E MPLOYABILITY 14 th December 2007 Laura Dean Senior Lecturer Employability Office Leeds Metropolitan University

E MPLOYABILITY Incorporate work-related learning into the curriculum Work with academic staff to: Plan and develop PDP and employability inputs Staff development Workshops and resources Career development sessions for students

E MPLOYABILITY Interviewed –18 students –14 staff members Conducted two focus groups with students Ran card sort task with fifty FD tutors

E MPLOYABILITY Diverse group Differing destinations “The middle class students are quite strong and confident in being able to network, but the working class students don’t really know what is expected of them.” Study in a different environment Study in a different way – why?

E MPLOYABILITY 83.1 % intend to continue onto an Honours Degree 75 % intend to stay with either their current college or awarding institution. (Purcell et al, 2007) “Many of the students who applied for the foundation degree route also applied for the BA” Many moving physically to a new environment Large minority moving to a new institution completely.

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“Quite a high proportion of the students have done quite practical courses such as national diplomas and stuff, so they are quite practical when they are coming on to the course.” “I think we have been wrestling with this for a few years now… when they are required to do things like their dissertation, that they haven’t really had to do a substantial piece of writing before, so that’s an issue.” “So yes they do come in with that kids or reticence that “Oh my God, I’ve never done this kind of work before.” Concern centres on academic differences

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“[PDP is good because] it makes you address your strengths and weaknesses” “I think skills audits and stuff in PDP are good and help with what you’re doing.” “It [self awareness] is [built into the course] but I don’t find it that helpful. Its okay for the eighteen nineteen year olds, but for mature students they have already been through a lot of this stuff in life. “

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“It’s not just about being able to write a good CV, it’s about real life and having that drive and awareness of the market” “If you want them to do the exercises is to make it part of the criteria in assessment and engage them that way. Encourage them to do it week by week, then reflect and relate it to day to day”

E MPLOYABILITY “I would use a web chat thing because … you get an answer back – though it would be nice to sit and talk to somebody.” “They can delve deeper into what you want to do.” In describing what they liked about a particular careers service “They as well …. Its like having a real person. “ “Like a forum, where you have a subjects and everyone writes in – I’d find that useful.” “I think its always better to sit with someone.”

E MPLOYABILITY “Never” “NEVER!” “I didn’t know we could”

E MPLOYABILITY 2 % used careers adviser 20 % used tutor 45 % relied solely on prospectus (Purcell et al, 2007) “We all have full time jobs” “We are not looking to leave the service” “Its like when you were at school a teacher would tell you you would end up being a no good road sweeper or something” “It seemed my mum was the best person to talk to”

E MPLOYABILITY Work life balance Progression “Well the main thing was that Leeds Met don’t actually do a follow up course.” Transition [The transition] was very difficult at first, but gradually as its going its getting better, I don’t know about the top up though”.

E MPLOYABILITY Second Life Facebook Networking Sites Chat Boards “Doesn’t have to be real time” “I don’t work normal hours so that [asynchronous communication] would be better” s

E MPLOYABILITY Referencing “If you access something for info you are not that bothered, if its an academic tool that’s different. “ Simple/simplistic “Got to be simple to read. I turn off if I don’t find it easy to understand” When looking at Destinations site “I think it looks pleasing to the eye, but plain English it is not!” Foundation Degree specific

E MPLOYABILITY Interactive resources Simple to use, even if less comprehensive Badged as foundation degree resources Covering: work life balance, decision making and transitioning

E MPLOYABILITY … social engineering – 2 strongly agree, 1 agree “At government level we strongly agree but from a group perspective this isn’t how we view employability and PDP” … extracurricular activity – 2 strongly agree. … covering key skills – 1 strongly agree, 2 agree … benefiting from part time casual and voluntary jobs – 2 agree, 2 strongly agree …. Encouraging involvement in student clubs and societies. – 2 agree.

E MPLOYABILITY HEFCE (2007), Foundation degrees: Key statistics to HEFCE 2007 East Midlands Development Agency (2005) Moving forward with Foundation Degrees: Researching employer demand for foundation degrees in the East Midlands. Loughborough University: East Midlands University Association. Purcell, K., Elias, P., Adam, D., Behle, H., Ellison, R., and Nick Wilton, Applying for Higher Education – Career Choices and Plans Preliminary Findings from the Wave 1 investigation of the ‘class of 2006’ applicants for Higher Education who applied through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to study on full-time courses [Internet], HECSU (2007) CK/Futuretrack%20Applying%20for%20HE1.pdf. [accessed 8 December 2007] CK/Futuretrack%20Applying%20for%20HE1.pdf

E MPLOYABILITY 14 th December 2007 Laura Dean Senior Lecturer Employability Office Leeds Metropolitan University