University of Glamorgan

Transcription

1 1 University of Glamorgan 1. Case study title Planning for Employability 2. Key words Holistic; strategic; collaborative/inclusive; enhancement; multi dimensional. 3. Subjects Art, Design and Communication Bioscience Built Environment Business Management and Accountancy Economics Education Engineering English Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Health Sciences and Practice History, Classics and Archaeology Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Information and Computer Sciences Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Law Materials Maths, Stats & OR Network Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine Performing Arts

2 Philosophical and Religious Studies Physical Sciences Psychology Sociology, Anthropology and Politics Social Policy and Social Work 2 4. Summary This Planning for Employability initiative is articulated through the delivery of an institutional Employability Development Plan (EDP). Inclusive development which has had a positive impact in raising the understanding and profile of employability as a theme for delivery throughout the curriculum. The development of the EDP addresses the need to inform the synergy between the strategy for learning & teaching and the emerging need to develop plans that impact on the economy and society (Third Mission). The EDP is informed by the mission statement and strategic goals of the University, and aims to enhance the employability of students and graduates. Three themes have been highlighted in the EDP as facilitating a closer working relationship between students/graduates and employers. Facilitated a close working relationship between central services, such as the Careers Centre and all academic schools. 5. Setting the Scene

3 3 This initiative builds upon the successful WEEP project (Work Experience & Employability Plan), which was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. The WEEP was a comprehensive work experience and employability strategy which was linked to learning and teaching. Not only did this initiative facilitate the sharing of good practice and ownership for employability within the institution but also facilitated the development of regional networks and projects throughout the higher education sector in Wales. The initiative, for the first time challenged HEIs in Wales to take a more strategic approach to the delivery of employability and provided a template for articulating the plan. External and impartial feedback and monitoring of the WEEPs was facilitated by HEFCW which further endorsed the initiative within the institution. The regional aspect of the WEEP initiative also had huge potential for further collaboration and networking between HEI s in Wales thus delivering employability not only within institutions but across institutions. This had a considerable positive impact in terms of driving the agenda and sharing best practice on a regional basis. 6. The Institutional Context - The University of Glamorgan was established in 1992 and as a former Polytechnic had firm roots in providing work based learning provision. Currently the University has over 20,000 students and is based on a single campus, which is a few miles north of Cardiff. The mix of courses is varied and includes the largest Business School in Wales; courses in Engineering, Technology and Computing; a wide range of Social Science, Arts and Humanities provision, including Law as well as substantial Nurse training. The institution is firmly committed to employability not only at a strategic level but also in the development of an holistic range of services to students which enhance their employability as reflected in outperforming targets for employability as set by HESA (The Higher Education Statistical Agency). Indeed, this performance against national indicators reflects well on the approach to employability taken by the University and could be seen as one significant measure of success.

4 7. Thinking on employability 4 One of the key strategic aims of the institution is to produce employable graduates. Employability has had an important role to play in the development of the University and has a high profile which was ignited by the Dearing Report in In a devolved Wales, the University of Glamorgan has a growing reputation in taking the lead on issues related to the employability agenda. Employability is clearly linked to developments within learning and teaching and the Employability Working Group, which was responsible for producing the EDP, was chaired by the Dean of Learning & Teaching. This working group reports to the Learning & Teaching Committee and is represented upon it by the Head of Careers Centre. At Departmental level there are representatives from all academic schools on the Employability Working Group as well as key central departments including the Careers Centre. Ensuring that all academic schools take ownership for developing employability is one key driver for the EDP initiative, especially since there is such a variance across the institution in terms of approach. This variance is very much reflected by academic discipline and the vocational nature of the awards on offer. Sharing best practice through a range of strategies is making a huge difference in development and delivery of employability. The University has adopted an holistic view on the nature of employability and has developed a conceptual framework which has informed the development of the EDP. This framework goes beyond a definition which is one dimensional.it focuses not only on the acquisition of assets that individuals may possess but also considers issues related to career management which facilitates the matching process from an awareness of the opportunities that may exist. There is a recognition that work experience, which is broadly defined, has a critical role in the employability of students and needs to be recognised in a more formal way through accreditation. This is already happening within the University and one important aspect of the EDP is that it allows departments to share good practice and facilitates internal networking. One positive outcome has been the recognition that the University

