1. Not Teaching Employability…
Not Teaching Employability…. But the employability value of what you teach
Dr Kate Daubney
Head of King’s Careers & Employability
King’s College London/The Careers Group
Skills & Employability Summit, GovNet, Sept 2019

2. EMPLOYERS WANT GRADUATES!

3. In fact lots of university marketing strategies are founded on the evidence of that assumption and there is a wealth of data available about those outcomes

4. UNIVERSITY EMPLOYABILITY STRATEGY
In fact, dozens of UK and international universities are now so concerned with the outcomes of their graduates, that they are developing university employability strategies
Hands up if you are from a university that has one of these?

5. Mind the gap…
But data released by global and domestic bodies indicates that the graduates that are employed aren’t necessarily bringing what employers want

6. …why DO employers want graduates?
Actually…
…why DO employers want graduates?
And in reality, I’m pretty sure students are not clear on the answer to this question
I know that academics aren’t clear and I’m pretty sure that university senior managers aren’t either
And actually, employers are often only clear who they are looking for in terms of their own recruitment strategies

7. HISTORIAN TAX AUDITOR ?
If you want a specific example of why this question is important, why did one of the Big 4 recruit more History graduates than any other subject a few years ago?
What is it in a history degree that explicitly prepares students for a career in financial audit?
CLICK
Something happens to students when they go through university that turns them into people who will be successful in the workplace
Students must be able to understand what that transition actually is – in the general or the specific, whether they want to be employed or self-employed
And it will be a lot easier for them to make sense of their university education if their academics can explain that transition more effectively too
That’s relevant, without a doubt.

8. ? UNIVERSITY EMPLOYABILITY STRATEGY
Now university employability strategies are intended in some way to fix this, at least at a holistic level

9. ? ? UNIVERSITY EMPLOYABILITY STRATEGY
But if you are an academic, imposed strategies can feel very overwhelming
And if you are the Head of Careers, you’re often in a position where you are having to lead on the persuading and ‘getting it done’

10. More work! Same impact!!
Students could tell employers why studying my subject makes them a perfect future employee…
And you might well be thinking ‘more work, same impact!’
When really you might prefer to be thinking that what would be lovely would be if...

11. If I’m teaching the content, I know it’s academically rigorous…
My work! My impact!!
If I’m teaching the content, I know it’s academically rigorous…
And you might well be thinking ‘more work, same impact!’
When really you might prefer to be thinking

12. EMPLOYABILITY MODULES Accredited internship
CAREER PLANNING
INPUT FROM EMPLOYERS
Accredited internship
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
So typically what happens when you embed employability is that you have a core programme
And then the option to include other kinds of content

13. Accredited internship EMPLOYABILITY MODULES
CAREER PLANNING
INPUT FROM EMPLOYERS
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
EMPLOYABILITY MODULES
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
OPTION
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
CORE
But including that content generally means leaving other content out, or reducing the number of options students have
And these moules are almost always optional modules
You’re also always engaging the engaged
OPTION

14. …because traditionally embedding employability = adding
ADDED EMPLOYABILITY
CURRICULUM

15. Embedded employability is not academically rigorous!
If I’m teaching the content, I know it’s academically rigorous…
And you might well be thinking ‘more work, same impact!’
When really you might prefer to be thinking

16. Teaching employability is not my job!
What about ‘same work, more impact?’
Or even…
Which is where I come in

17. EMPLOYERS WANT GRADUATES!
???
Employability is already being developed in your students without you ‘teaching it’
EMPLOYERS WANT GRADUATES!
Or even…
Which is where I come in
Becaues we know that employers want graduates

18. Employability? Huh? CAREERS But students don’t know what that is
They often don’t know what employability actually is
And they certainly don’t identify qualifications as being much more than knowledge assets
which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

19. Because there is employability value in what you are being taught
Why does studying history make me a great tax auditor?
Because there is employability value in what you are being taught
CAREERS
But students don’t know what that is, which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

