Embedding Employability into Higher Education Programmes and Courses. Mike Grey EC Futures Team Leader

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1 Embedding Employability into Higher Education Programmes and Courses Mike Grey EC Futures Team Leader

2 My Background Placement Officer 02/ /2008 Placement Officer 08/ /2011 Joined 10/2011 Launched 07/2012 Appointed to the Board of Trustees 05/2013

3 A major investment in employability by Coventry University Faculty based Employability and Placement Unit Careers and Employability Service International Experience and Mobility Service All employability services and events FREE to employers

4 Why? A degree is no longer enough! Students need to be educated about their options and exposed to industry Recruiters want low risk graduate hires Employability needs to be central to and embedded into the university experience

5 Marketing employability activities under one brand Employer Activities Company Presentations Uncovered Series and Stepping Stones Employer Led Guidance Workshops Engineering and Computing Careers Fair Site Visits Advantage Modules and Mentoring Schemes (IBM and Jaguar Land Rover) Placements, Internships and Projects Collaborative dissertations with employers Course Embedded Employability Activity Led Learning, Technical and Live Projects, Professional Development Planning, 250EC and extensive soft skill development through group work and presentations University Activities IEMS, Study Abroad, IAE, Volunteering. Clubs and Societies and Ambassador work Professional Guidance Individual appointments with EC Futures and Careers Staff (CV and application guidance, mock interviews and process guidance) Extensive workshop programme covering key application processes and professional development planning A wide range of guidance documentation An extensive employability portal

6 National Undergraduate Employability Awards Supported by: Shortlisted for: Best Placement Service in the UK 2014

7 The Add+vantage Scheme

8 All students complete a compulsory employability module of their choice in each year of their course. This significantly adds to the skill set developed through their degree course Students can choose to learn a language throughout the duration of their course from beginner through to advanced level All the work that we do with Coventry University has really paid off! Last Year, Coventry University students were the third largest group of students that we recruited into Jaguar Land Rover Farida Lockhat,

9 Add+vantage Scheme Specifics Over undergraduates enrolled onto modules each year Nearly 300 modules to choose from each year, delivered by academic and professional services staff All Add+vantage Modules are fully assessed10 credit modules Modules run for 10 weeks, scheduled into timetabled slots which are reserved exclusively for these modules Students are not permitted to study modules already covered in their course

10 Intel Project Module - Add+vantage Case Study A project module run by EC Futures, delivered in partnership with Intel. Students were set a brief to design a new app for Intel s Ultrabook. Intel were involved in designing and setting the brief, came in to review process and attended the final presentations. The project ran for 10 weeks, students were put into groups of 4. Students had to develop a concept, conduct market research and investigate costing to present to the company. The winning group are now working with Intel to develop their Sign Language app using the latest motion capture technology!

11 Group Task Split into groups of 3 15 minutes to discuss how a model such as this could be embedded at your institution and to design a mock module. Including: Which company or organisation would you partner with? What type of students would be involved? What would the module involve? How would it be assessed? Challenges for implementation Please then assign one team member to present about your discussions and your mock module idea!

12 Industrial Placement Scheme

13 Placements A Win-Win Computer Science student working at Microsoft Employers Access to a motivated and talented undergraduate Cost-effective recruitment Fresh ideas Low risk trial Industry based dissertation Access to university facilities and knowledge Students Highly likely to lead to a graduate job offer Improves academic performance Allows students to make an educated choice about their graduate destination Builds a professional network prior to leaving university An opportunity to earn while they learn!

14 What Employers Are Saying... High Fliers Research 2014: Recruiters have confirmed that a record 37% of this year s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations Over half the recruiters who took part in the research repeated their warnings from previous years that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations graduate programmes.

15 Placement Key Information Undertaken in penultimate year of a four year degree Students available from the end of May until early October the following year, must complete a minimum of 40 weeks Student supported by their academic department and the EC Futures Team Most employers recruit on a rolling basis and offer successful students graduate roles Average salary 15, % rise in Faculty of Engineering and Computing students completing placements The placement year is free for students, most rival institutions charge!

16 Where our students complete placements... Some of the 128 technical employers where our students completed placements in 2013/14 EC Futures

17 Placement Academic Assessment Students complete an additional 40 credit module which can count towards their degree classification Each student is visited by a relevant academic twice during the placement year, this academic marks the students placement portfolio Each department has a dedicated Employability Tutor who is responsible for arranging visits and collating marks, they also approve the suitability of placements The students complete a range of assessments including a technical report, a presentation, logbooks, a CV and a performance matrix International students are able to work full-time in the UK on a placement because it is a fully assessed part of their course

18 Working with Employers Assisting employers in building their brand on campus Developing sustainable relationships and talent pipelines for industry Providing consultancy on talent attraction and retention A proactive and flexible approach with a dedicated account manager

