Nicola Urquhart
Careers Adviser
Employability
School of History
What we will cover:
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What is employability?
What employability skills are graduate
recruiters looking for?
How to develop your employability skills
Getting involved
How the Careers and Employability Service can
support you
Action points
Questions
What is Employability?
‘A set of attributes, skills and
knowledge that all labour
market participants should
possess to ensure they have the
capability of being effective in
the workplace – to the benefit of
themselves, their employer and
the wider economy.’ (CBI, March
2009)
What employability skills are graduate
recruiters looking for?
Leadership
Communication
Energy
Self awareness
Contextual/cultural awareness
Report writing
Problem Solving
Adaptability
Numeracy
Positive attitude
Reflection
Confidence
Team working
Integrity
Capacity to develop
Reliability
Drive and resilience
Project management
IT skills
Business and
customer awareness
Enterprise
Enthusiasm/passion
Planning and organisation
Why are employability skills so important?
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Increased competition –
over 400,000 graduates
leaving university each
year.
‘Our latest UK recruitment
campaign closed having
attracted c.24500. The bank
will offer c.475 places in
2012.’ HSBC newsletter April
2012
Changing world of work:
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Global economy
More career changes
New technology/social media
Roles change
Changes to graduate
recruitment
Changes to graduate recruitment
Previously…
Degree + good application +
good interview = graduate role
Changes to graduate recruitment
Now …
Employers increasingly
focusing on attributes in
addition to traditional
employability skills
Successful applicants have
often had experience within
the organisation via Insight
days, work experience,
internships etc.
What employers say…
"Few students are able to
articulate what they have
gained from their
experience in higher
education." (Association of
Graduate Recruiters, 1995)
How you can develop employability skills at the
University of Kent
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Through your course
Through work experience/volunteering
Through getting involved and taking part
Making use of the Careers and Employability
Service
Developing employability skills through your
course
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an ability for clear expression both oral and written
putting forward ideas and arguments in a concise
manner
gathering, investigating and assessing material
condensing facts, ideas and arguments
basing conclusions on research
synthesising ideas
organising material in a logical and coherent way
Getting involved
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Taking part in clubs and
societies
Over 130 to choose from
Running clubs and
societies
You could even set up a
new one!
Developing employability skills through
Gaining work
experience
A recruiter in a
major London law
firm says,
“If you have been
employed scrubbing
pots in a hot sticky
kitchen we can see
that you have
resilience”
Employability initiatives at the University of
Kent
Kent Student
Certificate for
Volunteering
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Gold+
Employability Points
• Over 200 rewards
Internships, work experience, training
experiences, project placements
Employability initiatives at the University of
Kent
“I have really enjoyed
working as a student
ambassador especially
being part of the summer
core team as I got to meet
new people of all abilities,
get involved in different
activities and learn new
skills and gain more
experience”.( Katie
Hardaker Sports Science)
How the Careers and Employability Service can
help you.
What we do
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Careers Talks and Workshops
Careers Library: Employer Directories, Occupational
Profiles, Books etc
Comprehensive Web Pages
Careers Employability Award (CEM) on Moodle
Vacancy Database
Alumni Careers Network
Annual Careers and Recruitment Fair
Drop In - Quick Query
Careers Guidance Interviews
Careers and Employability Service Web Pages
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Choosing a Career
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/ChoosingCar
eer.htm
What can I do with my degree in History
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/history.htm
I want to work in…
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin.htm
Careers Events on campus
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/casevents.htm
Use the Careers Library and Publications
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Graduate Directories
Postgraduate
Prospectuses
Various books and
publications
Career Planning Guide for
Undergraduates
Attend Careers Talks and Workshops.
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Choosing a career
Careers in the public sector
How to make effective
presentations
Commercial awareness
Getting the most from Careers
Fairs
More information available
http://www.kent.ac.uk/ces/events/
Employers visiting campus
Examples this term included:
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MBDA
JET Programme (Teaching
English)
Bloomberg
RAF
Teach First
Majestic Wine
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Careers and Employability Service Fair
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Thursday 1st
November 2-5pm Eliot
Great Hall.
Chance to meet
employers and hear
about opportunities
Moodle Careers Employability Award
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Assessed by a range of quizzes and assignments
Will greatly improve your career planning and job
hunting skills
Takes about 12 hours to complete
On completion you will get a University of Kent
Careers Employability Award to add to your CV
Get 40 Kent Employability points for successful
completion of the module.
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm
Comments from students who have completed
the award.
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“I liked the fact that the assignments relate to how you
would fill in answers on a graduate job application step
by step and provides examples of how to fill it in.”
“I really enjoyed the quizzes. They effectively
highlighted the gaps in my knowledge, as many of the
answers surprised me. I also found the module on
creating my own CV very useful, these skills will be
invaluable for tailoring my CV to particular jobs.”
“There is a wealth of information about everything; I
especially liked the individual information about
specific job types and the advice given about interview
skills.”
The Careers Employability Award
On successful completion you receive a University
of Kent Careers Employability Certificate.
You can then add the following to your CV to show to
employers.
"On my own initiative I enrolled for and successfully
completed the University of Kent Careers Employability
Award which covered identification and development of
employability skills, self-awareness, identification of
relevant career options, researching opportunities, CV
preparation and interview skills."
Speak to an adviser:
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Quick query, drop in and
speak to an adviser
10.30am -12.30pm and
2.00pm-4pm Monday to
Friday.
E mail @careerhelp and an
adviser will respond to your
query.
You can also book a longer
career guidance (Jenny
Keaveney) appointment
over the phone or pop in.
Some well-known History graduates
… not to mention Alan Bennett; Salman Rushdie; the
director of the Howard League for Penal Reform;
Michael Mansfield QC; the Bishop of London; Chris
Martin; the Director-General of the CBI, the Chief
Executive of Barclays Bank; an award-winning
children’s writer; and the producer of Hotel Babylon
Employment sectors
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Management & Administration
Finance & Business
Marketing, Sales & Advertising
Education
Arts, Culture, Media and Sport
Social and Welfare
Many others!
Stay up-to-date with what is happening
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www.kent.ac.uk/ces
www.kent.ac.uk/employability
Employability Newsletter
Follow us on Facebook at University
of Kent Student Employability
www.facebook.com/UKCES
Follow us on Twitter at
@unikentemploy
Check out your School website.
Action Points
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Get involved!
Take advantage of the
initiatives the university has to
offer.
www.kent.ac.uk/employability
Make use of the Careers and
Employability Service.
www.kent.ac.uk/ces
Don’t leave it until the last
minute!
The University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
You can download a copy of this presentation
at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm