to one that exists on the edge of university
life. The contribution made by academics depends upon their personal viewpoint as well as
practical considerations.
The Link Careers Adviser typically promote employability initiatives within the curriculum
through a combination of formal and informal channels. These will vary between Schools
depending upon the structures, forums and personalities involved. The Link Careers Adviser
will normally meet with the Dean of the School at key points, such as the introduction of a
new strategy. In the past, most Deans have responded positively by actively encouraging
senior staff to promote and monitor employability initiatives and providing an appropriate
level of resource to release staff to develop and deliver materials. Other key people in the
Schools include School Quality Managers, Heads of Division and RED Co-ordinators. In
addition many successful initiatives have originated from links made with academic staff
through less formal networks.
The process of embedding Career Management Skills (CMS) at Derby progressed through
three distinct phases: In the first stage the ‘enthusiasts’ were keen to access resources and
support. These individuals quickly developed excellent practice including work within
individual programmes, or in some cases school-wide initiatives developed and enhanced
over a number of years. These early initiatives provided tangible examples of how CMS
could be adopted through a variety of means to suit the needs of vastly different programmes.
Using case studies CDC staff were gradually able to persuade a significant proportion of the
remaining curriculum areas to participate. However, in the third and final phase pockets of
the curriculum remain impenetrable.
Some academic staff object to the requirement to deliver employability as an integral part of
their degree programme for a variety of reasons, including the belief that employability is the
responsibility of another department (commonly the Careers Service), anxieties about
delivery where the subject matter is outside of their area of expertise, and lack of resources.
Some believe that the academic discipline is paramount and considerations such as skill
development or opportunity awareness should not be permitted to impinge on this.
9. Engaging students
The employability strategy aims to deliver an entitlement to integrated employability within
the curriculum. However, the central delivery of activities remains important. These services
are targeted at students who either wish to access additional opportunities or support or who
do not experience employability initiatives through their programme. This may apply
particularly to Combined Subject students or to students whose area of the curriculum has not
been quick to embrace employability initiatives. A major concern is that a high proportion of
students accessing Career Development Centre services appear to be those students who do
so as a result of participating in modules or employability initiatives within the curriculum.
This shows curriculum work to be successful because it raises the profile of employability
48
with students who often respond by taking up further opportunities for development.
However, there are currently significant numbers of students who do not receive this support
within their programmes or seek it out for themselves.
In an attempt to understand students’ perspectives on employability, student evaluation takes
place on an ongoing basis. Students are recruited to paid positions from a representative
range of backgrounds to undertake a research among their peers. This information is fed into
the Career Development Centre’s marketing and evaluation plans in order to inform future
practice. Views are also sought from student representatives at Programme Committees.
10. Securing quality and measuring performance
In the past, much depended upon personalities and the commitment and enthusiasm of
individual ‘champions’ within Schools. An inherent weakness of the process of embedding
Career Management Skills was that there were few incentives and no consistently applied
sanctions for those who chose not to participate. The employability strategy is designed to
use the lessons learned through this experience in two ways: by adopting practices that
proved valuable and by addressing the problem ‘non compliance’ through the agreement of
action plans and the introduction of monitoring / reporting systems.
The creation of a Quality Framework for Employability will provide an institutional system
for monitoring the embedding of Employability within the curriculum. This will be an
integral part of the new validation approval procedures for the University. Staff development
will need to be provided both centrally and in School/subject areas. The Quality Office will
support the validation and approval procedures for new modules. They will also be able to
assist with the cross-referencing of new module specifications with the relevant Codes of
Practice, Subject Benchmarks and other inspectorate requirements.
Quality Office procedures e.g. School Action Plans and Annual Monitoring procedures will
identify the progress of employability strategy implementation. There will also be
performance indicators and targets for Employability for each School.
11. Conclusion
The call for a strategy paper by Academic Board and its inclusion in the Corporate Plan
reflect the importance the University is placing on student employability. At the same time
there are a series of external institutional drivers requiring employability to become a hard
performance indicator for institutions.
The current strategy aims to build upon existing good practice, particularly in the area of
Career Management Skills. The message to staff in Schools is a positive one: that the strategy
does not require all that has gone before to be replaced, rather it provides a framework to
draw together different strands of employability including current good practice. The strategy
was informed by previous experience. It aims to address some of the weaknesses of former
initiatives as well as expanding the aspects that worked well. For example a clear monitoring
procedure and the accountability of staff at a senior level will be essential to its success.
It is extremely important to ensure that students at all levels, on every type of programme and
using every mode of study are able to access appropriate support. This will involve focusing
on the most remote and least motivated of student groups as well as mainstream courses and
enthusiastic individuals.
49
Case Study: University of Paisley
Maeve Cowper, Director, Student Advisory Service
The University of Paisley is a regionally based university serving west and south west
Scotland on three campuses, in Paisley, Ayr and Dumfries. The main university campus is in
Paisley, 10 miles from Glasgow city centre. University Campus Ayr was a former College of
Education and in recent years has developed to include Media, Nursing and Business courses.
Crichton University Campus, Dumfries was developed in 1999, in partnership with Glasgow
University, Dumfries and Galloway College and Bell College, and is funded by the Scottish
Higher Education Funding Council. There are currently 10,500 students; 3614 (1069 FTE) of
these are part time. The university’s core geographical markets are local to each campus;
90% of current students are from south and south west Scotland.
A former Central Institution, with a vocational focus, the institution has always had strong
links with local industry, and work placement is a feature of many courses. The university
has played a leading role in establishing both formal and informal relationships with further
education partners; a significant proportion of students enter from FE colleges and are
mature. The majority of degree programmes offer the opportunity to articulate from Higher
National Certificate/Diploma programmes to second or third year of a degree course. There is
a broad-based study structure, allowing undergraduates to choose from a wide range of
subject areas in the early part of degree study prior to specialising. A high number of courses
are offered on a part-time and/or evening basis.
The university is acclaimed for its work in widening participation in Higher Education and
ranks top in the Sunday Times University Guide for recruiting students from social exclusion
backgrounds. 98% of current students come from state schools, 35% from low participation
neighbourhoods and 40% from social groups 111M, IV,V.
The approach to Employability is strongly influenced by the institutional background and
culture. The emphasis is on integration and partnership between Schools, the Careers Service,
the Placement Office and the Centre for Learning and Teaching in order that employability
activities form part of the core curriculum. This is essential given the high numbers of
students with part time work and family commitments, limiting the extra curricular time
available.
1. Institutional Context
The university currently has four Schools - Education and Media, Health and Social Science,
Computing, Engineering and Science and Business. From August 2003, following
restructuring, there will be seven schools: Business; Education; Engineering and Science;
Health, Nursing and Midwifery; Information and Communication Technologies; Media: and
Social Sciences.
In addition to a Dean, each School will have two Associate Deans – one for Teaching &
Learning and one for Research & Commercialisation. The Associate Dean for Learning &
Teaching will have particular responsibility for the implementation of QAA Codes of
Practice including the Careers Education, Information & Guidance Code.
Traditionally the University of Paisley has a strong commitment to vocational education
particularly in Science and Engineering. While some long established courses linked to
traditional industries have experienced a decline in applications there have been a number of
50
recent course developments in the areas of developing industries - Sports, Media, Design,
Computer Games, and Cultural Industries. Courses in Digital Art, Performance and Art and
Design are planned. There is currently an emphasis on the development of cognate areas
across the institution with a particular focus on interdisciplinary work.
A wide range of teaching approaches is used including project work, presentations, and
industry based activities.
Recruitment Profile 2001/02
Total FT UK
UGs only
2084
Main Qualification on Entry
Highers/
HNC/
A Levels
A Levels
42%
35%
% Age at Entry
Access
Other
4%
19%
Gender
A Level Points
First Degree
13
Higher Points
<21
>21
% Male
%Female
52%
48%
40
60
12.1
The above table shows the recruitment profile for Undergraduate entrants for 2001/2. It
should be noted that the intake to the School of Nursing (mainly mature females) affects both
the Age at Entry and Gender percentages.
On enrolment 5% of undergraduates identify themselves as coming from an ethnic minority.
The actual figure is likely to be higher as many ethnic minority entrants choose not to declare
this, particularly if they are second or third generations living in Scotland.
The university also attracts a large number of students with disabilities; particularly those
with dyslexia as a strong support network is provided. Again this is not reflected in the 4 %
disclosing on entry.
2. The Labour Market Context
There has been a relative decline in Engineering and Manufacturing industries in recent years
and a growth in Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). This reflects wider changes
within the Scottish labour market where 99% of companies are within the SME sector and
employ 66% of the total workforce. There is a similar picture in the rest of the UK with
small companies increasingly looking to Higher Education institutions for their recruitment
needs. The growth of the SME sector presents issues for the university employability
strategy; SMEs have been slow to recruit from the graduate labour market and graduates do
not traditionally seek employment in the sector. A recent survey indicated that 44% of
graduates wish to work for a major international company, and 13% wish to work for an
SME. In reality around 20% of graduates obtain employment with blue chip companies.
Part time employment features heavily within the local labour market, particularly in the
service sector. The majority of undergraduates have part time employment (often up to 20
hours per week) in order to finance their studies. The Careers Service advertises part time
opportunities and the local Job Centre has a presence on campus on a regular basis.
51
Relationships with employers have changed in the recent past as the regional industrial base
has shifted resulting in the loss of many large employers from the local area. The main focus
is now on developing contacts with Small to Medium Enterprises.
The Kickstart Project, based in the Centre for Continuing Education, provides vocational
guidance for up to 10 employees in 25 SMEs through a programme of workshops. A
company audit is carried out, followed by an in depth Training Needs Analysis for nominated
employees .Appropriate staff development opportunities are then identified. The project is
funded by the university in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, Careers Scotland and the
local Chamber of Commerce.
The university has strong support from Scottish Enterprise and has Training for Work
students enrolled in ICT courses. In addition it has a share in the Scottish Institute for
Enterprise Scheme and an active Teaching Company Scheme. The Technical and Business
Centre at the university is franchised by CISCO, Macromedia and Microsoft.
Although there are strong employer links through the Careers Service, the Placement Office
and individual academic contacts there is currently no central coordination of employer
relationships. The proposed Employment Centre will develop a centralised approach to
employer liaison which will benefit both employers and students.
Graduate employment trends are predominantly local and regional reflecting the student
recruitment pattern. Very few graduates are willing to consider relocation and show strong
preferences for remaining in central Scotland. This is further compounded by the high
numbers of mature students who wish to remain in the area due to personal and family
commitments.
Destinations for 2001 graduates (most recent available) show noticeable differences when
compared with UK wide destinations.

