Investigating attitudes and approaches to employability Rehana Ladha

Investigating attitudes and approaches to employability Rehana Ladha Therese Svensson University of East London 10 th September 2013

Overview • Identify students’ approaches to employability • Understand why students engage or disengage with employability services • Share areas of good practice to enhance engagement Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 2

Our Context • • • East London/Thames Gateway 60%+ BAME students 55% mature students 40% lower socio-economic groups 81% from the London area 50% from East London Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 3

What does Employability mean to you? Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 4

What is Employability? • • The ability to: Get a job Keep a job Progress in a job Get a better job Get a different job Create your own job Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 5

UEL Research Internships • A 10 week scheme where students work on a real research project • Opportunities are provided for students to present their findings through various channels • Typically students are paired with academics rather than support services Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 6

Employability and Enterprise team Research Objectives (EET) • Identify the rationale for students’ decision to engage or disengage with EET services • Understand students’ attitudes and understanding of employability • Investigate students’ satisfaction levels with the service and any improvements to be made • Investigate academics’ attitudes to employability Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 7

Data Collection • Qualitative and quantitative research (June/July 2013) • Focus groups and case studies, 25 students/graduates in total • Clipboard survey with, 150 students/graduates • Diverse representative samples (BME, Male, Female) Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 8

What do you think students’ employability expectations are? (Group discussion and feedback)

GTI media research (January 2013) • Responses from 2, 300 students at 125 universities • Very similar survey conducted six years ago with 2, 500 students • Over a third of respondents believe that the university has the MAIN responsibility for preparing them for working life

Students’ employability expectations at UEL and nationally? “Unrealistic employability expectations” Degree=job “Incorporating employability skills as key learning outcomes in core academic programmes” “More support for humanities subject support rather than business subjects” “Employability emails specific to my area of study and interest” “More alumni contacts and networks” “Further develop links with the Students’ Union and student societies” “Services tailored to their degree/career or sector choice” Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 11

Academics’ attitudes to employability “Get s tudents to start thinking about employability as soon as they arrive at university” EET road map “Create more links with recruitment agencies/job outcomes” “Core Employability skills should be part of several modules “ “Hold employability conferences for staff/students “ Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet “Employability should be delivered by industry experts” “Course specific Linked-in groups” 12

It’s your turn…(20 minutes) Discuss the points below and draw pictures to present your findings to the rest of the groups? • Why do you think students engage/disengage with Careers Services/Employability Teams ? • How can we enhance student engagement? What works? (one person will feedback for the rest of the group) Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 13

Reasons for not engaging? Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 14

Reasons for not engaging (National Survey) 36% of respondents said the following: • 52% not yet got round to it • 37% too little time • 23% I don’t know where it is on campus • 12% opening times and events inconvenient for me • 18% I don’t think it could help me • 11% I don’t know how to access its website Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 15

Reasons for non-engaging UEL students 58 % of the sample said their reasons for not engaging were: • 48 % do not know the location of services • 40 % were not aware or sure • 28 % lack of time • 21 % not yet got around to it • 16 % do not think it will be helpful • 8 % because times are inconvenient Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 16

Quotes on reasons for not engaging • “Because they do not offer specialist career guidance in my field” • “ Focusing on university workloads, so did not think about using the services” • “Not aware of services” Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 17

Reasons for engaging Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 18

Reasons for engaging 42 % of the sample said their reasons for engaging were: • 51 % to find a job • 27 % for personal/ skill development • 21% for opportunities • 19 % to network with employers • 11 % for career recommendations • 11 % for business advice and start ups 19

Quotes on reasons for engaging - “ I think that it will help me develop and improve my skills and it will be an opportunity for me to get a job” - “ For internships and voluntary work experience” - “End of my degree looking for work” Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 20

How can we enhance engagement? • Engage with students from their first year (Core lectures/induction videos/self assessment checklists/prescriptions/student roadmap) • Empower academics to enhance students’ employability • Provide a flexible service • Employability champions • Increase social media presence • Services tailored to degree/career choice Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 21

Recommendations • University employability strategy=service impact= invincible • Location and visibility is key • How you market your services is crucial • Practical skills sessions and interventions Employability and Enterprise Team www. uel. ac. uk/eet 22