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The Employability Strategy 2011 – 2015
Strategic Aim
To develop confident, employable graduates, who are much sought after by graduate
recruiters, and who, in addition to academic studies, have had the opportunity to acquire a
range of high level skills including career management, employability and life skills, in order
to become effective citizens, employers and entrepreneurs.
1. Introduction
1.1. At the University of Hull we ensure that our students receive an outstanding
academic education and a student experience that empowers personal and
professional development. We offer a curriculum that provides the highest quality of
education in a breadth of academic disciplines, which gives students the opportunity
to enhance their intercultural literacy and their employability in an ever changing and
competitive graduate labour market.
1.2. This strategy supports the vision and mission of the University’s Strategic Plan and
Learning and Teaching Strategy. Students graduating from the University of Hull will
have the knowledge, skills and confidence that will enhance their employability in the
world of work and their competitiveness in the global economy.
1.3. A systematic framework for the development of personal, professional and
employability skills will be provided for our students. It will contribute to the profile of
the distinctive ‘University of Hull Graduate’ and enable and encourage students to
personalise their learning and validate their achievements (HEAR and KIS),
developing them as independent, confident, responsible, enterprising and ethical
graduates, with a life-long commitment to learning, and able to compete successfully
in the world.
1.4. Through giving greater focus to the development of employability skills linked to high
levels of academic achievement, our graduates will have the opportunity to become
outstanding global citizens and to contribute to their communities, and will value lifelong relations with the University.
1.5. The Employability Strategy aligns with The Strategic Plan, with a particular focus
upon:
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Competing on quality through innovation - Student Experience (Section 1.3)
Individualised student experience (Section 3.1.1)
The distinctive ‘University of Hull Graduate’ … going beyond the student experience
(Section 3.1.2)
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2. Wider Context
2.1. Employability is not just about getting employment. It is about the process of how
individuals engage with a wide range of work-related opportunities and is part of a
reflective learning process, whereby students and graduates articulate their
attributes, experiences and skills. The Higher Education Academy: Learning and
Employability 1defines the components needed to be acquired by students and
graduates to be able to compete effectively: “...a set of achievements - skills,
understanding and personal attributes - that makes graduates more likely to
gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations.”
(“Employability in HE, what it is and what it is not”, Mantz York, 2006)
2.2. Graduate employability has been highlighted as the key priority for business by the
CBI. The National Student Forum emphasised the importance of students acquiring
work experience during their studies. Both of these views have been endorsed by
Government, articulated through the Wilson Review, making it clear that
employability and the development of high level skills is pivotal to the future success
of the country’s economic recovery. Recommendation 4 of The Review, states:
Ideally, every full-time undergraduate student should have the opportunity to
experience a structured, university-approved undergraduate internship during their
period of study. Where such internships are paid, government should examine the
feasibility of supporting companies that host students through a tax credit or grant
mechanism. Where internships are unpaid, universities should use their ‘OFFA
funds’ to support eligible students rather than condone a policy that could inhibit
social mobility.
2.3. Universities are now required to provide increasingly detailed information about
graduate destinations. The UK Higher Education sector is a rapidly changing
market-place and with the increase in fees for the 2012 undergraduate intake, there
is the likelihood that students as ‘consumers’ will have higher expectations.
Individuals are increasingly likely to be interested in the value of Higher Education,
and how it will benefit their employment prospects over the course of their working
life.
2.4. There has been a number of changes to employability performance indicators, such
as the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education Survey, with greater emphasis on
the definition of what is and is not a ‘graduate job,’ whilst increasing numbers of
students and changes in the labour market have blurred the distinction. The census
survey provides a snapshot of employment (rather than employability) 6 months
after graduation and the data is used in national league tables and contributes to
one of the University performance indicators set by HEFCE. Dissemination and
communication of the DLHE data to staff and students is vital.
The Higher Education Academy’s Enhancing Student Employability Co-ordination Team (ESECT) definition in
Knight, P.T. and Yorke, M. (2004) Learning, Curriculum and Employability in Higher Education. London:
Routledge Falmer
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2.5. The University’s vision and mission refers to students “with the potential to succeed,
regardless of their financial circumstances”. This will be funded through the Access
budget.
2.6. It is important that support is provided for students, whose professional networks
might be limited. Influencing a student’s network can result in increased
opportunities for the student, as well as raising aspirations and overcoming career
barriers and perceptions. (OFFA agreement).
