1. Employing Peer Support to Engage Non-traditional Student Progression and Employability
University of Leeds

2. Employability and Progression Assistants

3. Who are we? Chloe Marshall Widening Participation Employability
Officer
Alice Whapples
Employability and Progression Assistant
Abdul Awke
Karen Shaw
Mentoring
and Widening
Participation
Manager

4. Today’s Session The peer support pilot
Widening participation agenda at UoL
Employability and Progression Assistant (EPA) experience
Panel Q & A

5. Widening Participation Agenda
Office for Students
Access and Participation Plan
Progress
Access
Success

6. Context & Background
12.9% gap

7. EPA Pilot Objectives Final year WP students
Raise awareness of employability offer
Understand career readiness and engagement with employability activity
Enhance employability skills and graduate outcomes
Capture student voice to identify progression barriers
Make recommendations to engage target groups in sustained interventions

8. Progress of EPA Pilot EPA Phase 1 EPA Phase 2 February 2019
Graduate Outcomes
February 2019
September2019
January 2020
October 2020

9. Widening Participation at UoL

10. Our Target Groups 2019/20 >26% of UG student population are ‘WP’
Plus Programme
Lifelong Learning Centre
Home/EU BAME
Declared Disability

11. Lifelong Learning Centre
Definitions
Plus Programme
Access to Leeds
Low household income
Low participation neighbourhood
Low socio-economic group
First in their family to go to university
Low attainment school
Care experienced
Estranged
Refugees
Mature Learners
Lifelong Learning Centre
Multi-disciplinary school
Mature
Part-time
Foundation Entrants
Particularly from underrepresented groups

12. Where does Student Careers fit?
Arts, Humanities & Cultures
Social Sciences
Biological Sciences
Student Careers
Medicine & Health
Business School
Environment
Engineering & Physical Sciences

13. The EPA Role – Phase 1 Collate and interpret WP student data
Offer peer-like support to final year WP students
Build links with faculty teams
Local labour market
Identify gaps and duplication in employability support
Improve communications to students
Personal/professional development

14. The EPA Experience

15. High Risk
High Risk: Each student receives a score, calculated from ‘Career Readiness’ statements, which are taken from a registration survey that is completed at the start of the academic year. This statement is marked against their year of study and personal details to produce their risk score.
High Risk ‘Career Readiness’ statements:
‘I have no Careers ideas yet but want to start thinking’
‘I am not ready to start thinking about my career yet’
‘I have been applying for opportunities and so far I have not been successful’
‘I have not yet thought about my career choice or specialty beyond graduation ‘

16. Case-loading Activity
672
184 46

17. Case-load breakdown

18. Outward Facing Activity
In-Faculty Drop-in
Supporting and organising WP focused events, activities and workshops
Careers Centre Front of House
Social media strategy and inclusivity

20. Projects Project Title Information Employability Intern Audit Project
Auditing the Interns within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
Student Voices – Understanding Barriers and Developing Solutions
Looking at the barriers Widening Participation students may experience while accessing employability opportunities
Employability Non Engagement Data
Exploring the reasons why students do not get involved in professional development initiatives, such as study abroad and work placement
Supporting Mature and Part Time Student Success
Conducting research to see the employability activities, mature and part time learners want to get involved in
Community Champions
Lifelong Learning Centre and International students, working together, to create a positive impact in the Global community

21. Challenges and Highlights

22. Initial concerns going into the role

23. Challenges with the role
Solutions
Data anomalies
Skill sharing amongst ourselves
Learning about different faculties
Independent research & networking
Not knowing answers to student queries
Having an "I-don't-know-but-I'll-find-out" approach
Engagement through first contact
Nudge Theory

25. Highlights of the role
Positive feedback from students on our case-loading activity
Running a number of successful events and workshops
Personal development opportunities in our roles
Successful integration into different departments and faculties within the university

27. Impact Statements
"I just wanted to say it is really amazing that the university is getting people to call around and ask people if they need extra support. I really rate that”
"This service you guys are providing is really useful my friends on my course were wondering when they would be able to get the same support after I told them about this”
“This service exceeded my expectations as I came away with somewhere to start when before I have no idea and wasn't even sure the careers centre would be able to help me as I really had little idea as to what I wanted to do”

28. What’s next at Leeds? Pilot phase 2 – Semester 1 2019/20
Replicate caseload activity
Engage a wider group of students
Gather student voice on WP employability offer
Evaluate second phase for recommendations of priority focus areas

29. What’s next at Leeds? Access and Participation Plan
Updated targets?
Semester 1 targeted employability activity
Strengthen faculty links

30. Panel Q & A Chloe Marshall Widening Participation Employability
Officer
Alice Whapples
Employability and Progression Assistant
Abdul Awke
Karen Shaw
Mentoring
and Widening
Participation
Manager

31. Thank you. Karen Shaw K. M. Shaw@leeds. ac. uk Chloe Marshall C
Thank you! Karen Shaw Chloe Marshall Abdul Awke Alice Whapples