Show off your skills Embedding employability into your

Show off your skills Embedding employability into your curriculum

What is employability?

What does the term employable mean to you?

Setting personal goals and targets Interview skills Transferable skills CV writing Recruitability Cover letter writing Employability Career and skills development Career planning Work experience Shaping your own future

What transferable skills do you think you need for a job?

List of transferable skills Basic Skills: • Use listening skills to understand oral instructions • Learn new procedures • Understand carry out written instructions • Orally convey information to others • Observe and assess your own and others' performances • Communicate in writing • Use mathematical processes to solve problems • Public speaking • Demonstrate professionalism People Skills: • Provide constructive criticism • Receive feedback • Coordinate actions with other people's actions • Negotiate, persuade, and influence people • Motivate others • Handle complaints • Train or teach new skills • Delegate work • Oversee others' work • Perform outreach • Counsel people • Build strong customer relationships • Collaborate with others • Mentor less experienced colleagues • Resolve conflicts • Develop relationships with suppliers • Demonstrate comfort when dealing with all people • Gain clients' or customers' confidence www. thebalancecareers. com Management Skills: • Oversee budgets • Recruit personnel • Review resumes • Interview job candidates • Select new hires • Supervise employees • Allocate resources such as equipment, materials, and facilities • Schedule personnel • Preside over meetings • Negotiate contracts • Evaluate employees • Organize committees Clerical Skills • Perform general clerical and administrative support tasks • Design forms, correspondence, and reports • Manage records • Take minutes at meetings • Use word processing software • Use database management software • Use spreadsheet software • Use desktop publishing software • Use presentation software • Perform data entry • Keep track of accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing, and other bookkeeping tasks • Screen telephone calls • Greet visitors Research and Planning Skills • Identify and present problems to upper management • Anticipate and prevent problems from occurring and reoccurring • Critical thinking skills • Solve problems • Deal with unexpected situations • Define organisation’s and department’s needs • Set goals • Prioritise tasks • Locate and reach out to suppliers or sub-contractors • Analyse information and forecast results • Manage your time and meet deadlines • Plan and implement events and activities • Create and implement new policies and procedures • Develop a budget • Coordinate and develop programs • Document procedures and results • Produce reports • Conduct research using the Internet and library resources • Generate ideas • Implement new strategies Computer and Technical Skills: • Use computer software that is related to job • Use job-related equipment and machinery • Install software on computers • Use the Internet, including email and search engines • Use office equipment such as printers, copiers and fax machines • Troubleshoot problems with hardware and software • Install equipment • Troubleshoot problems with and repair equipment • Maintain equipment • Inspect equipment to identify problems

Why are transferable skills important? • Whatever you want to do when you leave university, chances are you will have to compete hard to win the best opportunities. • The skills and experiences gained alongside your academic studies are being recognised and valued more and more by employers. • There are now more graduates than ever, so employers are placing more emphasis on recruiting graduates who not only have a degree, but who are also equipped with key transferable skills and have a desire to learn more and improve their capabilities during their time at university. Bath Award guidance handbook

‘The skills gap’ What do you think the most important skills are for a job?

1) 2) 3)

Ability to work under pressure Being able to keep calm in a crisis and not become too overwhelmed or stressed

Commercial Awareness Knowing how a business or industry works and how it competes in its marketplace

Communication Being clear, concise and focused; being able to tailor your message for the audience; listening to the views of others

Confidence Being confident in yourself, but also in your colleagues and the company you work for

Leadership Showing potential to motivate teams; assigning and delegating tasks well; setting deadlines; leading by good example

Negotiation and Persuasion Being able to set out what you want to achieve and how to get it, whilst understanding where the other person is coming from

Organisation Prioritising tasks; Working effectively and productively; Managing your time well; Meeting deadlines

Perseverance and Motivation Not giving up; Being able to drive the actions of yourself and others to accomplish your goals

Problem Solving Being able to find solutions to difficult or complex issues

Teamwork Working together with a group of people towards a common goal, whilst creating a positive working environment

1) 2) 3)

1) Commercial Awareness 2) Communication 3) Teamwork 4) Negotiation and Persuasion 5) Problem Solving 6) Leadership 7) Organisation 8) Perseverance and Motivation 9) Ability to work under pressure 10) Confidence Top 10 skills graduate recruiters want targetjobs. co. uk

The skills ‘gap’ This is the divide between the skills employers expect employees to have and the skills employees and job seekers actually possess. This can fall into 2 broad categories: - 1. The ‘hard’ skills that companies need their employees to have § For example, technology companies looking for people who can code 2. The ‘soft’ skill sets that all students should have Go. Skills. com – The Skills gap is real

The skills ‘gap’ - statistics 90% of surveyed graduates believed they were “well-prepared” for their new jobs; only approximately 50% of hiring managers shared that opinion x (2016 Pay. Scale/Future Workplace Survey) Two-thirds of UK businesses expected to struggle to find the candidates that they need in 2018 (Total. Jobs, Solving the UK Skills Shortage report) The skills gap is costing UK businesses about £ 2. 2 billion a year in higher salaries, recruitment costs and temporary staffing (The Open University) Almost 80% of graduate employers struggle to fill vacancies due to candidates not being able to demonstrate the essential skills requested in their job descriptions (2015 UKCES Employer Skills Survey)

How universities are helping to close the ‘gap’ • Liaising with local/regional employers to create more work experience opportunities for students • Engaging with businesses to facilitate better communication between the skills universities teach and the skills businesses want • Emphasising employability throughout the university journey • Integrating employability-focused aspects into the curriculum QS The Global Skills Gap report

It’s time to skill up! How can you develop your transferable skills within the curriculum? Creating your own assessments

Each group will be assigned one of the following transferable skills: Problem Solving Leadership Communication (speaking) Information Technology Teamwork Data handling Communication (written) Negotiation and Persuasion

Think of an existing assessment within your course which develops this skill Questions to discuss: - • Is the skill the main focus of the assessment, or is it developed as a by -product of the subject knowledge? • How is the skill measured? (How are you assessed? ) • Is this an effective way to develop this skill? • Was there an alternative method to reach the desired outcome?

Create an entirely new assessment that you have never had before to develop this skill Bits to include: - • Title/short description of the assessment • Content of the assessment • What will be assessed/produced during the assessment? • Hours needed to complete assessment • Who will assess it? • Peer-assessed? Lecturer? External assessor? • Think about how it can be inclusive to all learners

Examples Mafia role play – Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies Students attend a number of seminars and are separated into four different mafia clans. They must then complete various games and solve problems, whilst maintaining their characters Assessment: 1. Weekly e-diary entries, noting their character events and what they learnt 2. Each group create a collective dossier of how their scenarios play out 3. An individual reflective essay of the how different concepts in the games related to the academic literature about mafia culture

Examples Educational You. Tube video about X-ray crystallography – Department of Biology and Biochemistry Task = Create a short (~4 minutes) video address a particular aspect of the BB 20020 Protein Structure unit, to use as a revision resource for your peers Hours needed for assessment = 3 -4 hours Who will assess? = Peer-assessed Inclusive practices = Including subtitles, using examples that everybody could understand

Take home messages • Could this be what co-creation in the curriculum between students and staff looks like in Curriculum Transformation? • Hopefully you can see why employability is one of themes that the student body have identified as important areas that need developing here at the University • Curriculum Transformation is an exciting opportunity for you to contribute to the future of the University, so make sure you get involved!