The Long March towards Embedding Employability John Clarke Assistant Director Student Services (Employability and Life Skills)‏ University of the West of England

Introduction Where we’ve reached now The journey so far The biggest challenges The future What I've learned

Where we are now Graduate Development Programme (GDP) – all FT undergraduates (levels 1,2,3)‏ Facilitated group tutorial framework of delivery Level 2 GDP prime focus for employability Including newly developed e-learning resource MyFuture http://myfuture.uwe.ac.uk Institutional strategy on employability (signed off May 2007)‏ Institutional Employability advisory group June 2008 Faculty strategies Jan 2009 Lead role for careers service and significant new investment

The journey: part 1 Spring 2002 first employability paper adopted by Learning Teaching and Assessment Comm. December 2004 Employability Strategy group formed (led by Student Services)‏ January 2006 draft Employability strategy paper finalised for new VC arrival New VC sets employer relationships as core mission for institution and establishes new approach to setting policy on key issues Key role for external management consultants

The journey: part 2 Draft strategy shelved New employability project established led by Professor Kath Ross (from nursing) Aim to explore what employers want from graduates and how we could deliver it Central project group, five sub groups, employer interviews Parallel development of Graduate Development Programme initiative Project funding for careers team to develop e- learning resource

The journey: part 3 Revised Employability Strategy adopted in summer 2007 Autumn 2007 GDP level 1 rolled out Reorganisation within Student Services Careers, volunteering and international student support brought together under Employability and Life Skills heading Winter 2007 Employability project report 2007/8 series of staff development activities on employability led by careers team and Professor Ross

The key challenges Dealing with frustrations of changing institutional priorities, personalities and politics Accepting the changing role for a careers service when employability becomes and institutional priority Engaging careers staff with an occasionally incoherent process of change that is significantly altering their role Completing a new e-learning resource

The future Consolidate GDP across undergraduate provision and then look further Embed MyFuture as high quality, responsive resource for staff and students Develop new levels of employability support More intense individual support (coaching)‏ Certificated skills programme Consolidate structural role at faculty and institutional level for careers

What I've learnt Stick with it!!! Play to your strengths Professional expertise, knowledge and dedicated resource Be flexible and responsive to corporate agenda's Value engagement of senior academics Use senior management endorsement carefully It can be very powerful, but possibly shortlived