Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker...
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![Page 1: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study
Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind withMarius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe
![Page 2: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
The Project
• DBIS funding• 3 colleges / 3 universities:
• Coastal KZN College• Northlink College• West Nottinghamshire College• University of KwaZulu-Natal• University of the Western Cape• University of Nottingham
• Research approach• “Beacon colleges”• 3 day team visits to each college• Tours• Policy documents• Meetings with management• Meetings with lecturers• Employer focus groups• Student focus groups
![Page 3: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
The Deficit Model of Employability
• Employability has typically been thought about in terms of individual deficits, particularly in soft skills and attitudes• A recent employer survey in England found that employers rated the following as the 5 greatest skills needs:
• literacy• numeracy• enthusiasm• commitment• timekeeping (Lanning, Martin, Villeneuve-Smith 2008)
![Page 4: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Expanding the Notion of Employability
• Clearly, these are important and we have heard much about the latter attitudes (and related ones) • However, it is important to ask further questions of employability
• What does employability amount to in a context of mass youth unemployment, as in South Africa?• How important are employability skills as opposed to other factors such as gender, race, poverty, caring responsibilities, transport availability/affordability?
• It is also important to recognise the limitations of employability as a notion – e.g., South African notion of productive citizenship – is employability only about being productive?
![Page 5: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Rethinking Further Education’s Role in Employability
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Students
• More than a set of skills, dispositions, attitudes and knowledge• Linked to the full cycle from application, admission, choice, support through to destination• bksb• Interviews• Selection• Student support systems
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Students
• Complex Skills picture•Sectorally specific•Includes • literacy, numeracy and life skills• specialisation vs multi-skilling• need to be recognisable
• Workplace dispositions•Can do attitude•Time management•‘Spitting and swearing’•‘obedience’
![Page 8: Employability in the College Sector: A Comparative Study Simon McGrath, Seamus Needham and Volker Wedekind with Marius Calitz, Tim Grant and Trish vd Merwe.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062516/56649d805503460f94a63b87/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Students
•Questions•Employee rights•Diversity •Structural nature of the economy•Saving, medical, insurance
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Staff
•Central to the success of the system•Passion and Commitment•Generate excitement about their field
•Modelling and embodying•Staff act as mentors/masters•Model the behaviour expected in the workplace
•Time•Respect•Appearance
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Staff
•Soft skills taught directly or indirectly by the discipline staff•Provide support and care•Know their students•Aware of personal troubles
•Use their networks to place students
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Staff
•Issues• Retention• HE drift
• Teacher qualification• Programme requirements
• Demoralisation• Diversity management
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Institution
• Employable institution• Spatial organisation• Simulating work environments• Income generation• The boundaryless college• Niching• Colleges as academic beacons• The data problem
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Employers
• Expectations• Engagement• Concerns• Challenges
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Policy
• Funding norms and funding opportunities• Joined-up government?• Strategy, opportunism and policy flip-flop