3. Key strategic actions:
3.1. To work with our students and graduates to enable them to develop the full range of
high level skills and provide essential employability and life skills in order to become
effective citizens, employees, and contributors to the local, national and international
economy.
3.2. To strengthen our collaborative links with employers, large graduate recruiters and
SMEs, third sector organisations and partner colleges, and alumni in order to
enhance the reputation of the University and expand opportunities.
3.3. To ensure academic departmental engagement in employability is transparent to
potential students and their families, and to current students in curriculum delivery.
3.4. To develop the availability of work related opportunities, internships, work
placements and voluntary opportunities, both within, and external to, the programme
of study.
3.5. To embed employability as a core business activity of academic departments and
ensure that Heads of Departments (HoD) co-ordinate employability activities within
academic departments, working closely with the student body.
3.6. To develop a strong employability network within the University linking academic
and Service departments and the student body to provide a coherent and
coordinated programme of support and opportunities for all students.
3.7. To support and enhance the University’s commitment to the employability agenda
through focussed staff development opportunities and the incorporation of specialist
external expertise.
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4. Guiding Principles
Informed Career
Decision Making
Connecting & applying
academic knowledge to
skills
Raising Aspirations
Employable
Graduate
Engaging with
community/employers
Improving Retention
Figure 1: Qualities of the ‘Employable Graduate’
4.1. Successful implementation of the Employability Strategy is dependent upon a
collaborative approach, with clear lines of accountability.
4.2. An important strand of the strategy is the commitment to adequately
resourcing provision, in terms of individuals and the development of their
skills base and technology. Identifying specialists within the university community
and developing a collegiate approach at both intra and inter-departmental level is a
pre-requisite to ensuring provision is sustainable. Departments will identify
‘employability champions.’
4.3. Employability provision should be inclusive and take into account equality of
opportunity for different groups; barriers to engagement such as disability, finance
and time constraints must be addressed.
4.4. Consistent and collaborative approaches to employability will be used to aid
understanding and to empower students in their personal and career development.
It is the responsibility of both the Academic and Service areas of the
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University to contribute to the Employability agenda.
4.5. Human Resources have a role to play in working with academic departments to
develop the profile and promotions policy for academic staff appointments linked to
the employability agenda. It is important to ensure that in applied disciplines,
students benefit from the skills and knowledge of high calibre industry experts who
have recent/current experience.
4.6. The new University Strategic Plan includes a University Skills Framework to help
define the attributes of the Hull graduate. Library and Learning Innovation will have
a significant role in delivering support for digital literacy, academic writing, study
skills and maths within that framework. The Skills Team will play a key role in this
work which will include delivering online resources; peer assisted study schemes;
and face to face activities.
4.7. The Enterprise Centre and Knowledge Exchange have a role to play in developing
enterprising behaviours, attributes and skills, as outlined by QAA (see draft February
2012) and have been identified as a specialist support service within this area.
4.8. As The University of Hull offers students many pathways to qualifications and
student’s university careers vary considerably, students will be able to access
employability provision in a variety of ways, embedded within curriculum provision
and as extra - curricular activities.
5. Implementing Employability Provision2
5.1. The Careers and Employability Service (C&ES) provides opportunities for students
and graduates to access information about their progression routes and to develop
the skills and abilities to make and enact future plans. High quality advice and
guidance in accordance with the QAA precepts in careers education, information
and guidance will be available to students to support their progression into,
throughout, and beyond higher education.
5.2. The potential employability skills to be gained by studying at the University of Hull,
with evidence from current case studies, will provide valuable marketing materials
for ongoing recruitment activities and enhance KIS data.
5.3. The University has identified areas of provision that directly address employability
skills and careers education, advice, information and guidance. Annexe 1 provides
a flow of how employability will be embedded.
5.4. An early objective is for the C&ES to offer workshops with groups of departmental
representatives on a faculty by faculty basis.
6. Areas of Provision for Employability
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See accompanying set of Employability Strategy Implementation Notes
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6.1. Embedded Skills Provision
The development of employability skills is most effective when embedded within
programmes of study. Students naturally acquire skills through their course - some
directly related to their subject, some to do with the process of learning, or study
skills, some explicitly relevant to a subsequent career, eg in medicine or
engineering.