Graduate Employment is 8% higher than the UK average. However closer examination
of this employment figure shows considerable underemployment of graduates,
following the trend throughout Scotland.

Graduates entering further study is 9% lower than the UK average The high percentage
of vocational courses at Paisley which lead directly into professional areas (e.g.
Teaching, Nursing, Social Work, Engineering) partly explains this low figure. The cost
of further study can also be a barrier to entering postgraduate courses, as new
graduates, particularly from non traditional entry groups, are reluctant to take on further
debt.

Graduate Unemployment is 4% higher than the UK average. Higher than average
unemployment can in part be explained by the high numbers of local students wishing
to remain in the immediate area where there is high unemployment and limited
graduate opportunities. Furthermore Smith, McKnight and Naylor showed, in Graduate
Employability Policy and Performance in Higher Education in the UK, that the
probability of unemployment or inactivity six months after graduation is influenced
strongly by the individual’s class of degree, by subject degree studied, by prior
qualifications and by social class background. It is likely that graduate unemployment
levels at Paisley reflect these assertions.
52
3. Employability in the institution’s strategic planning
Mission and Strategy
The university has a strong commitment to Employability and includes the following in its
Mission
to deliver high quality, applied, relevant higher education programmes with the
opportunity for students to benefit, where possible, from work based learning.
to be learner focused, providing flexible, accessible programmes of study, which
enable students and other learners, irrespective of their social background, to
realise their full potential within a rapidly changing social and economic
environment.
The key values which underpin the pursuit of the Mission are;
We will provide programmes of study to help students to develop the core
employability skills that will assist them in operating within an increasingly
globalised economy
We regularly collaborate and liaise with employers and representative bodies in
order to support their development by making sure that our programmes are
designed to provide organisations with employees who possess the knowledge
and skills required to meet their current and future needs.
4. Learning and Teaching Strategy
The University includes the following in its Learning and Teaching Policy;

To provide an inclusive curriculum aimed to help all students to achieve their
maximum potential, consistent with a commitment to lifelong learning.
In order to achieve this there is a commitment to the following;

