1. Trying to embed employability? What you need to know
Gareth Hill & Amy Lourenco
AGCAS Curriculum Design group

2. AGENDA Discuss the principles for embedding employability
Present the Curriculum Design tool-kit and find out how you can contribute
Share good practice amongst AGCAS members for how to embed employability

3. TRUE OR FALSE?
‘It’s too early for them to be thinking about employability’
‘We’re getting them to do a CV just so we can assess it as a written exercise’ 
‘I’ve got a CV lecture that I deliver, so I don’t need any help’
‘I’d really like to sit in on your lectures and learn more about employability’
‘If you came in to talk to the students about employability you would just be wasting your time and theirs'
‘You have expertise in working within the curriculum, would you take the lead in helping to write part of our college employability strategy on employability in the curriculum’

4. AGCAS Curriculum Design Group
Members:
Becci Hubbard – Nottingham Trent University
Ruth O’Riordan/Lynsay Pickering - University of Dundee
Darrin Beattie - Newcastle University
Claire Guy - Plymouth University
Sarah Longwell - Keele University
Aisling Flynn - Maynooth University
Amy Lourenco – The Careers Group/University College London
Gareth Hill - Swansea University
Aims:
Share existing approaches to embedding employability
Disseminate amongst AGCAS
Progress:
Toolkit for AGCAS Members (launching end 2019)
Training in 2020
The task group seeks to share existing approaches to embedding employability and careers within the curriculum (pillar 4- Research and knowledge) and find ways to disseminate this to the wider AGCAS community via written resources, research, training or conferences (pillar 1 learning). Longer term, the group will seek to collate, create or update frameworks and resources to support embedding within the curriculum, and share via consultations, conferences or publications. The overall aim is for AGCAS to be positioned as a leader of best practice, to influence approaches for embedding employability within the university curriculum (pillar 3: Advocacy, pillar 5: Quality).

5. Principles of Embedding Employability
In small groups sort the cards into order of priority
Stick onto the flip chart & place on the wall
Visit other groups and see if you agree!

6. Principles of Embedding Employability within the Curriculum
Inclusivity: all students, regardless of location, situation, programme or mode of study, should have equitable access to opportunities to enhance their employability, make successful transitions and manage their careers.
Collaboration: Employability should be seen as an institution- wide approach and therefore collaboration between both academic departments and careers services and also the HEI and relevant employers is important.
Engagement: The language used around employability is critical in terms of its potential impact on engagement, with all stakeholders. Developing a shared understanding and view of employability in any given context will facilitate staff, employer and student engagement.
Understanding: It is important that staff and students feel motivated to engage with employability, and understand the benefits of doing so. An example of this is awarding marks for employability elements of modules or choosing assessment tasks that develop employability skills (Pegg et al. 2012).
Strategic Support: High level strategic support is important in embedding employability throughout a University. Structures should outline responsibility and accountability.
Adapted from Artess, Hooley & Mellors-Bourne (2016) & HEA (2015)

7. Principles of Embedding Employability within the Curriculum
Holistic: students should have the opportunity to reflect on their skills, mind-set & experiences and discuss how to articulate their learning to employers. This in turn develops their confidence.
Current: links to the labour market and/or opportunities to connect with employers should be provided. Alongside a focus on adaptability to cope with the ever-changing global labour market. Content should be adapted to changing student cohorts.
Impact:  The design, delivery, assessment, and evaluation of curricula should be informed by a range of contemporary pedagogies for employability including conceptual and theoretical models, innovative learning and teaching for employability, relevant subject benchmarks,  professional body requirements, relevant data regarding the cohort and graduate labour market trends.
Expert Led: To have the maximum impact teaching should be delivered by employability professionals who can develop effective programmes and act as consultants in advising academic staff. In addition practitioners should ensure they meet their institutional requirements for teaching qualifications such as gaining HEA Fellowship
 Complementary: The massification of higher education has placed increased pressure on careers professionals to increase large group teaching and online careers education. This learning should be seen as complementary to one to one careers guidance; both are important and have distinctive roles to play.
Adapted from Artess, Hooley & Mellors-Bourne (2016) & HEA (2015)

8. Toolkit – Progress so far
Plan Do
Review
workspace login:
amy.lourenco, UOL password!

9. https://www. 473c1fc8f6d1d451622c6545a-16346. sites. k-hosting. co

10. Toolkit – Your thoughts & contributions
Plan Do
Review
What is missing? (Green post-it)
Could you write an article or case study (or refer us to someone that can)? (Pink post-it)
Discuss & add post-it to the corresponding flipchart around the room (Plan/Do/Review)
Please add your name and address if willing to contribute

14. Summary Discuss the principles for embedding employability
Present the Curriculum Design tool-kit and find out how you can contribute
Share good practice amongst AGCAS members for how to embed employability

15. Questions? Want to contribute to the tool-kit?

16. References
Artess, Hooley & Mellors-Bourne (2016). Employability: A review of the literature. HEA [online] Higher Education Academy. Available at: review_of_the_literature.pdf [Accessed 14 November 2018]
HEA (2015) The Framework for Embedding Employability in Higher Education. [online] Available at: on_academy_-_employability_framework_-_ pdf [Accessed 14 November 2018]
Pegg, A., Waldock, J., Hendy-Isaac, S. and Lawton, R. (2012) Pedagogy for employability. York:Higher Education Academy [online] Available at: ty_update_2012.pdf [Accessed 14 November 2018]