6.2. Tailored Provision
The Careers and Employability Service (C&ES) promotes employability skills to
meet the needs of specific academic departments, building on and helping to make
explicit, the many skills that students acquire during their academic studies. The
C&ES has a significant programme of activity outside of subject teaching to help
students develop employability skills.
6.3. Centralised Events and Workshops
Central workshops align with elements of the career planning process. Attendance
requires a collaborative approach in encouraging more students to engage, building
on existing achievements in this activity by members of the Careers and
Employability Service. Central workshops are often run by employers and are an
extremely important part of employability skills development and also employer
engagement.
6.4. A Personalised Approach to Careers and Employability
As a key objective of the C&ES, a personalised approach is vital to ensuring the
provision of an inclusive service, meeting the needs of all our users and widening
participation. The C&ES currently provides 1:1 guidance appointments and a drop-in
service. Feedback from users indicates that this is a valued service, which will
therefore be reviewed to identify how it can remain a sustainable provision alongside
the increased demand arising from the new Employability agenda.
6.5. Free elective Undergraduate Career Management Skills (CMS) Module and PG
CMS
The CMS module follows a coherent planning model and is a proven way to
increasing students’ confidence and awareness and equipping them with vital
employability skills. The free-elective is popular but in its current form, the UG freeelective only reaches a small cohort of students and will be revised to enable uptake
by a much more extensive student cohort.
6.6. Work based learning/Work-related learning/Work Experience/Enterprise
The graduate labour market is becoming increasingly competitive. The University
has a responsibility to provide students with opportunities for work experience so
that they can gain a competitive advantage, upon graduation. The Wilson Review
reinforces the importance of such initiatives.
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Work based learning (WBL) will vary from Programme of Study to Programme of
Study however HoDs will be required to introduce some form of WBL into all
Programme of Study (see annexe 2 for Programme of Study possible WBL
activities).
6.7. Employability and Enterprise Advisory Group
Greater interface between the business community and the university will be
achieved if an advisory group is established. A refreshed enterprise and
engagement strategy would provide the impetus for setting up such a group and
would bring a strategic approach to business engagement and provide clarity to
stakeholders around first point of contact; it would provide a platform in which to
showcase the university’s ‘product portfolio.’ The Wilson Review emphasises the
importance of such initiatives.
Maintaining links long after graduation, particularly through Alumni Associations,
enables universities to develop brand loyalty and provide income generation
opportunities. Employability is a key component of this process and will form a key
strand in addressing this aspect of the University’s Strategic development. The
Careers and Employability Service will engage with other services through the
Enterprise and Engagement agenda.
6.8. Professional Careers Networks and E mentoring
The alumni community of the university can provide the resource for developing
professional networks and engaging with a programme of mentoring. This should
not be exclusive to business and should encompass all professions. Given the focus
on pre-entry advice and guidance this should also include secondary school
students. E mentoring will support the Retention Strategy.
6.9. Vacancy Jobs Board
This is a vital pre-requisite to advertise graduate level jobs, internships and
volunteering opportunities to Hull students and graduates. This will improve DLHE
outcomes. The C&ES currently uses free software and will look to implement a
bespoke jobs board that can be branded. The aim is to increase the number of
opportunities by 1000%.
6.10.
Student/Graduate Recruitment Agency
HEIs are developing recruitment style services to operate both internally and
externally, providing work opportunities to students and graduates; these
opportunities provide opportunities to supplement income and support living costs
whilst gaining valuable work experience and enhancing employability skills.
7. Measuring Success
7.1. Improving DLHE outcomes requires a collaborative approach. Departmental Heads
are accountable for DLHE outcomes and therefore it is essential they consult with
specialists from both within their faculty and across the specialist support services,
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with the aim of increasing graduate employability for their course/programmes of
study.
7.2. In line with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Employability Strategy will focus on
the measurement broader outcomes rather than interim outputs, however interim
outputs are a key element in checking progress towards meeting identified
outcomes.
7.3. The judgement of success in rolling this strategy out and its implementation will be
determined by how well academic departments and other central departments such
as the Careers and Employability Services, CDTE, Knowledge Exchange, HUU and
external partners, come together to collaborate in this university wide framework.
7.4. The key to this success is the underlying culture, which must be one of
partnership, with departments taking the lead and a shared approach to
brokering specialist skills and advice from the above partners.
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