Enhancing Employability The Centre for Outcomes-Based Education COBE
Practical pedagogy from COBE This booklet is part of the Practical Pedagogy series from the Centre for Outcomes-Based Education. The series aims to promote good practice and offer practical advice in learning, teaching and curriculum development. COBE works with course teams, programme committees, faculties and regions to support innovative curriculum design and academic staff development. Can we help? Please get in touch by emailing cobe@open.ac.uk or visit our website at www.open.ac.uk/cobe to find out what we can offer. Connecting learning, development and work
Contents Introduction 2 What are employability skills? 5 Enhancing employability in the curriculum 7 Checklist for course teams 10 Checklist for programme committees 11 Resources 12 Appendix A Undergraduate levels framework 14 Appendix B Mapping tool 15 1
Introduction Enhancing employability is a University priority. For everyone involved in OU teaching, enhancing employability is about adding value to the curriculum by making explicit what we do already and helping students recognise the employability skills and attributes they are developing as part of their study. This booklet is intended to encourage thinking and promote action to embed employability in the curriculum. It contains: practical guidance to support student employability; checklists for course teams and programme committees; case studies of good practice within the Open University; a guide to employability resources. What needs to be done to embed employability in the curriculum? Course teams and programme committees have a responsibility for ensuring that students are aware of the employability skills they are developing as part of their course or award. Course and award descriptions, for example on the Courses and Qualifications website, should include information about employability. Appropriate learning outcomes should be linked to employability skills, and associate lecturers advised how they can promote these skills to students. Staff tutors also have a responsibility for ensuring that associate lecturers are aware of the OU s emphasis on employability skills and are able to direct students to the employability resources described in this booklet. Use this booklet to help you get started in enhancing students employability skills. The checklists on pages 10 and 11 provide action points for course teams and programme committees. The Enhancing Employability website www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability contains additional information, resources and case study details. C A S E S T U D Y 1 Student views about employability The aim was to explore student views about where and how employability skills are developed through Arts courses and awards. The findings are supported by similar work with students on some Mathematics and Technology courses. Key findings Students did not generally link OU study to employability, or recognise skills acquired through OU study as making a contribution to employability. When asked what the term employability meant in terms of their own employment or career prospects, students linked gaining qualifications and having relevant skills to their desire to improve their own job/career prospects. The main contribution OU studies made to getting or doing a job was increased confidence, improved organisational skills and critical thinking. However, students felt that skills such as oral communication and working in teams were not developed through their OU studies. In this context, they did not consider that student-student and/or student-tutor interaction, either face-to-face or online, supported the development of these skills. The majority of students surveyed were unaware of the Careers Advisory Service and the support and materials available from them. Where the service had been used, it was highly praised. Key lessons for all Be explicit about how our programmes, awards and courses support employability. Students do not automatically make the connections for themselves. Make full use of the support offered by the staff in the Careers Advisory Service when reviewing courses and programmes. They are a valuable resource for making links to employability and to careers. Tools for managing portfolios of work and Personal Development Plans are useful in developing employability skills, and will be available on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The full case study can be found on the Enhancing Employability website www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability 2
Career development and change are increasingly important factors for many OU students. Alongside this, there is a growing expectation that the HE student experience includes developing an awareness of how knowledge and skills acquired through academic study support individuals ability to find employment, change their job or develop their career. With growing numbers of younger students in the OU, employability is becoming an even more important aspect of our provision. Students opting to study with us will expect that their career potential will be developed at least as well as their contemporaries in other HE institutions. Employability is not simply about finding a job. It is about making connections between study, personal development and other activities that influence individuals ability to find, gain and be successful in their chosen employment. A broad definition of employability that supports this aim is: The set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that support individuals in managing their careers. Enhancing employability is about recognising and making explicit what we do already in our courses by drawing students attention to the employability skills and outcomes they are developing as part of their study. This means: raising awareness about how the curriculum develops employability skills; explicitly linking learning outcomes with employability; enhancing students understanding of the value of HE study beyond their immediate subject area; giving students a language to communicate more effectively with employers about their skills, knowledge and career potential. 3