5 must be more aware of utilising existing funding streams to deliver work experience through accreditation. 5 The Employability Working Group is currently working on a proposal to appoint a research officer to develop a range of activities in relation to work experience in partnership with HEFW and the HE Academy. This project will not only consider funding mechanisms but will refine a template for accreditation and assessment as well as producing and sharing learning material which will be available on line. This learning material will underpin the emerging QAA driven policies related to Placement Learning; Careers Education, Information & Guidance and Progress Files. 8. Policy The catalyst for the development of the EDP was certainly the impetus that had been provided by the strategic approach encouraged by the WEEP initiative. Prior to that there had been a number of internal developments but the WEEP raised the profile of employability as a concept for strategic development. There were a number of reasons for this but critically it was an initiative which was externally driven by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. The WEEPs were also externally reviewed by an independent assessor which also added kudos to the initiative. The need to develop an internal plan for employability was highlighted by the fact that the WEEP initiative came to an end in (This in many ways demonstrates the fragile nature of funding related to employability, although many might argue that after three years the WEEP initiative had been successful in terms of embedding employability into the Learning & Teaching strategies.) There was also the need to consider how services developed as part of the WEEP would make a contribution to the emerging Third Mission Strategies which institutions would be asked to prepare for the Funding Council. These emerging strategies would consider the wider role that HEI s have in not only contributing to economic development but to the wider impact on the community and social regeneration. With this in mind a decision was taken to constitute a working group who would consider the best way forward. This group was to be

6 chaired by a senior member of staff who was nominated by the Vice-Chancellor, with members made up of staff nominated by all heads of department. 6 This Employability Working Group has the responsibility of monitoring the EDP and meets on a quarterly basis. The Plan is for two years and will be reviewed and updated at the end of the first year. The EDP is integral to the development of the Learning and Teaching Strategy and will be an integral part of the Third Mission plans. The EDP has three themes, which are interrelated. The first goal is to develop strategies related to Experiences of Work, which aims at widening opportunities for students and graduates to gain experiences of work and to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills. The second theme highlights Services to Employers and meeting the needs of the economy by facilitating the process of matching students/graduates to the recruitment needs of employers. Learning from Work is the third theme which aims at developing creative and holistic strategies which enhance the employability of our students and facilitate the development of skills. With the current EDP there has been an emphasis on making this a working document which is underpinned by a strategic framework and reference. The drafting of the Plan went through several consultation phases to ensure a process of inclusivity. From previous experience there was a need to ensure that although the final EDP was endorsed at the highest level within the institution, all academic departments were involved in contributing to developing the key objectives within the three themes or goals of the plan. At the end of the first year one positive benefit of this approach has been the synergy developed within the group, let alone the synergy at a strategic level. The emerging internal networking has been a real positive outcome and has facilitated better communication between colleagues from different parts of the institution. The EDP has been a catalyst for this sense of collective ownership for the development and understanding of employability.

7 9. Strategy for implementing policy 7 The framework for the Plan was drafted by a small working group including the Head of Careers Centre who had been involved in the previous WEEP initiative and was also involved in developing policies related to Third Mission at a regional level. This possible framework was discussed and endorsed by the Dean of Learning & Teaching before being proposed as the way forward by the Employability Working Group. Certainly the key driver of this initiative has been the partnership between the Careers Centre and the office for Learning & Teaching. The model and approach could certainly be recommended to others it has placed the Careers Centre within the mainstream of influencing the employability curriculum which has been one significant positive outcome of the approach taken by Glamorgan. Other champions are emerging from within academic schools and this is where the future fertile rewards lie. Once this was achieved the framework was circulated to all members of the working group for discussion within their academic departments and for them to contribute to the development of key objectives within the plan. It was critical to get everyone on board in making a contribution; to discuss the issues; share good practice and to take forward ideas that would make a positive impact on the process of enhancing the employability of students. This process will need to reviewed for future developments with more thought given to developing objectives from the bottom up although this can be more time consuming and patchy due to the various priorities of academic colleagues with departments. Gaining a parity of recognition and resources across the institution in terms of delivering employability champions within each academic school remains an issue. The EDP is a working document and for each of the three themes there emerged no more than ten key objectives which the group felt were realistic and achievable within the timeframe. Each objective was prioritised and given a score against criteria developed by the working group; targets were set for each objective and other information such as sources of funding for each objective and a time scale were included. Progress is reviewed on a quarterly basis when the working group meets and