20. There’s employability value in what I teach?
Or even…
Which is where I come in

21. Interestingly, the QAA already understand that there is value in the curriculum to employers, because their introduction makes that clear

22. Interestingly, the QAA already understand that there is value in the curriculum to employers, because their introduction makes that clear

23. This is the “Extracted Employability” of the curriculum…
© Kate Daubney & University of London

24. …because we know employers value…
KNOWLEDGE
Qualifications are not just ‘knowledge assets’ but reflect the ability to learn in depth* and learning agility**
*PWC Workforce of the Future: The competing forces shaping 2030: ‘To stay ahead…it’s not just about acquiring knowledge but about how to learn’
**WEF:
ATTRIBUTES
e.g resilience, tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, curiosity
SKILLS
Analytical, organisational, research, communication, technology, subject-related, career management
EXPERIENCE
Related or otherwise, experiences prepare for work and support good career planning
© Kate Daubney & University of London

25. …but students are generally poor at articulating it in detail…
‘Communication skills’
Which ones?
CAREERS
But students don’t know what that is
They often don’t know what employability actually is
And they certainly don’t identify qualifications as being much more than knowledge assets
which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

26. …yet with Extracted Employability, that need not be the case
…Cross boundaries of understanding, Influence, Persuade…
Structure ideas, Present arguments…
But students don’t know what that is
They often don’t know what employability actually is
And they certainly don’t identify qualifications as being much more than knowledge assets
which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

27. Giving students richer language helps them get in…
As a historian, I:
Have a forensic eye for detail
Can construct narratives from evidence
Summarise effectively around different arguments
Set the big picture against finer detail
How has your degree prepared you to be a tax auditor?
But students don’t know what that is
They often don’t know what employability actually is
And they certainly don’t identify qualifications as being much more than knowledge assets
which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

28. How do you see your career with us developing?
…and get on…
I’m really enjoying the chance to develop the client relationships, but I didn’t realise how well suited I would be to strategy and project management. That goes back to my history degree…
How do you see your career with us developing?
But students don’t know what that is
They often don’t know what employability actually is
And they certainly don’t identify qualifications as being much more than knowledge assets
which we hear all the time when they come to see us in the Careers service

29. Articulate (recruitment)
Mind the gap… What gap?
Articulate (recruitment)
Reflect (induction)
Develop
(early career)
There are two wider benefits of looking at qualifications in this way, as a source of employability and not just knowledge assets
Firstly, I think it goes some way towards addressing employer concerns that students don’t have the skills they are looking for
I think there are gaps, but enabling students to reflect and articulate more effectively on a wider range of skills in a more nuanced fashion will make them more effective when they are first recruited
And also narrow that gap more quickly once employed and help them progress more swiftly to fill their own gaps and gaps in the company

30. Connecting curriculum learning to…?
“What are qualifications actually for?”
“to get more qualifications so I can get a job…?” ?
Secondly, the current approach to qualifications as knowledge assets makes it really hard for young people in school and further education to understand how their qualifications are more than just knowledge assets.
Even with Gatsby Benchmarks and the Statutory Guidance for careers in schools, it is still really difficult for young people to understand how their curriculum opens up future career choices.
Currently I don’t think Gatsby 4 does a very good job of that, despite its best intentions, and I’m developing work on extracting employability from GCSE and A level curriculums to change the way that could be presented to young people

31. Connecting curriculum learning to careers
I like problem-solving…
I like creating things…
These subjects use processes…
But if we helped young people understand that qualifications are also about different skillsets, and that those skills recur across different subjects, then it’s far easier for them to connect curriculum learning to careers
These communicate ideas…

32. Because it all starts here
“As a historian you will also develop a wide range of skills and attributes, not just through how you study but what…”
Because it all starts here
Students could tell employers why studying my subject makes them a perfect future employee…

33. Thank you for listening
Dr Kate Daubney
Head of King’s Careers & Employability