Employability is part of the wider group of benefits that emerge from learning. Whilst enhancing employability in our curriculum is clearly of benefit to students in the employment market, it is also relevant to many students studying for their own personal development. By being aware of their capabilities, they can make the most of their opportunities at work and their career plans. All students are entitled to know how their studies contribute to a wider range of outcomes, such as increased confidence and recognition of personal achievement, that enhance not just their claims in a competitive job market but their ongoing development as individuals and lifelong learners. Enhancing Employability is an OU-wide initiative led by the Centre for Outcomes-Based Education (COBE) and working with faculties, regions, Student Services and the Careers Advisory Service to bring employability into the student experience. C A S E S T U D Y 2 Employability auditing of courses: DD100 The aim was to explore how DD100 supported employability, and what opportunities were available for further development. When the course was written, employability was not a consideration. This audit provided information about how employability could be addressed in the current course, and in the planned rewrite. Key findings There is support for employability already built into DD100, with skills and relevant personal qualities all being identified. Some employability skills are currently assessed through the assignments. Employability skills developed through the course, but not assessed, should be brought to the attention of students. There is the potential to make employability skills more explicit in the learning outcomes. They would then be included in formative and summative assessments and students would receive feedback from tutors A range of employability skills can be identified as part of the learning outcomes of the successor course, and developed as part of the course activities. Key lessons for all Auditing a course using the mapping tool indicates where employability skills are already included. These can be highlighted for students through regularly updated material such as the Introductory Letter and assignments. Course teams developing new courses or reviewing/rewriting current courses should ensure that employability skills, where they arise, are made explicit. The full case study can be found on the Enhancing Employability website www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability 4
What are employability skills? The Higher Education Academy has published a list of skills, competencies and attributes that employers say they value. These are listed in Table 1 on the following page. This list focuses on the more generic or transferable skills that appear in many job specifications and advertisements; more detailed requirements of knowledge and understanding will usually depend on the specific type of employment. The skills and other qualities that enhance an individual s employability are, in many cases, those that also facilitate learning and the application of subject knowledge. For example, the ability to critically analyse, synthesise and challenge information, arguments and assumptions, frame and address problems, questions or issues, and to communicate effectively are common requirements in both academic and employment situations. Table 1 links the HEA employability skills to the indicators used in the OU undergraduate levels framework under the headings: cognitive skills, key skills, practical and professional skills, and personal and career development. A summary of the levels framework is included in Appendix A (p.14). There is a broad match between the OU and the HEA skills and attributes. An important step is to be explicit to students about how a course, or a study pathway, contributes to the development of their employability skills. Associate lecturers, supported by course team guidance and regional staff development activities, play a key role here in helping students recognise the skills they are gaining. The eportfolio tool provided by the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) offers a way for students to build up their own employability resources by recording and keeping evidence of their skills, for example where assessment tasks give students the opportunity to demonstrate high-level cognitive or transferable key skills, practical abilities and competencies. Students can then draw on their eportfolio to provide employers or managers with evidence of their skills and abilities. Not all the employability skills will necessarily be developed through OU study. Students in full-time or part-time employment are already likely to have a range of valuable skills gained through experience. Enhancing employability is about helping the individual recognise the skills they have, however and wherever those skills have been developed, and articulate them to others. Cognitive and key skills such as critical analysis, effective communication, independent learning and information literacy developed in all subject areas through study at levels 1, 2 and 3 are all key employability skills. Table 1 suggests how the categories of learning outcomes used to describe OU courses or awards can be translated into a language that employers use and value. The more detailed HEA discipline profiles, and skills and attributes map, described in the Resources section of this booklet (p.12), give examples of how the HEA categories can be used in specific subject areas. 5
Table 1 Comparison of OU indicators and HEA employability skills OU indicators Cognitive skills Description, application, analysis and synthesis of knowledge Key skills Addressing issues and problems; communication; information literacy; ICT and numerical skills; learning how to learn. Practical and professional skills Developing practical skills and professional awareness HEA employability skills Cognitive skills The ability to identify, analyse and solve problems; work with information and handle a mass of diverse data. Assess risk and draw conclusions. Generic competencies High-level and transferable key skills such as the ability to work with others in a team, communicate, persuade and have interpersonal sensitivity. Practical elements Critical evaluation of the outcomes of professional practice; reflect and review own practice; participate in and review quality control processes and risk management Business and/or organisational awareness Having an appreciation of how businesses operate through work experience. Appreciation of organisational culture, policies and processes. Technical ability For example, having the knowledge and experience of working with modern laboratory equipment. The ability to apply and exploit information technology. Personal and career development Using personal and career planning and development resources Personal capabilities The ability and desire to learn for oneself and improve one s self-awareness and performance lifelong learning philosophy, emotional intelligence and performance. 6
