Employability in Archaeology

Kenneth Aitchison, Institute of Field Archaeologists & Melanie Giles, University of Manchester Employability and curriculum design in archaeology

Research into labour market intelligence statistics Interviews with employers Academy research into employability Experiences of academic colleagues Masters level courses – both practical and non-vocational Employability and Curriculum Design in Archaeology

Employability and Curriculum Design in Archaeology Advice for course convenors and designers: –Assessment –Work placements –Other practical experience –Guest lecturers – content and teaching quality Advice for tutors and internal lecturers Advice for students –Undergraduates –Postgraduate –Those on work placements

Funding Research: Employability Assessing and Assisting Archaeology Student Preparedness for Graduate Employment: University of York, with proposed dissemination by University of Bournemouth Developing undergraduate work place learning in non-archaeological organisations: University of Sheffield

Developing undergraduate work place learning in non-archaeological organisations: University of Sheffield Aims: (a)To cater for those students who do not wish to pursue a purely archaeological career (b) To provide students with a distinctive and unique experience which will distinguish them when applying for archaeological jobs (c) To introduce graduates into the archaeological sector that have experience of the other side, whether it be journalism, development, ecology etc

Assessing and Assisting Archaeology Student Preparedness for Graduate Employment: University of York Aims: Increase student understanding of requirements for graduate employment Improve student effectiveness in the graduate job market The project will investigate: Student perceptions and awareness of the needs of archaeological and other employers Student perceptions and awareness of relevant skills learnt during their degree programmes and other University experiences How students can be assisted in identifying their experience and skills How students can be assisted in articulating their experience and skills in c.v.s and interviews

The Fieldwork Evaluation Project Thomas Dowson Angela Brennan Karina Croucher Hannah Cobb

AIMS OF THE PROJECT To evaluate the current state, provision and expectations of practical experience in the undergraduate archaeology degree. To identify good practice within practical experience To assess the role of practical experience in developing the employability of all students, whatever their intended career paths.

STUDENT QUESTION: WHAT TRANSFERABLE SKILLS DO STUDENTS ACQUIRE THROUGH FIELDWORK?

A Wider Perspective and More Options: Investigating the Longer Term Employability of Humanities Graduates Motivation Preparedness for Work and the Higher Education Experience Skills

Archaeology Graduate Careers Main aims of project 1.To survey the wide diversity of career paths that graduates have taken 2.To raise awareness of key skills that are significant in enhancing graduate career paths 3.To identify skills that might enhance the employability future generations of archaeology graduates 4.To stimulate discussion on these skills within the archaeological community inside and outside H.E. 5.To disseminate information on the full range of careers pursued by archaeology graduates HESA 6 month survey data Arts graduates and graduate level employment

What is your career history? How did your archaeology degree influence this? What skills did you gain through studying archaeology? What skills would you have liked to have received? Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur/enterprising? When did you realise you could set up your own company and in what context? What motivates or drives you? Was there a large element of risk involved in your decision to set up your own company/leave archaeology? What had been your intended career path? Are you satisfied in your chosen career? The Pilot Survey

Collaborative Project: English Languages Art, Design & Media Classics

Graduates Project The project investigates: The circumstances leading to entrepreneurial and enterprising behaviour The perception of these circumstances and behaviours by graduates The skills graduates have learnt through their degrees, equipping them to become entrepreneurial Skills they would have liked to have gained during their degrees to enhance and support entrepreneurial behaviour. Whether such skills can be better integrated into Higher Education curricula within humanities disciplines and so enhance the student learning experience and career expectations.

Employability: Not about vocation, but about embedding reflexivity in students, enabling them to: –Recognise their skills & abilities –Recognise how these increase their employability –Articulate this!