Embedding employability and employer engagement into postgraduate teaching: a case study from environmental management systems Simon Kemp 02 July 2008

2 Content Environmental Management Systems – description of the module Wilding Butler – the case study company The pedagogical approach Student employability outcomes Case study company outcomes Employer engagement outcomes

The module: Environmental Management Systems

4 Environmental Management Systems Postgraduate module available on the MSc (optional) and MEnvSci (compulsory) programmes Running in various formats since 1997 Previous version involved a fictional case-study company Academic year used a local company to provide the module case study

The case study company: Wilding Butler Construction Ltd.

6 Wilding Butler Construction Ltd. Local small enterprise with large subcontractor base Small head office located in Colden Common, Hampshire opposite the regional Environment Agency headquarters Contacted through regional economic partnership body and the sustainable business partnership Looking to establish a competitive advantage through environmental management and to engage with the University Wide portfolio of construction projects in the South of England – commercial, education, residential

7 Residential projects Education projects

The pedagogical approach

9 Pedagogical approach Mixed strategy with a focus on active student participation Total of 30 students of mixed expertise and a range of nationalities – British, French, Greek, Chinese No students with previous experience or training in the subject area Emphasis on embedding employability and employer engagement throughout the module via the case-study

10 Pedagogical approach Embedding employability and employer engagement was achieved through the following methods: –Lectures –Formation of five consultancy teams of six students –Company head office & construction site visits –Weekly correspondence with the company (through a filter) –Weekly progress and feedback sessions –Team blogs and wiki sites –ISO14001 certification audit –EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

11 WB Photos here

12 Pedagogical approach Embedding employability and employer engagement was achieved through the following methods: –Lectures –Formation of five consultancy teams of six students –Company head office & construction site visits –Weekly correspondence with the company (through a filter) –Weekly progress and feedback sessions –Team blogs and wiki sites –ISO14001 certification audit –EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

13 Page title First level bullet points may need expanding into second level bullet points –Second level bullet point

14

15 Pedagogical approach Embedding employability and employer engagement was achieved through the following methods: –Lectures –Formation of five consultancy teams of six students –Company head office & construction site visits –Weekly correspondence with the company (through a filter) –Weekly progress and feedback sessions –Team blogs and wiki sites –ISO14001 certification audit –EMS manual presentation to the board of directors

Student employability outcomes

17 Student employability outcomes Aims: Direct professional experience Practical application of theory Improved commercial understanding Practical experience of a growing area of employment Enhanced presentation skills Professional report writing skills Improved time management Enhanced CV for all students

18 Student employability outcomes Questionnaire and focus group to identify and assess outcomes: Practical skills: –Producing something very comprehensive for a real-life company –Allows us to develop clear understanding of EMS through hands-on experience –Really helps you to know how to implement an EMS –Working with a real company gave a sense of achievement –Very practical and provided lots of guidance for students in their future careers in ISO14001 –Excellent method of learning what could be a very difficult to grasp subject

19 Student employability outcomes Employability skills: –Relevant to business & work –Relevant to real life. Excellent real case study –Gave an insight into how the real world works – very useful reality check after 3 ½ years of environmental study –Makes you manage your time –Very practical experience, team work, organisation skills –Real company therefore something valuable to talk about in job interviews. Feel I am employable as a result –At last, learning about something useful in the workplace making us more employable – not enough of this

20 Student employability outcomes Criticisms: –Lots of work, difficult organising team meetings –Large groups, difficult to coordinate –Too much work –Heavy workload, although cant suggest how to reduce it Focus group 5 months after module completion: –Looking back the total workload wasnt that much greater than other modules in total –No exam meant the workload balanced out –We definitely need more practical and employable modules

Case study company outcomes

22 Case study company outcomes EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of ISO14001 Compliance with existing environmental legislation Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications Competitive advantage Nominated at local business awards

23

24 Case study company outcomes EMS manual – meeting most of the requirements of ISO14001 Compliance with existing environmental legislation Ensured compliance with emerging environmental legislation - Site Waste Management Plans training, template and records system Regional publicity in newspapers and sector publications Competitive advantage Nominated at local business awards

Employer engagement outcomes

26 Employer engagement outcomes Curriculum relevance Further participation in EMS module Continuing professional work to inform teaching Ongoing relationship for future student research projects Participation in EU Framework bid

Conclusions

28 Conclusions Module enables graduates to develop a specific employability profile and advanced level of expertise to pursue a career in EMS 10% of students have confirmed consultancy positions in this area prior to graduation Board presentations helped students prepare for interview presentations

29 Conclusions Production of the manual, certifications audits, and board presentations have given the students confidence in their EMS expertise Employers have stated confidence in the EMS ability of the students after inspecting the EMS manual and testing practical understanding in interviews Case study organisation have an EMS almost to ISO14001 level for very little temporal and financial cost Module coordinator retains professional practice and relevance in teaching

30 Next Year……

Any Questions? Contact details Simon Kemp School of Civil Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton. SO17 1BJ