Ensuring appropriate guidance, training and support for module and programme teams
to enable them to implement and sustain integrated development of personal
transferable skills-linked to factors such as employability and special needs.
The next step is to establish an implementation plan for this strategy. This will be taken
forward by the Assistant Principal who has specific responsibility for this area.
The design of module descriptors encourages the identification and development of
transferable skills. There is an opportunity to indicate which skills students will develop in
the course of the module; these include Communication, ICT, Time Management and
Organisation, Interpersonal Skills and Teamworking, Problem Solving, Information
Handling. In order to achieve the module, students must show evidence of progression in
relation to the skill areas identified.
There are plans to address the Personal Development Planning agenda. These are at an early
stage but the approach will be an integrated one with individual Schools having responsibility
for implementation. PDP will also be the responsibility of the Student Experience sub
committee of the Learning and Teaching Board.
53
5. Management Responsibility
The approach adopted by the university is to integrate the employability agenda. Schools, the
Careers Service and the Centre for Learning & Teaching work in partnership and there are
established management structures to take this agenda forward.
The new academic structures, and in particular the appointment of Associate Deans for
Learning & Teaching within the new Schools, will further strengthen the commitment to the
employability agenda and ensure effective implementation and monitoring in Schools.
The delivery of employability is underpinned by the Careers, Education, Information &
Guidance Policy (CEIG).
The policy provides Schools with guidelines for implementation. Each School has a CEIG
Working Group, the chair of which reports to the CEIG Steering Group, which is chaired by
the Vice Principal and includes the Director of the Careers Service and the Director of the
Centre for Learning & Teaching. The guidelines allow each School to devise its own
individual implementation and monitoring strategy, enabling each to implement the policy in
a way that suits the individual School’s structures and culture. For example the School of
Computing, Engineering and Science implement the policy through personal tutors. In the
Health and Social Science School course leaders are responsible for implementation.
The Careers Service, in conjunction with the Centre for Learning & Teaching, provides staff
development seminars with employer input to support academic staff in the implementation
of CEIG.
Monitoring of the policy is the responsibility of the Student Experience sub–committee of the
Learning and Teaching Board and the Quality and Enhancement Unit.
Employability Related Central Services
The University adopts an integrated approach to the Employability agenda. The main central
services supporting this agenda are the Careers Service, Centre for Learning and Teaching,
and the Placement Office and the Centre for Social Inclusion.
The Careers Service is currently part of Student Advisory Service, an umbrella service which
includes Welfare, Student Loans, Counselling, Special Needs, International Student Adviser,
Chaplaincy and Nursery.
A proposal to bring together the Careers Service, the Placement Office and create a new
Student Jobshop in a distinct Employment Centre has just been approved. The current
positioning of the Careers Service within Student Advisory Service means that students
perceive it as a welfare related service. The new location will provide a focus for
employability skills, employer liaison and heighten student awareness.
Careers Service staff are well integrated into university committees and structures. The Head
of the Careers Service (who is also the Director of Student Advisory Service) is a member of
Senate, Learning and Teaching Board, Student Affairs Committee and the Retention
Committee. Careers Advisers are on School Faculty Boards and CEIG Working Groups and
work closely with the Centre for Learning and Teaching in the delivery of staff development
sessions for course leaders and personal tutors.
There are currently 2 Careers Advisers for 2 campuses so resources are limited and advisers
have a generic role across all Schools rather than responsibility for a particular subject area.
Academic ownership is therefore critical to embedding employability in the university.
54
Centre for Learning and Teaching
The Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) develops students’ writing, communication and
study skills and in doing so staff focus on the importance of transferable skills and the value
of reflection. CLT staff will have a key role in taking forward the Personal Development
Planning agenda.
In working with academic staff CLT provides support to integrate skills into the curriculum.
The university offers the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education to all academic and academic related staff. The course has been approved for
Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) membership. The uptake
on this varies considerably according to academic discipline. Employability is particularly
addressed in a section entitled ‘’Integrating Core Skills’’. The university is committed to
promoting new teaching methods in order to integrate transferable skills and it is a strategic
target that all new and probationary lecturers will undertake this course. It is also proposed
that new academic contracts will recommend ILTHE membership.
Placement Office
The Placement Office works closely with the Careers Service in the delivery of placement
preparation sessions for all Schools. These sessions focus on the development of skills and
reflect on the importance of transferable skills. This type of approach is useful for
introducing the Careers Service to a wide range of students and students may then self refer
for individual guidance interviews.
The proposal to locate placement with the Careers Service and the Job Shop will assist
students in making the links between part time work, placement and graduate employability.
The current separation of services contributes to the fact that students find it difficult to link
skills and experience with employability.
The new centre will also provide a more co-ordinated service to employers and hopefully
increase contact with SMEs. SMEs often are the providers of part time employment and do
not consider more long term graduate opportunities. The new centre will have a key role in
marketing graduates to SMEs through placement and part time contacts.
Centre for Social Inclusion
Raising awareness of employability skills is a key part of the widening access agenda. The
university is a key player in the GOALS (Greater Opportunity of Access & Learning with
Schools) project, which aims to increase participation in Higher Education by pupils from
social inclusion areas in Scotland. As part of the programme, pupils participate in employer
seminars and work tasters. The programme is coordinated by the Centre for Social Inclusion.
This year the university is running a programme (jointly funded with the Paisley Social
Inclusion Partnership) specifically for current students from social inclusion areas. The main
aim is to develop and raise awareness of the personal and transferable skills required for the
graduate market. Students can volunteer to be part of the project. Uptake however has been
slow which may indicate that an integrated approach for all students would be of more
benefit.
55
6. Embedding Employability in the Curriculum
A number of approaches are adopted to embed employability;
Modules
A variety of modules seek to address employability directly. They include:
Career Planning sessions as part of a module in Technical and Communication
skills for first year students in the School of Computing, Engineering & Science. The
Career planning session is one of a series of talks by a range of speakers. It is useful
in order to introduce the Careers Service to all first year students and provides the
basic elements of the career planning process. The advantage of this is that the
session is timetabled and an integral part of the course, which students have to attend.
Professional Skills Module for Biological Sciences. Session covering options, self
assessment, CVs and application forms. Students complete a CV which is assessed
by the Careers Service for inclusion in the final mark for the module. Useful to
students in terms of information as well as ensuring that each student has a CV which
has been discussed and assessed.
Next Steps module (Centre for Continuing Education): The Next Steps module runs
in the summer months for prospective students entering Higher Education from
Further Education. Short general session on options and the range of services offered
by the careers service. This is helpful in providing students with basic information on
options and an understanding of how to access information and take the career
planning process forward.
Proposed Modules
A credit rated Career Planning module has been validated in which the Careers Service will
have input with undergraduates. As this is an optional module it will be essential to market
this effectively to students as awareness of the importance of Employability skills is not high.
Tailored Input
Employability inputs are made to many other courses, including:
Postgraduate Diploma in IT (PGIT): includes seminars on career options, selfassessment, CV and application form presentation. These sessions are run by the
Careers Service in response to the high demand from PGIT students for advice on CV
preparation and job seeking. There are advantages to this input in that all students are
on the same course and the content can then be more specialised.
Media Theory and Production: Series of four afternoon sessions focusing on career
options from this particular degree course.
BA Commercial Music: Session on Enterprise and self-employment organised with
outside speakers. This worked well because it is integrated into the degree
programme and supported by the course leader. Having outside speakers adds weight
to the delivery.
BA Business Information Technology; Session on Personal Branding for Career
Success delivered as an integral part of the course.
Contract Researchers Training Programme – CV Preparation seminar was given
by the Careers Service as part of a range of sessions to develop career skills for
56
researchers. This year the programme was run over two full days. It is a very
disparate group and therefore it can be difficult to give relevant help to all
participants.
Specific Careers Days
A series of workshops are organised by academic staff in Psychology, in consultation with
the Careers Service. Includes input from the Careers Service on applications, CVs and
interviews and input from lecturers and alumni on various branches of Psychology and the
range of other career areas where a Psychology degree provides a useful background.
In addition the Careers Service runs a seminar programme which any student may attend.
