1. Penny Longman, UCL and Ladan Hong, KCL
Equipping non-traditional students for success in a changing job market through programmes of enhanced support
Penny Longman, UCL and Ladan Hong, KCL

2. Our aim: to stimulate ideas for enhancing institution-appropriate careers support for non-traditional students
Construct strategy to identify priorities Evaluate current provision Design new initiatives

3. What we will cover
Non-traditional students and the changing job market
The case for targeted interventions
Using data
Shaping enhanced provision
Developing an intensive programme
Institution-wide collaboration

4. Non-traditional students and the changing job market
Observations, anecdotal and research evidence
Reports such as Elitist Britain1
Advantages of internships, contacts, social/cultural capital
Core skills & qualifications gained in school
Impact of parental influence
Hurdles in recruitment processes2
BBC programme Breaking into the Elite (29 July 2019)
Progression…

5. The case for targeted interventions
Uneven playing field
Less use of careers service
‘Career innocents’3
Outreach (over?)-emphasises the career rewards of a degree
Access and Participation Plan priorities

6. Using data to identify priorities at UCL
Research into DLHE differentials
Focus groups
National level data on outcomes4
APP data
Data to identify students - problematic
Using data to identify priorities at UCL

7. Shaping a programme of enhanced provision
Importance of relationship
More ground to cover
Encouragement to engage
Employer priorities
‘cost’ of work experience
Daunting environment?
Barriers to access
Structural factors

8. UCL Careers Extra Personalised e-mail contact
Longer appointments (+ continuity)
Priority booking
Circulation list
Dedicated workshops
Work-based experience bursary
Accessing our services review
Wider influence

9. Using data to evaluate impact
Tricky!
Increased engagement - measurable
Learning gain
Graduate outcomes – not yet

10. What are your institutional priorities?

11. What challenges may they face?

12. Careers+ Careers+ Careers support for under-represented students
& EMPLOYABILITY
KING’S CAREERS
Careers+
Careers support for under-represented students 
Specialist Careers Consultant 
30min appointments
2 weeks’ advance booking
Exclusive internships
Drop-ins
Dedicated workshops
Exclusive employer events
Careers+

13. Global Internship Programme: Careers+
Fully supported & funded 6 month programme
1 week paid micro-internship at KCL
4 week internship in Hong Kong
Tailored workshops
Drop in sessions
Reflective workshops & 1-1’s
Global Internship Programme: Careers+

14. Developing an intensive intervention
Landscape
Target
Data
Collaborate
Prepare

15. Challenges Eligibility Application process Cost External stakeholders
Expectations and commitment
Resources

16. Adding WP emphasis to existing activities
What ideas do you have?
Current activities
What works
Challenges
New ideas
Adding WP emphasis to existing activities

17. Joining the dots Support services Access and Widening Participation
Academic departments
Community of practice / Functionally aligned groups SU
Global mobility
Alumni

18. Contacts p.longman@ucl.ac.uk ladan.hong@kcl.ac.uk
UCL Careers Extra website
King’s Careers+ website
(under development)

19. Select references
1 Sutton Trust/Social Mobility Commission (2019), Elitist Britain 2019: The educational backgrounds of Britain’s leading people, available from content/uploads/2019/06/Elitist-Britain-2019.pdf
2 Brown, P and Hesketh, A with Williams S (2004) The Mismanagement of Talent: Employability, Competition and Career, Oxford: OUP
3 Term coined by Dr Paul Redmond, used in presentation at High Fliers National Graduate Careers Conference, 2013
4 Numerous studies look at differentials in outcomes for students from different backgrounds (and other varying factors)
Some look purely at earnings, such as Britton, J, Dearden, L, Shephard, N and Vignoles, A ‘Is Improving Access to University Enough? Socio‐Economic Gaps in the Earnings of English Graduates’ in Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp , available from
Others look more holistically, such as Davies, P, Mangan, J, Hughes, A and Slack, K (2013), ‘Labour market motivation and undergraduates’ choice of degree subject’, in British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2, April 2013, pp. 361–382 available from