Enhancing employability in the curriculum The close relationship between employability skills and those attributes needed to be an effective learner means that many OU courses and study pathways will already support employability through a range of learning activities and assessments. Enhancing employability within the curriculum is about adding value by making explicit what we do already and drawing students attention to the skills they are developing as part of their study. Checklists for course teams and programme committees Two checklists are provided on pages 10 and 11 to suggest areas where course teams and programme committees can engage with employability. The focus is on starting with learning outcomes and mapping these to the employability skills listed in Table 1. Using course and award learning outcomes The OU can add value to its provision by making explicit how the learning outcomes of courses and qualifications are related to the skills and attributes employers are looking for. For learning outcomes to be linked to employability: course outcomes need to be well aligned with award outcomes; course teams, associate lecturers and students need to be aware of how study at each level contributes to the development of employability skills. One way to check is by auditing study pathways to gain an overview of where students are developing their employability skills. A simple mapping tool is offered in Appendix B. Given the learning outcomes for a course or award, the tool is intended to prompt academic discussion about the employability skills that emerge from study in their subject area. Colleagues using this simple tool have found that it can help identify: 7
employability skills that are supported and developed as part of the learning outcomes; employability skills that are supported and developed but are not explicitly included in the learning outcomes; opportunities and language for talking about employability skills; skills gaps. The results from such an audit can be used to tell students and ALs about the employability skills that are already embedded, as well as informing course teams and programme committees involved in curriculum development. Using the levels framework Many OU students spread their study over several years. If they are studying to enhance their career, then opportunities for new jobs or new positions may arise before they have completed their studies. It is important, therefore, that students part way through their studies are still able to recognise how their skills are developing as they move from course to course and level to level, and are able to describe this clearly to others. In employment situations, this can be a positive factor; for example, by changing the emphasis from I m studying for a degree with the OU but I ve not got it yet to I m studying for a degree with the OU. I m currently doing level 2 courses and that means I can The OU s undergraduate levels framework is a set of statements indicating the generic skills and abilities students should be able to demonstrate at each level of study. Programme committees should use the framework and Table 1 to help identify employability skills and attributes, and relate these to the learning outcomes at each level. Being clear about what is gained from study at level 1, 2 or 3 helps students recognise what they can do and what progress they are making something that is as relevant to those studying purely for interest as it is for those wanting career development. C A S E S T U D Y 3 Regional staff development The aim was to explore the meaning of employability within a regional and AL context. A group of associate lecturers and staff tutors developed a set of activities to learn more about what employability could mean for them and their students, including: exploring their own and their students understanding of employability; looking at staff development needs in terms of employability; exploring ways of better supporting students in developing their employability; considering ways of building better links with the Careers Advisory Service. Key findings and outcomes Members of the group had not previously given employability much, if any, thought. They learned that employability relates strongly to personal development and is relevant to the majority of students. They identified that some aspects of employability are not developed for most students in their study. These include group and team working skills, as well as face-to-face and oral communication skills. They discovered that most of their students and AL colleagues did not make the link between study and employability. A number of resources were produced as part of this work: A draft information leaflet for ALs highlighting the work of the Careers Advisory Service. Support materials for use in developing employability skills with groups of students, either as a standalone activity or as part of another activity such as a day school. 8
The levels framework is given in Appendix A. Copies of the levels document are available from the Centre for Outcomes-Based Education or the website www.open.ac.uk/cobe. Personal development plan (PDP) There is a close relationship between personal development planning and employability. An OU student s PDP may involve planning their study pathway to support their career as well as their personal interests, reflecting on progress and identifying strengths as well as gaps to be addressed. A PDP can help the student develop as a learner and understand how their learning relates to a wider context. Personal development planning can be integrated into the curriculum as part of assessed activities. Students should be encouraged to identify the skills they are developing and to understand how these relate not only to their course but also to their employability. Summary Employability skills are not new, rather they are a new way of describing many of the skills and attributes that students develop from studying with the OU. Employability can be enhanced in curriculum development, design or delivery by: explaining where course or award learning outcomes are also relevant to career development; helping students identify and record evidence of their achievements; helping students recognise that OU learning outcomes give them a language to communicate their skills and achievements to others, including employers; helping students recognise that employability, like building self-confidence and a sense of achievement, is part of a wider group of benefits of HE. Staff development material. This has been trialled regionally and is now available for all. Key lessons for all Although employability has broad relevance, it is not part of the thinking of most OU regional staff. Students generally do not readily make the connections between study and employability OU study does not provide everything students need for their employability. We need to remember that study is only one of a student s life experiences. Regional staff development is key to enhancing student employability in the OU. Materials are available to support this. The full case study and resources can be found on the Enhancing Employability website www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability 9