This covers CVs, Application Forms, Interview preparation, Postgraduate options, post
degree options, Assessment Centres and Psychometric testing. Attendance at the seminars
varies throughout the year and by topic. This is by no means as effective as integrated
sessions as groups usually recruit students from a range of disciplines with different needs
and interests, and the times offered do not suit all course commitments.
There continues to be a high demand for one-to-one guidance interviews. This is unlike the
trend in other parts of the UK which has been away from such interviews and towards more
group work. This may be in part due to the fact that many students at Paisley have low selfconfidence and prefer not to be in a group situation. In many cases one-to-one guidance
interviews focus initially on confidence building and identifying personal skills. There is
often the need to refer students to the Centre for Learning and Teaching for additional
support with communication and presentation skills.
7. Paying for Employability
There is no additional funding available in Scotland for Employability. There is therefore a
strong emphasis on embedding the Employability agenda rather than a dependence on short
term projects or funding.
Employability activities at the University of Paisley are funded from the Careers Service
budget, and since there is no specific budget allocation, Schools have to meet the costs of
curriculum based activity, and Staff Development from their mainstream budgets.
The University of Paisley was recently a key partner in a Scottish Higher Education Funding
Council funded project to write and design web based materials for career planning in Higher
Education. These on-line materials are particularly useful in highlighting employability skills
to Distance Learning and part time students.
8. Engaging Academic Staff
The Careers Service works closely with academic staff in raising awareness of the
Employability agenda with both staff and students. It is essential, given that there are only
two Careers Advisers that Careers staff work in partnership with Schools. In some cases
Careers Advisers have developed more of a consultative role while academic staff coordinate the delivery. There is a considerable variation between Schools in terms of
awareness of the employability agenda. This is often dependent on the commitment and
enthusiasm of individual academic staff. In vocational areas like Nursing, Social Work and
Engineering, academic staff are responsive and understand the direct link between skills and
employment. In less vocational areas it is more difficult to advance the employability
agenda. Attendance at staff development sessions follows a similar pattern.
57
9. Engaging Students
Given the demands of part time working hours of many students, and the childcare
commitments of mature students in particular, it can prove difficult to encourage participation
in skills related activities outwith timetabled classes. Attendance at generic careers seminars
delivered as a central programme is low on all three campuses. There is also low participation
in extra curricular activities. The development of transferable skills therefore often focuses on
part time employment opportunities. The development of the new centre combining the
Careers Service, the Placement Office and the Job Shop will provide a focal point for skills
development and encourage students to recognise the value of part time opportunities in
developing transferable skills.
Career decisions tend to be left until late in the final year and career aspirations are often low,
particularly in the case of first generation Higher Education students. An integrated approach
is therefore essential in raising student awareness of employability skills.
10. Securing Quality and Measuring Performance
Quality and Enhancement Unit
The role of the Quality and Enhancement Unit is to assist the development of quality
functions as an integral part of the work of the university. The approach adopted by the
Scottish Higher Education Funding Council is to work with QAA in developing an
enhancement-led approach to quality assurance.
The University’s current practice is to ensure that module descriptors include transferable
skills as part of the programme validation process. This practice was developed in response to
the national agenda to provide descriptions of academic provision in terms of learning
outcomes and is in keeping with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. In future
this will be more detailed and the appropriate precepts of the QAA Code of Practice for CEIG
will be identified in the transferable skills section of the programme specification.
As part of the university’s Subject Health Review Process the integration of the QAA Code
of Practice for CEIG will be reviewed. This review is organised on a 6 yearly cycle, mainly
by subject groupings, as outlined in the Benchmark statements. Transferable skills and
Personal Development Planning are reviewed under the ‘provision ‘element of the Subject
Health Review.
This is then subject to audit by the QAA as part of the four yearly institutional review process
for all Higher Education institutions in Scotland.
The Quality and Enhancement Unit also plans to undertake a review of how School curricula
address the QAA code for CEIG and the PDP agenda with a view to identifying the need for
support in the implementation process and promoting the exchange of good practice.
This is a welcome development as it will promote institutional responsibility and ensure that
employability is a central issue rather than the responsibility of the Careers Service and the
Centre for Learning and Teaching alone.
Development of Student Feedback Strategy
A working group of the Learning and Teaching Board is currently developing a student
feedback strategy. A revised system of module feedback is now at the implementation stage
and a new student experience questionnaire has been developed. The next stage of the
58
strategy is to develop ways of increasing student representation and also student input into the
Subject Health Review process which includes the monitoring of PDP and QAA codes.
11. Conclusion
The partnership approach adopted at the University of Paisley to integrating the
employability agenda is a particular strength of the institution. The Centre for Learning and
Teaching, the Careers Service and the Quality and Enhancement Unit work together with
academic colleagues to promote good practice in this area. The proposed new structure for
the Careers Service, Placement Office and Job Shop will further highlight this agenda and
provide a focus for raising student awareness. Senior Management structures are now more
robust; a new Assistant Principal, with responsibility for Learning and Teaching has recently
been appointed and from the introduction of the new academic structures in August 2003
each School will have an Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching. This new structure
allocates particular responsibility for monitoring within Schools and should ensure the
employability agenda is addressed more consistently across the University. In addition there
is an increasing commitment to quality assurance with particular emphasis on the student
experience and the development of structures for monitoring and evaluation supports this.
59
Case Study: University of Exeter
Dr Dawn Lees, Employability Co-ordinator
Introduction
Exeter has a relatively ‘traditional’ academic culture, focussed upon academic disciplines,
and a strongly traditional student body. The employability and personal development of our
students has been an increasingly important aspect of curriculum design for the past decade.
In recent years, this has been formalised, in response to the national employability agenda.
The development has been complex, a mixture of top-down and bottom-up initiatives that
have been moved forward as motivated individuals have become involved in a variety of
ways. From research undertaken in 1994, there was little evidence of academics being at all
interested in the concepts of employability and PDP. Indeed many did not feel that skill
development of any sort was the responsibility of the academic to facilitate during the course
of teaching. Over the past decade there has been a significant cultural shift in perceptions,
with many more academics interested in these issues. This has been a result of a greater
understanding of the employability agenda and from evidence that incorporating
employability within curricula does not detract from subject-study. Inevitably some are still
reticent, but with an increasing number of ‘champions’ in each School, leaps and bounds
have been made in embedding employability-related activities, personal and key skills and
PDP within curricula.
1. Institutional context
The University traces its origins to the mid 19th century and some one hundred years ago to
the creation of the Royal Albert Memorial College. A University College of the South West
was established in 1922 and full university status granted in 1955. A research-led institution,
part of the ’94 Group’ of HEIs, Exeter maintains the traditional British university values of
scholarship and high quality teaching, alongside new technology and innovation. In recent
years, great emphasis has been placed on opening up the University to partnerships of all
kinds – with business, the professions and the community.
Many subjects are highly-rated for teaching; 15 out of 23 subjects scored over>22 points out
of 24 in QAA Subject Reviews, and 22 scored over 20 points. In the 2001 RAE, in which
Exeter registered an improvement that was twice the national average, ninety-eight percent of
subject areas were rated 4, 5 or 5*.
The University has 18 academic Schools (15 from 2003-04) and in 1998, three over-arching
Faculties were created (for Undergraduate Studies, Postgraduate Studies and Academic
Partnerships). This structure is designed to ensure a faster, more flexible and consistent
response to student concerns. Subject-study is dominated by the Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences. Subjects that can be studied at the University of Exeter campuses are largely
academic, with occupational and vocational subjects offered by our partner colleges; The
College of St Mark & St John; St Loye's School of Health Studies; Truro College and the
Joint University Centre, Yeovil.
Most University of Exeter students study on the Streatham and St Luke’s campuses in Exeter.
In Cornwall, the Camborne School of Mines has its campus at Pool (between Camborne and
Redruth) while the Department of Continuing and Adult Education and the Institute of
Cornish Studies currently share a building in Truro. The Peninsula Medical School, a
partnership between the universities of Exeter and Plymouth and NHS Trusts in the South
60
West, was established in 2001 and opened its doors to its first students of medicine in
October 2002. The University is a major player in the Combined universities in Cornwall.
From October 2004, the University's Cornwall-based programmes will be taught on a new
campus at Penryn, near Falmouth. The new campus will allow the University's existing
operations in Cornwall to be brought together on a single site for the first time.