19 Case Study: Tata Technologies - Global Internship Scheme Exclusive to Coventry University, 8 students completing 12 month placements in the UK and internationally. Leading to a collaborative dissertation and a graduate job offer I am being flown to India for around a month. Here I will be helping with the CAD design work for the new Land Rover Freelander whilst experiencing the culture of India. Adam Clark, Placement Student from Coventry University We are so delighted with the quality of students and the progress they are making with us in all of the areas of the business they are working in. Nick Sale, COO Europe, Tata Technologies

20 Uncovered Series

21 Uncovered Series Technology Uncovered Agusta Westland, Royal Navy and Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). Automotive Uncovered Mclaren, Nissan, Delphi and Unipart. Aerospace Uncovered GE Aviation, Thales, Meggitt and Moog Aerospace. Computing Uncovered Construction Uncovered Vinci, Sustainable Building Futures and Wilmott Dixon Space Uncovered EADS Astrium and Surrey Space Centre Aviation and Transport Management Uncovered Airbus, Mott Macdonald and Birmingham International Airport Energy Uncovered EDF, EON and The National Nuclear Laboratory Intel, Logica, HP and Tata Technologies.

22 Uncovered Series Bring 4 key employers from a given technical area to present in a single event 20 minutes each to discuss key projects, innovations and challenges their company is facing The events attract large audiences and students benefit from four perspectives in one session Not a pure recruitment event, designed to develop students commercial awareness You can use attractive employer brands to create a large audience for less visible employers Can gain a mix of perspectives in one session, from Senior Manager through to recent Graduate Panel members include key recruitment professionals from leading employers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Technologies, Arriva, SHL, Bosch and key employability staff within the university

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24 Educating Students about Industry The thing that impressed me the most was that they were all clear about what they want to do and what they want from an employer. Robert James We are trying to get that passion through straight away that engineering is out there, come and join us. Getting that interest through straight away is key and that seems to be something that you have down to a tee here. Adam Shenton You have a brilliant class of undergraduates here all showing really great interest in engineering which is great for the UK. I would highly recommend all employers to come here. Matthew Clarke

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26 Employability Industrial Advisory Panel Advise on the development of events and initiatives that match the needs of industry To make suggestions that can be fed back to course teams regarding skills gaps within industry and potential proposals for course content To investigate how we can improve support for employers with their recruitment aims To initiate trial initiatives with panel members that innovate based current best practice To analyse data regarding application and offer rates to improve the conversion rate of our students. Panel members include key recruitment professionals from leading employers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Technologies, Arriva, SHL, Bosch and key employability staff within the university

27 Employability Industrial Advisory Panel The Case For: To further develop our service in consultation with industry To capitalise on existing and developing relationships with key employers A powerful marketing message to attract new employers and prospective students Build the profile of EC Futures and sphere of influence internally A forum to engage our employability contacts with senior management Panel members include key recruitment professionals from leading employers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Technologies, Arriva, SHL, Bosch and key employability staff within the university

28 Initial Outcomes Significant increase in numbers of students securing placements at Cummins We launched the Intel Project Module through our Add+vantage Scheme We are working with SHL on a faculty wide development project An increase in students sourcing placement through The EDT s Year in Industry Scheme, we are also working with them on a scholarship scheme Speed dating events to be launched in 2014/15 involving panel members Tata Technologies recruited exclusively from us for their Global Internship Scheme Gradcracker will be attending our pre-application open days to help us attract strong students to study engineering Panel members include key recruitment professionals from leading employers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Technologies, Arriva, SHL, Bosch and key employability staff within the university

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30 Institute For Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Coventry University and the Unipart Group have joined forces to develop a new Engineering and Manufacturing Institute on Unipart's manufacturing site in Coventry. The 32 million project will see the creation of an international centre of engineering and manufacturing excellence, which will be the base for a sustained programme of innovative teaching and learning, product development and research activity. The project, which has been awarded 7.9 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Catalyst Fund

31 BEng/MEng Manufacturing Engineering Key themes include: Automation and Robotics Design Principles Sustainability and Environmental Impact Strategic Management Unipart are key players in the world of advanced manufacturing and engineering. Key customers include:

32 Unipart Manufacturing Degree 3000 scholarships per year towards course fees Direct experience of employer led industrial projects Access to state of the art facilities and the opportunity to study on site with an employer An opportunity to work with companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Bentley Careers as Operational Leaders, Engineers, Technical Specialists and Consultants

33 Student Advocates Not only are students at the heart of what we do they have a key role in how we do it! Our students have the opportunity to develop practical skills through a wide range of paid Student Advocate roles Working as a Student Advocate is probably the best choice of work as you can choose the hours you work to fit around your studies. Cristina Alexandru We develop interpersonal skills and we manage projects. This is where everything comes into practice. Antony Ani

34 Questions and Comments?