1. Preparing our students for the best job not just any job
Jonathan Ayto - (Eportfolio Support Officer)
Presenting on behalf of Fiona Powling - (Practice Education Support Nurse)
Introduce yourself - presenting on behalf of Fiona Powling.
Background to use of PebblePad at York
Since 2013.
Mentors and personal supervisors provide feedback and assessment in practice portfolio
Eportfolio Support Team setup to help implement the use of PebblePad throughout the Department

2. Current uncertainties
Introduction of associate nurses
Removal of NHS bursary
Brexit
At a glance, good employability -  99.4% of nurses and 100% of midwives gained employment at the end of the programme.
Vacancies are high in the local and national market
However, there are uncertainties on the horizon and we want to ensure our students remain employable and are adaptable.
Examples of changes:
Associate nurses –may reduce demand for degree level registered nurses
Currently, many students study and stay in the local area. They are often recruited by employers who they have completed practice placements with and so have built a connection=. The removal of bursary opens up opportunity for overseas recruitment. May mean students don’t stay in local area and are therefore competing for jobs nationally and globally with employers who they do not have any previous relationship with . Students will have to work harder to sell themselves.
Intro of fees will also increase expectation amongst students - want assurances they be able to gain employment at end of programme.
Brexit - remains to be seen the affect this will have on healthcare and the NHS
On the University and national agenda’s to ensure graduates remain employable in a changing market
Our responsibility  to support long term career planning
So how can PebblePad help?

3. PebblePad and employability
PebblePad can:
Provide a lifelong portfolio of evidence
Demonstrate use of technology
Showcase professional development to employers through a simple URL.
Support revalidation process
We want our students to showcase their abilities and professional development to help them stand out
PP provides a platform to enable students to do this - present their achievements in online portfolio - photos, files, qualifications, certificates, shared with employers via web
Offers a richer view of the candidate than the standard CV and cover letter. Students can build their own online portfolio to document their career.
Easy for employers to access this richer view of the candidate as a link can be put in to any application form or CV
Using technology helps students show more varied skillset
Will help with revalidation - from April 2016 Nurses and midwives are required to revalidate every three years with the NMC.
Submit evidence of learning, practice hours and reflections on practice.

4. Encourage students to:
Our approach
Encourage students to:
Take up the alumni account
Collect evidence throughout their programme
Understand how PebblePad can support job applications
Encouraged to take up an Alumni Account to keep portfolio work beyond graduation.  
Encouraged to gather evidence throughout their programme - not left until the last minute
This is promoted at York by:
Face to face group sessions
Support team offering guidance online and via telephone
Careers fair - hosted six months prior to graduation to prepare students for employment

5. Collecting evidence contemporaneously Privacy and suitability
Challenges
Student engagement
Collecting evidence contemporaneously  
Privacy and suitability
Most student have indicated they will develop their portfolio but there is some reluctance.
Some aren’t willing to engage with PP any more than they need to - want to do the bare minimum to get themselves through the programme.
Nursing and midwifery programmes are applied disciplines - assumption that students who enrol on the programmes plan to secure a job as a on completion
We make the students aware of the potentials of PP early in the course - not until the reality of applying for a job kicks in that the students really start to engage with it
Have to consider best time to tell students about preparing their portfolio.
Too early and students are preoccupied with course requirements.
Local Trust employers start their recruitment for graduates about 6 months before students complete their programme
Too late and you have missed the opportunity to collect evidence.
Students seek reassurance that their account is secure. They are used to work auto-submitting and want reassurance that the University can’t access their personal work.
We encourage students to be mindful about what they send prospective employers and only send evidence that is relevant to the job they are applying for.

6. Aim to give students every advantage Gather evidence of uptake
Moving forward
Aim to give students every advantage
Gather evidence of uptake
Lifelong portfolio of evidence for new graduates or NMC revalidation
Graduate employability high on all University agendas
Any advantage we can give is valuable - higher education’s contribution to the workforce. PP offers an advantage.
Now that PP is successfully embedded, our next step is to collect data on the students’ use of it post graduation to inform our approach  
Only one year has so far completed the programme with PP
Survey feedback and our increased knowledge will help guide how we use the system to help employability
In summary we think PP gives students a platform to build a life long portfolio.
The portfolio can be used showcase their professional and personal development and help promote themselves in a changing marketplace.

7. Any questions? Graduate employability high on all University agendas
Any advantage we can give is valuable - higher education’s contribution to the workforce. PP offers an advantage.
Now that PP is successfully embedded, our next step is to collect data on the students’ use of it post graduation to inform our approach  
Only one year has so far completed the programme with PP
Survey feedback and our increased knowledge will help guide how we use the system to help employability
In summary we think PP gives students a platform to build a life long portfolio.
The portfolio can be used showcase their professional and personal development and help promote themselves in a changing marketplace.