Checklist for course teams Action Audit your course to map the learning outcomes to employability skills and develop an employability skills profile. Explain to your students and ALs how the learning outcomes of your course are linked to employability skills. Be explicit about employability skills in the course descriptions and course guides of all courses. Use tutor notes and course briefings to inform ALs about resources that support student employability and career development. Explain to students and ALs where assessment activities can be used to demonstrate employability skills. Draw attention to employability qualities that your course develops and which may not be explicit in the learning outcomes. Use the VLE to host your course s employability profile, and link to this from the course guide. Comments Use the list of employability skills to translate the language of learning outcomes to employability statements that students can use. Use the mapping tool (Appendix B on p.15) to build an employability profile that identifies the skills your course develops. Point out to students the employability skills they are gaining from level 1, 2 or 3 study, as appropriate to your course. Students are likely to want to develop or change their careers as opportunities arise not only when they have gained a qualification. Recognising that HE study provides cognitive and key skills that are relevant beyond their immediate subject areas is important for students career and personal development. Development of wider employability skills is not always obvious to students on Foundation degrees, or other professional or work-related courses. ALs should be able to: explain to students how course learning outcomes and employability skills are linked; direct students to the OU Careers Advisory Service website www.open.ac.uk/careers For example, a summary, report or analysis submitted for assessment might also be included in a student s employability portfolio. Clear presentation, information handling skills, group working and self-management, for example, all demonstrate aspects of employability. The VLE offers opportunities to bring together employability resources that are relevant both to courses and qualifications. 10
Checklist for programme committees Action Audit your programme to identify: what employability skills are developed in your subject area; how and where employability skills are made explicit to your students. Use benchmark statements, as appropriate, to ensure that employability has been considered when a qualification is designed. Be explicit about the employability skills developed in Foundation degrees and professional programmes. Explain in marketing information, programme websites and programme guides how the learning outcomes of your qualifications are linked to employability skills. Explain to students how employability skills are developed by study at each level. Build links with the Careers Advisory Service and regional careers advisor for your programme area. Guide students to employability resources relevant to your programme. Comments A mapping tool is available in Appendix B (p.15). Be clear about how relevant learning outcomes of compulsory and core optional courses in a pathway contribute to employability, and how this is communicated to students and tutors. Identify where the learning outcomes of compulsory and core optional courses support employability requirements in the subject benchmark statements. Students may not appreciate that courses focused on specific work areas will also develop employability skills that are useful in a wider range of careers. For example, what skills do Arts graduates develop that they can bring to the workplace? What particular employability skills do Science graduates develop? Table 1 links the OU level indicators to the HEA list of employability skills. Academic learning outcomes may need to be translated so that students understand what employability skills they are gaining. Each programme area has links to a regional careers advisor. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) has subject employability profiles at www.heacademy.ac.uk/profiles.htm Resources for students are available from www.open.ac.uk/careers Use the tools offered by the VLE to raise students awareness of employability through personal development planning (PDP) as they follow their study pathway. Tools such as the eportfolio can be used to help students plan, record and reflect on their progress, and add to their understanding of their employability skills and attributes. 11
Resources Enhancing Employability (www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability) The Enhancing Employability website offers a range of resources for staff to raise awareness of employability centrally and regionally, including: audit tools and examples; checklists for course teams and programme committees; case studies of student and AL involvement in employability. COBE also offers support for course teams and programme committees engaging with employability issues, and for regions planning staff development events. OU Careers Advisory Service (www.open.ac.uk/careers) The OU Careers Advisory Service offers support for students seeking help to: plan, develop or change their career; complete application forms, CVs or covering letters; prepare for an interview; register and look for employment, and search online vacancies; get involved in voluntary work; consider further study or professional training. A team of regional careers advisors provide advice and guidance relating to the subject areas offered in the OU curriculum, and all issues related to career planning and job-seeking. The Careers Advisory Service also offers resources for OU staff to support course and programme development. 12