8 at the end of the first year the objectives for EDP will be reviewed and evaluated. The intention will be to use the process of audit to benchmark achievements in comparison to activities undertaken in relation to the audit undertaken under the WEEP. Despite methodological difficulties, previous audits have been a useful vehicle for highlighting issues and bringing about real change. One significant example of this was the recognition that providing students with real choices related to work experience provision needed to developed beyond providing traditional sandwich placements. As an institution we also recognised the need to recognise and reward students for reflecting on their paid employment experience. 8 Underpinning the delivery of the EDP is a programme of staff development interventions which have included several lunchtime discussion groups for staff; seminars which have included external speakers and organising regional conferences on key issues related to employability. External funding has also ensured synergy with innovative programmes such as GO Wales, which is funded in partnership with HEFCW and the European Social Fund Costs The EDP included where appropriate the resource implications, and within the priority setting those objectives which had funding streams identified were given the highest priority. The Learning and Teaching Strategy also funded a post within the Careers Centre. Other staff costs were included for key objectives, especially for those funded externally. Other costs, apart from those contained in the EDP have not been calculated. In real terms time has been the real cost for those attending and delivering the objectives, probably 10% of the writer s time and the time devoted by others in the Learning & Teaching Office - 5% Research Officer post and the same for the Dean of Learning and Teaching in promoting employability and chairing the Employability Working Group.

9 9 As institutions seek to embed employability into the students experience, curriculum or otherwise, it also seems difficult to identify the ring fenced funding for such initiatives. The EDP highlights the added value delivered by collaboration between academic schools; working in partnership between the Learning &Teaching Office and the added value provided by HE Careers Services. 11. Problems encountered and how they were overcome/are being tackled Making the connections between the strategy for Learning and Teaching and the emerging Third mission in a coherent way was the main issue. The themes identified for the EDP were informed by the need to provide this synergy as well as ensuring the plan itself had some autonomy. Ensuring that the various strands of development related to employability and widening access within the University were included in the EDP was also an issue. To an extent the process of consultation was an important factor in ensuring that these were included. The EDP however can only be a snapshot in time and other initiatives have developed since the plan was written. The EDP has also contributed to facilitating a network of staff who are engaged in developing employability across the institution and who can share ideas. Raising the profile of employability and work experience through the use of mainstream funding remains an issue for the future and has began to be addressed by the Employability Working Group. Short term project provide an impetus for change but the staff delivering such employability initiatives need the security and career progression which others benefit from within the University. 12. Perceived benefits and evidence of outcomes A more comprehensive understanding of issues related to strategic developments as they impact on employability. Development of a conceptual framework for employability which goes beyond just the acquisition of skills and gaining employment. The EDP has encouraged a reaction and feedback from key

10 staff throughout the institution. Employability is on their agenda, and is becoming a central theme for delivery within academic schools. The EDP provides a good working template for delivering employability not only within the institution but within academic schools themselves. The Plan was well received as being well structured and appropriate to the needs of the University ; highlights the current good practice within the institution as well as identifying new services and initiatives. ( feedback from academic staff ) The EDP also recognises the holistic nature of employability and the need to work in partnership with others, both within the University and externally. EDP provided a catalyst for mainstreaming the influence of the Careers Centre on mainstream developments by working more closely with the Learning & Teaching Office. The Employability Working Group is becoming recognised as the forum and voice piece for issues relate to a range of issues related to employability and provides a link between senior management within Directorate and those staff delivering the curriculum and wider services What remains to be done? Continue to evaluate progress on a regular basis as set out in the Plan and to review at the end of the first year. This will include an audit of wider provision within the second year of the EDP. Review the strategic context of the EDP and its relevance to the changes within the strategic environment. Evaluate the impact of the EDP within the Employability Working Group and to revise the plan for the second year as appropriate. Continue to engage a wider and more inclusive ownership of the delivery of employability across the institution. 14. How generalisable is the policy/strategy/innovation to other institutions

11 The framework developed for the EDP could easily be adopted by other institutions who wish to develop an institutional focus to employability through a planned approach. The EDP, although strategically informed, is a joint working document which will help drive developments related to employability. The EDP also adds transparency to the activities and various contributions made by partners, both internally and externally, which contribute to the plan What should be done differently if this were to be begun anew? Given a different context (timescales and resources) for developing the EDP a more proactive approach to the consultative phase could have been considered. This might have included focus groups with academics and possibly more emphasis on the delivery being done within academic schools - possibly providing them with the framework and asking them to use this to produce their own plans for developing employability. 16. Author/presenters contact information Name/s Euros Evans Department Careers Centre Address Including postcode University of Glamorgan. Pontypridd. CF83 8SJ. Phone

12 12 Fax address Web address (URL) to enable access to additional relevant material. 17. Extra material Employability development plan