Recruitment Profile
The University now has some 9206 full-time students (19% postgraduate) and 2722 part-time
students (62% postgraduate). The recruitment profile of undergraduate entrants for
2001/2002 is summarised in Table 1. Of the undergraduate entrants for 2001/02, 3% declared
belonging to an ethnic minority and 6% declared a disability.
Table 1:
Total FT UK
UGs only
Main Qualification on Entry
A Level
HNC/HND
Access
Other
2420.0
87.6%
1.3 %
1.1%
9.9%
A Level Points
First Degree
% Age at Entry
Gender
<21
>21
% Male
% Female
21.7
90
10
51
49
Undergraduate Entrants Summary 2001/02 (all Schools, plus Truro College)
Table 1 shows that almost.90% of undergraduate entrants are under 21 years old at
registration and that 87.6% of entrants have A Level qualifications. Diversifying the student
population is not going to be easy with this strong pattern as our traditional recruitment
background.
The geographical origin of students is summarised in Table 2, with the majority of home
undergraduates coming from the South West and South East of England. Of our international
students, the largest group comes from Asia/Australasia.
The institution’s strong record in employability is now being used, particularly by the
Widening Participation Office, to market the institution to students from a diverse
background and in particular, to our Compact schools. Sections on employability and PDP
are also included in the undergraduate prospectus.
61
Home Students
International Students (UG & PG) (those eligible
to pay International or Island fees, including CPD.
(FT UGs)
Location
%
Location
%
South West
26.44
Channel Islands
8.35
South East
39.18
North America
7.50
London
8.47
Central & South America 1.24
Wales
5.34
Africa
27.00
Midlands
14.87
Asia/ Australasia
36.35
East Anglia
2.01
Middle East
7.90
North West
1.93
Europe
11.68
North East
1.24
Scotland
0.43
Northern Ireland
0.08
Table 2: Geographical origin of students 2001/2002
2. Labour market
Very few (c.10-15%) graduates gain employment in the South West, largely students
recruited from the area, but this has been impossible to quantify accurately. Many return to
London and the South East for employment. Approximately 85% of local employers are
Small to Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs), employing less than 10 people. By increasing
links with local SMEs through the work of the Business Relations Unit and the Careers
Advisory Service, it is hoped to increase graduate retention within the local labour market to
the benefit of the regional economy. One way of doing this is by encouraging SMEs to
provide work placements for students, particularly through the STEP scheme (see below). It
is hoped that once a small employer has seen the additional contribution that having someone
working at this level can bring, they will be more inclined to employ graduates. One example
of this is a mechanical engineering student who undertook a STEP project for a local stove
manufacturer. The student was able to give a fresh perspective on the manufacturing process,
resulting in increased profit margins for the company, who in turn are sponsoring the student
through his final year of study and have guaranteed him a job on graduation.
The University has many links to the local and regional labour market through, for example,
the steering groups of the Chambers of Commerce, Enterprise Agencies, Business Links and
the Careers Advisory Service Liaison Board. The Student Business Projects Office run a
number of student placement schemes for both undergraduates and graduates.
Student Business Projects – 3-9 month placements for undergraduates or postgraduates,
normally desk-based research.
STEP Programme – Shell Technology Enterprise Scheme. These are placements of 2-5
weeks at Christmas and Easter or 8-12 weeks in the summer. Placements are project
based, with a training allowance. The STEP programme is well established and very
successful, with demand for projects far exceeding the number of placements available.
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GBP – Graduate Business Partnership. Minimum of 20 weeks placement, project based
at Graduate level, with training, mentoring and salary.
TCS – for high calibre graduates, a two year research based placement, involving an
academic consultant and workplace mentor to the graduate and salary.
Many students undertake part-time employment during term time and vacations. The term
time employment is predominantly in the Exeter area. Students also work with local
businesses through Student Business Projects and the Work Experience Module. We have a
growing body of students who volunteer with local community projects, working in Schools,
with Help the Aged or swimming groups, for example. These activities are co-ordinated by
the Volunteering Development Co-ordinator, a post funded by the Active Community Fund.
Of the eligible population of 1,797 home graduates questioned, a total of 85% responded to
the First Destination Survey for 2001, these results are presented in Table 3.
Men
Women
Total %
Permanent employment in UK
323
309
39.38
Temporary employment in UK
102
119
13.91
Permanent employment abroad
10
11
1.32
Temporary employment abroad
13
39
3.27
B. Undertaking Further Education or
Training
181
225
25.55
Not available
61
94
9.75
Unemployed
52
50
6.42
Grand Total
742
847
100
A. Gained Employment
C. Other Categories
Table 3:
First Destination Data for 2001: Home Graduates who studied for a first
degree, as at 3 January 2001
3. Employability in policy and strategic planning
Employability at the University of Exeter is defined as ‘The establishment of clear
mechanisms by which students can develop their abilities to use and deploy a wide range of
skills and opportunities to enhance their own academic learning and enable them to become
more employable.’ At the heart of this is the importance of the process of learning and the
student’s reflection on, and responsibility for, their own learning, in addition to enhancing
their job prospects. The University generally rates reasonably high in Employability Surveys:
in 1999, The Times rated Exeter joint ninth most popular University with graduate recruiters;
The Sunday Times (2000) highlighted the University’s low unemployment figures (2.6%), but
more recent ratings have been slightly less positive.
Employability is now firmly embedded within the institutions strategic planning
documentation as outlined below.
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Institutional Plan 2001/02 – 2004/05
To continue to provide employers with fast-track access to the student resource through the services of the Employability Co-ordinator and the Student Projects
Office.
To continue to develop the themes of innovation and entrepreneurship - among
both academic staff and students. The Expert Link Fund continues to be funded
through HEIF and will help staff take entrepreneurial risks in reaching out to
business.
University Strategy 2001-2006 and beyond
The agenda for the development and implementation of an ‘Employability Strategy’ is central
to aims 10 and 31 of the University Strategy 2001-2006.
aim 10) In learning and teaching our aim is to offer excellent and lifelong
opportunities to a wide spectrum of students. We will promote a learning culture
that enables students to gain a powerful grasp of their chosen discipline and to
develop their intellectual capacities and transferable skills, in order that they
fulfil their personal aspirations and graduate as responsible, questioning and
productive members of any society.
aim 31) We will develop our ‘employability strategy’ and will ensure that all
graduates of the University, at whatever level, are equipped for a future of
lifelong learning which embraces and welcomes change and development. All
modules will identify the key skills that are developed, and the assessment of key
skills will become an integral part of all programmes.
Other University Strategy aims which impact upon the work of the Employability Coordinator are:
30. marketing student projects to Schools;
36 and 37 contacts with small, medium sized and large, local and national
employers;
38 developing the themes of entrepreneurship and innovation amongst students
53 helping staff to perform their work to the standards that the University
requires.
4. Learning and teaching strategy
The Learning and Teaching Strategy for 2002-05 was developed in the summer of 2002, in
consultation with the Employability Co-ordinator and other members of the Employability
Group. This strategy has two broad aims:
(a) To turn an increasingly diverse intake of students into graduates who think for
themselves, take responsibility for their own learning and personal development,
attain a deep understanding of their chosen disciplines and excel at
communicating and working with others.
To enable staff to fulfil, to their maximum potential, their designated roles in the
support and enhancement of the student learning experience.
64
By far the largest section of the strategy, is:
To progress further development of personal and key skills and employability
within the curriculum.
Objective 1:
To ensure that all students have access to the opportunities to
enable them to develop their personal and key skills and attributes to enhance
their employability.
Objective 2:
To ensure that all students have the opportunity to be involved
with Personal Development Planning (PDP).
Employability Strategy 2000-2003 and beyond
For some years, an Employability Group met from time to time to discuss issues and make
suggestions for progress in this area. In October 1999, this group was formalised and an
Employability Co-ordinator appointed for three years, through funding gained by the
Business Relations Unit from the HEROBAC programme. This post was based in the
Careers Advisory Service with an institution-wide remit. The establishment of the
Employability Group and the diversity of membership (Figure 1) suggested that
employability had the potential to become more central to the institution (although
membership has expanded significantly in the past year). This was reinforced by being
chaired by the Chair of the University Learning and Teaching Committee with the
requirement of the Employability Group to report to it. The group membership reflects how
many parties contribute to employability in different ways. In January 2002, a new
Employability Co-ordinator was appointed on a full time basis, on a two-year contract.
The role of the Employability Co-ordinator has been to develop a concept of employability
for Exeter and a strategy to support it, as well as facilitating and developing central and
School-based curriculum initiatives. Alongside has been the aim of gaining the support of the
University to ‘Harmonise the development and provision of these programmes and future
improvements in order to develop the University as a Centre of Excellence for
Employability’.
The Employability Strategy Objectives are:
To integrate employability skills into programmes of study to enhance academic
learning and to encourage students to be more employable;
To promote a better understanding of both the meaning of employability and
achievements in the area of employability, both within the University and in the
wider community;
To establish mechanisms to improve the dialogue between employers and the
University;
To support staff in Schools, central administration and the Guild who are
involved in the delivery of skills and related support activities to students;
To assist the University in complying with the QAA Code of Practice on Careers
Education and Information Guidance;
To provide the opportunity for students to acquire skills necessary to become
entrepreneurs or self-employed;
65
To respond to the employability needs of international students.
The Employability Strategy is to be revised in the spring of 2003 for the period 2003-2006.
The revised strategy will include greater links with the Widening Participation agenda,
provision for Postgraduates in line with the Skills Framework proposed by HEFCE, inclusion
of the value of volunteering, provision for students with disabilities and greater collaboration
between the Careers Advisory Service and the Business Relations Unit with regard to
working with local employers. These are bold, far-reaching aims that in addition to the
existing work put the University of Exeter Employability Strategy at the forefront of
developments in higher education. The new strategy will be placed firmly in the context of
regional policy for the development of the skills base and local economy.
Business Relations Strategy 1999-2003
Employability is at the heart of Strategic Aims 1 and 2 of the Business Relations Strategy; to
expand and integrate employability, business and economic development activities within
programmes of study, and to raise the profile of these within the University community. The
development of student employability skills and attributes is also central to Section 3.16. The
role of the Employability Co-ordinator is also highlighted as a means of drawing together
disparate strands of activity across the institution. A new strategy for Business Relations is
currently in the consultation process for 2003-07.
Distinctive Features document - Focussing on our Strengths
The emphasis placed by the University on the development of personal, key and
employability skills and attributes is highlighted in terms of a) the opportunities students have
to develop skills and undertake work experience and b) our excellent record of student
employment on graduation. That the University has both an Employability Strategy and an
Employability Co-ordinator, are also highlighted as strengths.
QA Precepts document on Career Education, Information and Guidance (CEIG)
The work of the Employability Group, and the Employability Co-ordinator in particular, is
central to the successful delivery of many of the aims of the QA Code of Practice Precepts
document for CEIG. The first QA for CEIG will take place in the Michaelmas Term of 2003
and will be held every 6 years subsequently.
Subject and Programme Quality Review (SPQR) Scheme
Employability is addressed through quality assurance mechanisms in several ways. In the
SPQR for each School, the Programme Outcomes assessed include Personal and Key Skills.
Along with a Careers Advisor, the Employability Coordinator comments on new programmes
with regard to employability and careers.
Widening Participation Strategy 2001/02 – 2003/04
The aim of WP at this institution is “To ensure that the University recruits, retains and
progresses students from under-represented groups, and that these students receive the
appropriate support and encouragement to continue on their HE course through to
completion”. Two objectives from the WP Strategy relate specifically to employability:
Objective 13: To examine and pilot new and innovative support structures to
ensure that students from all backgrounds are fully integrated into the social and
academic community
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Objective 16: To support the work of the Earn & Learn Project beyond 2002
The Employability Co-ordinator and Widening Participation Officer have been working
together since October 2002 to ensure that both agendas are complementary and to try to
ensure the best possible experience for students from WP backgrounds. Employability is an
important consideration at all five stages of the Student Life Cycle Model: Aspiration
Raising; Pre-entry support; First Semester; Moving through; Employability/Career
Management. Employability is therefore important for Aspiration Raising Projects such as
summer schools and ‘Aiming Higher Days’, and by encouraging Student Ambassadors and
Mentors to undertake the Exeter Personal Development Award and thereby enhance their
own employability.
5.
Allocating management responsibility:
The main member of Senior Management to be involved with the employability agenda is the
DVC for Learning and Teaching who chairs both the Learning and Teaching Committee and
the Employability Group.
Other senior management involved are;
Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Centre Manager of the Learning & Teaching Support Centre (LaTiS)
Director of the Careers Advisory Service (CAS)
Head of Business Relations Unit (BRU)
Senior Assistant Registrar responsible for Programme Support and Management.
Initiatives that impact on learning and teaching in the University are pursued through a
variety of routes. Each of the routes outlined below has had an influence on the move towards
embedding employability and PDP.
The development of centralised university policy and strategy, the University
Strategy, Employability Strategy, Learning and Teaching Strategy impact upon, for
example, personal and key skills, employability and PDP;
The centralised implementation of strategy such as module description forms, skills
initiatives, promoting reflective and independent learning (LaTiS, TDU4);
Implementation of strategy via University services such as the Careers Advisory
Service and the Guild of Students, for example, skill development programmes or
Personal Development Award.
Personal initiatives leading to centralised implementation of strategy, such as the BP
Team Development Programme and personal profiling (PESCA) in the School of
Law;
School initiatives supported by centralised services (TDU or CAS), such as a the key
skills module in the School of Mathematical Sciences;
Personal initiatives supported by centralised services (TDU), such as a focus on
enabling students to become better learners in Engineering;
External research funding for developmental projects, promoting innovation such as
in relation to work placement competences (the Shell Technology and Enterprise
Programme – STEP) and the Independent Work Experience Module (DfEE), and the
4
TDU – Training & Development Unit
67
Learning Society Project, leading to centralised implementation and, in turn,
prompting new University policy and strategy.
The Employability Group reports to University’s Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC),
the Student Affairs Committee and the Business Relations Strategy Group. The
Employability Group on occasions also receives directives from LTCs. This is a centralised
committee which steers the learning and teaching of every School and ensures that we are
working towards comparability and consistency across the institution. Some staff resent the
centralised system of LTC giving directives about what should be done – particularly when
no good reason or evidence is given for change. This is something the Employability Group
is very aware of; that change must not occur for change’s sake.
Central structures
Central services which contribute to developing the employability of students are shown in
Figure 1 and are:
Careers Advisory Service
Learning and Teaching Support Centre (LaTiS)
Business Relations Unit
The Guild of Students; Education Officer, Development Officer &
Volunteering Development Co-ordinator
CPD Office
Alumni Office
Education Liaison Office/Widening Participation Office
Graduate School
These all work together through the Employability Group.
6. Embedding employability in the curriculum
The Employability Strategy only impacts upon the HE courses run by the University and does
not affect any of the courses run by our partner colleges. It is obviously easier to make
progress with embedding employability related initiatives in some schools than others; some
Schools are reticent to get involved at all. One major problem is that being a research
focussed institution, an academic who takes an interest in this kind of agenda may be branded
by colleagues as not being serious about their research. Politically this may not be expedient
for the individual member of staff.
Employability is being embedded within the curriculum as all new modules have to state the
intended learning outcomes for Personal and Key Skills (Self-Management; Managing own
learning; Communication; Problem Solving; Data Handling; Team/group work/working with
others). This list is used instead of the National Framework for Key Skills as it is deemed to
be more appropriate for this institution to work to – all students handle data for example, but
students of English or Drama would rarely encounter numerical data.
Personal Development Planning
By the direction of LTC, the Employability Group has taken on the responsibility of rolling
out Personal Development Planning (PDP) to all Schools by 2005. This will be achieved
through online self-appraisal and development plans completed at least annually through
Personal Tutorials. These resources have been developed centrally in consultation with many
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Schools and each School is offered technical support to customise the forms if it is required.
Seven Schools will be adopting this in the coming year. Students will reflect on, amongst
other things, their academic achievements, Personal and Key Skills and plan for their
employability and career management.
BP Team Development Programme
Exeter was one of the universities to take part in the BP Team Development Programme in
1997. This academic year (2002-03) ten Schools and over 1,000 first year undergraduates
participated. A small pilot group of postgraduates were also trained. So far, over 100
academics, senior managers and administrators have been trained as team development tutors
including several members of senior management. This has been crucial for promoting the
Team Development Programme to other academics.
PESCA
PESCA (Personal, Employment, Social, Career, Academic) our online package is available
for students to record their progress and development, and is used by several Schools to
support tutorials.
Independent Work Experience Module
The Independent Work Experience Module (IWE) was initially a generic module based upon
the DfES/HEFCE funded Jewels Project run jointly with the University of Plymouth.
Modules based upon this have been embedded within 3 programmes of study and are
currently being developed for a further 2 Schools. This module involves students reflecting
upon their learning experiences and personal development from being in the work place.
Schools receive support for seven days to customise the IWE module for their own
requirements. In addition to this, they receive on-going support for running the module –