Higher Education Academy (www.heacademy.ac.uk) Discipline profiles The Higher Education Academy (HEA), working with the 24 Higher Education Academy Subject Centres and the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), has produced the Student employability profiles: A guide for higher education practitioners which provides an overview of 50 discipline profiles. Each profile identifies a set of work-related skills linked to the study of a particular subject, and a commentary on the value of the skills in employment. The skills, competencies and attributes are those which employers say they value. The guide profiles and other relevant employability information are available on the HEA website at www.heacademy.ac.uk/profiles.htm. A copy of the Student employability profiles guide can also be obtained from the Centre for Outcomes-Based Education (COBE). Skills and attributes map Many OU awards are referenced to the subject benchmark statements produced by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). The HEA Subject Centres have developed Skills and Attributes Maps which capture key employability attributes identified in the benchmark statements. Each map links the benchmark statements to the skills, attributes and competencies identified by CIHE. The maps aim to broadly translate the academic focus of the benchmarks to a more general language of employability for students. Links to all the Subject Centres are on the HEA website at www.heacademy.ac.uk/subjectnetwork.htm. 13
Appendix A Undergraduate levels framework The following is taken from the Undergraduate Levels Framework (June 2005), available from the Centre for Outcomes-Based Education or the website www.open.ac.uk/cobe. INDICATOR LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING knowing about and understanding your subject Show that you know and understand principles, concepts and terms central to your subject. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the principles, concepts and techniques used in your subject. Demonstrate systematic knowledge and critical understanding of your subject, some of it in specialist areas, and informed by current thinking and developments. COGNITIVE SKILLS description, application, analysis and synthesis of knowledge Use your knowledge and understanding to describe, analyse and interpret defined aspects of your subject. Apply your knowledge and understanding accurately to a range of issues, questions and problems relevant to your subject. Apply established techniques to critically evaluate and interpret your subject in a range of contexts. Select and use accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry outside the context in which they were first studied, and be aware of their limitations. Synthesise, critically evaluate, and challenge information, arguments and assumptions from different sources, including publications informed by current issues or research developments as appropriate. Recognise the potential uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge in your subject. KEY SKILLS Addressing issues and problems awareness of context and environment Know about and begin to address issues and problems central to your subject. Compare critically and use different approaches to issues and problems within your subject. Identify and ask questions appropriately to explore relevant issues or problems within your subject. Communication communicating clearly, effectively and appropriately with others (including interpersonal skills, collaborative and group working) Develop your skills in communicating information accurately and appropriately to your subject, purpose and audience. Communicate information, arguments and ideas effectively, using the styles and language appropriate to your subject, purpose and audience. Communicate complex information, arguments and ideas effectively and appropriately to your subject, purpose and audience. Information literacy finding, critically evaluating and using information Develop your skills in finding, selecting and using information or data in defined contexts. Find, critically evaluate and use information or data accurately in a range of contexts. Find, critically evaluate and use information or data accurately in complex contexts. ICT and numerical skills using appropriate ICT and numerical skills Develop your use of ICT tools and your numerical skills as appropriate to support your studies. Use ICT tools and numerical skills, as appropriate, to help you learn effectively. Select and use ICT tools to improve your learning and extend your numerical skills, as appropriate, Learning how to learn managing and improving your own learning Become aware of ways in which you learn, and begin to develop as an independent learner. Plan, monitor and review your progress as an independent learner. As an independent learner, plan, monitor and evaluate your own learning and seek ways to improve your performance. PRACTICAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS developing practical skills and professional awareness Develop, as appropriate, practical and professional skills and awareness of relevant ethical issues. Engage, as appropriate, with practical and professional skills and demonstrate an awareness of relevant ethical issues. Engage, as appropriate, with practical and professional skills and relevant ethical issues. PERSONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT using personal and career planning and development resources Plan your study pathway to link your learning with your personal and/or career goals. Recognise and record your skills and knowledge to support your personal and/or career goals. Recognise, record and communicate your skills and knowledge to achieve your personal and/or career goals. 14
Appendix B Mapping tool This tool is intended to prompt academic discussion about the employability skills that emerge from study in a subject area. Colleagues using this tool have found that it can help identify: employability skills that are supported and developed as part of the learning outcomes; employability skills that are supported and developed but are not explicitly included in the learning outcomes; opportunities and language for talking about employability skills; skills gaps. An example of the use of this tool is given on the Enhancing Employability website www.open.ac.uk/cobe/employability Learning outcome How or where is this How or where is this How does this outcome How might this contribution to outcome developed? outcome assessed? contribute to employability? employability be made more explicit? Knowledge and understanding (where relevant to employability) Cognitive skills Key skills Practical and professional skills 15
Connecting learning, development and work
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