Employability,students perceptions and the

curriculum Dr Karen Bullock

Definition of employability

• ‘A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy’ (HEA, 2012)

Features of employability

• Business and customer awareness

• Problem solving

• Communication and literacy

• Application of numeracy

• Application of information technology

• A positive attitude

• Entrepreneurship/enterprise

Current context

• ‘Embedding employability into the core of higher education will continue to be a key priority of Government, universities and colleges, and employers. This will bring both significant private and public benefit, demonstrating higher education’s broader role in contributing to economic growth as well as its vital role in social and cultural development’ (HEFCE 2011, p5)

Student understanding

• Comparative lack of research  

• Large numbers of students are unaware of the skills that employers want

• Particular problem for sociology?

‘Employability’

Careers advice

Work experience

I get the feeling that sociology is seen as a soft subject by most people and they won't give me a second look or any opportunity to prove I'm just as good

I do sociology, I did it because I enjoy it, I do joke that it's not a proper degree and I share a house with a drama student, and we do nickname ourselves the 'fake degree house'

 It's a 'soft' academic subject (a lot of sub-standard Uni's offer it) and essentially an off-shoot of sociology. It does have it's merits though

I think sociology is a great subject but I am not going to lie, from what we were told at my uni I am sceptical how strong it is at gaining employment

‘When I chose to study criminology my main interest was getting into a well-respected university doing something I'd enjoy and find interesting. I'm kind of afraid my degree doesn't qualify me for anything except police work which you don't even need a degree for and I have no interest in working as one either’

Career aspirations and sociology• A clear view at the point of selecting the

degree was rare

• ‘Interest’ overwhelming motivator

• Students did not tend to feel that it led naturally to a specific set of careers

• Getting into a ‘well respected’ university was viewed as especially important

Understanding ofemployability Less likely

• Business and customer awareness

• Entrepreneurship• A positive attitude • Problem solving

More likely

• Communication and literacy

• Numeracy• Information technology

Responses

• Enhanced or revised central support

• Embedded attribute development

• Work experience

• Recording of experience, development and achievement alongside academic progress

Problems (1)

• Variability

• Continuing debate about the purpose of higher education

• Access to work experience

• Many students do not engage with opportunities

Problems (2)

• Assessment

• Uneven outcomes

Challenges

• How to enhance the employment of students, acknowledging that economic forces will influence success

• How to integrate employability into course design and delivery

• How to engage with all students

• How to engender cultural change