three days per year for induction, marking and evaluation. Other staff (whose time is not
funded) are also involved in the marking of presentations, including the Employability Coordinator, the Key Skills Advisor and Careers Advisors.
Graduate School Skills Programme
The main provision for Postgraduates is currently the Graduate School Skills Programme and
Research & Methodology courses and seminars run by some Schools. Provision is set to
expand with the introduction of the proposed Postgraduate Skills Framework.
Key Skills Mapping
The Key Skills Mapping Exercise is funded through the Learning and Teaching Strategy and
seeks to map and code the key skills in undergraduate programmes. This is done through
analysis of the programme outline forms that are approved by Accreditation Committee. This
exercise has been completed for two Schools and commenced for a further six. The
outcomes of the mapping exercise are fed back to Learning and Teaching Committee so that
the strengths and weaknesses of each programme can be evaluated and suggestions for
amendments can be made as required.
7. Paying for employability
The post of the Employability Co-ordinator was for 3 years from HEROBAC funding, ending
in December 2003. Funding has not yet been secured for the continuation of this post.
The Learning and Teaching Committee provide Employability Project Funding. Funding for
2001-02, totalled £10,000, and was jointly provided by the Teaching Development Fund and
the Learning and Teaching Support Centre. Project funds for 2002-03 come entirely from the
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TDF and totalled £10,500. This budget is managed by the Employability Co-ordinator and
pays for, amongst other things, publicity material, technical support for webpage
development, material to support and train staff and production of the Guild Skills sessions
booklet.
Funding was awarded by BP to initiate the Team Development Programme which was
subsequently funded by HEFCE through the Learning and Teaching Strategy. Funding has
not been allocated for 2003-05, although it remains an integral part of the strategy. The
problem of funding this in the long term has not yet been resolved, but will involve seeking
sponsorship externally for at least part of the money. Other external funding pays for posts
such as that of the Volunteering Development Co-ordinator (HEACF). The problem with
these is that it is short term funding attached to long term strategy aims. The concern is that
if funding for projects such of the Team Development Programme can not be found and
Schools have worked hard to change cultural attitudes and embed it within programmes of
study, they will never want to get involved in central projects again. It will be seen as too
great a risk to get involved. The institution is very aware of these problems and is working to
mainstream funding for the continuation of the Employability Co-ordinator post. Longer term
funding for the Team Development Programme may involve the formulation of a part-time
post rather than buying in consultants which is prohibitively expensive. This would also give
Schools more flexibility about when they wanted to be involved in team development work.
8. Engaging academic staff
A network of Careers and Employability Tutors has been established with an academic
representative from every School. This network meets once a term and the group is facilitated
by the Employability Co-ordinator. This is a fairly informal group with the tutors or the
Employability Co-ordinator able to raise topics for discussion. Having ‘champions’ in each
school is undoubtedly invaluable for moving the debate forward. This may not always be the
same person who is appointed as C&E Tutor. The degree of involvement in different subjects
appears to be related to having a ‘champion’. Interestingly, with the introduction of PDP to
all Schools through the Personal Tutorial System, Schools which have never taken an interest
before are now engaging with the employability agenda.
Staff Development sessions are run by the Employability Coordinator for both the open
programme and induction sessions for staff. Presentations have been made to all Heads of
School, the Senior Management Group, Learning and Teaching Committee, Undergraduate
Faculty Board and the entire staff body of several Schools. It is planned that a presentation on
employability will be made to the University Council in the Spring of 2003.
9. Engaging Students
The Employability Group has a good relationship with the Guild of Students. The Guild’s
Development Officer, Education Officer and Volunteering Development Co-ordinator all sit
on the Employability Group.
Students are increasingly conscious of employability as an issue. Talks have been given in
many Schools promoting both employability and its related website. Fliers have been
produced promoting the Employability Website, Personal and Key Skills, PESCA, Earn &
Learn, PDP and the Exeter Personal Development Award. These are distributed through the
C&E Tutors, the CAS, and the Guild of Students.
Both the Careers Advisory Service and the Guild of Students run skills sessions. Training
sessions on employability and PDP have been provided by the Employability Co-ordinator
70
for the Guild of Students EXTRA! training team. We have a database of Alumni, Expert,
who are willing to support current students in career planning. This may involve alumni
giving students one-to-one advice and guidance via email, having alumni input into Careers
weeks, as has happened in the Schools of English and Performance Arts and may also involve
alumni providing work experience for students.
According to the Univerersum Graduate Survey 2002, 53% of Exeter students had part-time
work, not related to their academic specialisation, compared with 50% nationally. 14% of
Exeter students had part time work that was related to their academic studies, compared with
17% nationally. 23% of Exeter students were involved with Voluntary work (the same as the
national average). A study is currently being undertaken by the Employability Co-ordinator
to ascertain the level of paid work that students are undertaking, their motives for working,
and the level of debt that they are in. This is so that the University can gain a greater
understanding of the changing culture of students working while they study.
The Careers Advisory Service runs Earn & Learn in collaboration with the CAS at the
University of Plymouth. Earn & Learn is an online Jobshop service for all HEIs in the South
West Peninsula and the primary objective is to assist students find suitable part-time and
vacation work so that they may supplement their income whilst studying. The CAS is also
involved in GradSouthWest, a website advertising job vacancies across the region. This aims
to increase the number of graduates retained in the peninsula and is sponsored by the South
West of England RDA. The University of Exeter is also part of TargetedGrad.
‘TargetedGrad links premier employers with high calibre students from the 30 most targeted
universities in the UK and Ireland.’
10. Securing quality and measuring performance
The first Careers & Employability Audit was conducted over the summer of 2002. The
Careers & Employability Tutor for each School completed the audit, with the support of
School Administrators, chairs of School Teaching Committee and other staff as required.
There was a 100% return of audits with varying degrees of depth of answer. Hopefully,
completion of this audit has raised awareness in some Schools about services that they can
access in order to enhance the employability of their students and start the process of career
planning. The results of this audit will help the Employability Group to gauge how the
Employability Strategy is being implemented within Schools. The audit results will also help
the Careers Advisory Service and the Employability Group to identify gaps in provision. This
will enable us to provide the best support possible for Schools in the delivery of
employability and Personal and Key Skills, Personal Development Planning and careers
education, information and guidance.
The Careers Advisory Service is working towards Matrix Standards, to ensure consistency
and quality of careers guidance, information and staff training. The University will be
subject to a QAA Institutional Audit in the autumn of 2003. This will include consideration
of the implementation of the QAA Precepts Document on Careers Education and Information
Guidance which includes elements of employability within it. Feedback is collected from
students and employers working on campus, but not from alumni. Feedback is analysed and
considered at quarterly Planning Meetings, and changes are implemented as required.
Actual
2000
Benchmark
UK Average
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PI 15
PI 2
94
92
95
94
94
93
2001
PI 1
PI 2
94
91
94
92
93
92
Table 4: University of Exeter Employability Performance Indicators
The graduate destination information data for 2000 graduates was published by HEFCE
during 2001 as the Employability Performance Indicator (EPI) (Table 4). The indicator
figure for Exeter was a little disappointing, placing the University just in the lower half of the
table, but interestingly, alongside Warwick and Durham universities, also members of the ’94
Group of HEIs. For many students, success at a personal level is perceived to be the
fulfilment of goals and aspirations, what ever form that may take, and may not always
correspond to the institutional (or Government) view of success as measured by the EPI.
11. Conclusions
The mixture of ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ initiatives have worked well to form a robust,
integrated policy for enhancing student employability at Exeter. Having one central contact,
the Employability Co-ordinator who oversees the whole agenda, has enabled greater inroads
into Schools than was previously possible with a more fragmented approach. In addition, the
support of Senior Managers has been imperative for the agenda to move forward and be taken
seriously by some Schools. The major problem is the short-term nature of funding which
means that long-term planning for both posts and projects is difficult and means that some
schools do not want to get involved for fear that funding will cease and their efforts at
embedding initiatives will come to nothing.
5
PI 1 =
Employed + Further Study
Employed + Further Study + Unemployed
PI 2 =
Employed
Employed + Unemployed
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Annex: The QAA CEIG Code of Practice
Precepts and guidance
General principles
1 The institution should have a clear, documented and accessible policy for career
education, information and guidance (CEIG), including statements of the institution's
objectives and of students' entitlements and responsibilities.
2 CEIG provision should be impartial, client-focused, confidential, collaborative, accessible
and in accordance with the institution's equal opportunities policy.
3 CEIG provision should be subject to the institution's quality assurance procedures.
4 The institution should seek to identify and cater for the special needs of students who may
be disadvantaged in the labour market.
Institutions should consider:

ensuring that statements of service make clear who is responsible for the delivery
of different aspects of CEIG, including definitions of the role of academic staff and
the expert contribution of any dedicated career service staff;

providing explicit statements of service that set out clearly and concisely how their
CEIG provision is intended to meet the individual needs of students;

the extent to which their policy on equal opportunities is integrated with their career
provision to avoid discriminatory practices which disadvantage individuals, or
groups of students;

how best to make CEIG provision, as detailed in their statement of service,
available to all students including part-time/overseas/distance-learning
students/students based on different campuses;

implementing procedures to support a collaborative approach, which strengthens
and supports links with relevant internal contacts (e.g. other student service staff,
academic staff etc) and with relevant external organisations
(e.g. career companies in the public and private sector, other guidance and
counselling services, adult guidance networks, further education sector etc);

the adoption of national quality standards for CEIG services, such as those of the
Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) and/or the Guidance
73
Council;

the impact of relevant statutory requirements or UK-wide and regional policy on
CEIG provision.
Institutional context
5 The institution should ensure that its CEIG provision is designed to prepare its students
for a successful transition to employment or further study and for effective management of
their career thereafter.
6 The institution should ensure that CEIG interests are represented in appropriate internal
decision-making forums.
7 CEIG should be promoted internally, with mechanisms in place to support and encourage
collaboration with academic and other appropriate departments for the benefit of students.
Institutions should consider:

integrating CEIG within the curriculum for all higher education programmes of
study, e.g. through incorporating CEIG into their learning and teaching strategies;
and making explicit the links between CEIG and a particular programme of study by
means of the programme specification;

ensuring that CEIG providers have effective and appropriate mechanisms for
referring students, should it be necessary, to other internal or external expert
sources of information and assistance;

promoting understanding and mutual support for the distinctive and complementary
roles of CEIG, academic and other appropriate staff through, for example, staff
development;

Adopting the HE Progress File initiative developed by universities UK
(formerly CVCP)/SCOP/universities Scotland (formerly COSHEP) and the QAA.
Students
8 Students should be provided with information on the services available to them while
registered at the institution and those which will continue to be available to them when they
have left.
9 The institution should make clear in its information to prospective and present students
how the skills and knowledge acquired during study are intended to be of use to them in the
development of their careers.
Institutions should consider:

promoting the importance of skills development for students in relation to
employment and lifelong learning through, for example, progress files;

making reference to statements of transferable abilities contained in relevant
subject benchmark statements;

ensuring that responsibilities for providing references for students, including their
format coverage and quality, are clearly located and effectively discharged;
74

how best to promote CEIG provision as detailed in the statement of service to parttime/overseas/distance-learning students/e-learning students/students based on
different campuses;

how best to use new technologies to promote and deliver CEIG.
External relations
10 The institution should promote close collaboration between employers and CEIG
providers to maximise the benefits to both students and employers.
11 The institution should ensure that its CEIG provision takes account of developments in
the employment market and work opportunities in the community at large.
Institutions should consider:

working with the core UK-wide professional career bodies, Association of Graduate
Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS); and The Higher Education Careers Service
Unit (CSU), to help develop best practice;

working with a range of professional and related bodies*;

helping employers and other opportunity providers to publicise information about
their organisations and about their opportunities for learning and work in a manner
consistent with precept 2;

maximising and promoting the value of work experience and work-related learning
to both students and employers;

developing ways to provide an effective exchange of information and improving
understanding between employers, other opportunity providers, and staff delivering
CEIG;
* For example: The Guidance Council; The Welsh Higher Education Career Service; Institute of Careers Guidance; and
Association of Careers Advisers in Colleges of Higher Education.

extending the CEIG network to include external resources such as employers and
alumni who can, for example, offer insights into employer expectations and
specialist career information;

disseminating, as appropriate, available labour market information to cover the
local, national and international markets.
Staff
12 The institution should ensure that all members of its staff involved with CEIG provision,
including academic staff, have the skills, knowledge and training appropriate to the role they
are undertaking.
Institutions should consider:

supporting any staff involved in the provision of CEIG in developing their relevant
professional expertise through continuing professional development internally and
externally;

providing the training required for academic and other appropriate staff to fulfil their
75
role in providing CEIG.
Monitoring, feedback, evaluation and improvement
13 Providers of CEIG services should be required to account formally and regularly for the
quality and standards of their services with the objective of promoting continuous
improvement.
14 The institution should ensure that data collected by the institution on graduate
destinations informs its CEIG provision.
Institutions should consider:

incorporating feedback from key stakeholders into CEIG provision;

setting appropriate targets in order that success in the provision of CEIG, or
otherwise, can be measured and used to promote continuous improvement;

recording unmet requests made to the career service with a view to amending the
statement of service and/or making changes in provision of services
if appropriate;

producing an annual report on the provision, performance and outcomes of the
CEIG service. This should be publicised widely and considered in detail by
the institution;

collecting data, centrally and through academic departments, on graduate
destinations that extends beyond the first destination requirements of
statistical agencies;

undertaking regular reviews of their CEIG policies, to include development,
monitoring and resourcing.
76