Working Together to Improve Psychology Student Employability The Psychology Graduate: Are we giving

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Working Together to Improve Psychology Student
EmployabilityThe Psychology Graduate Are we
giving employers what they want?
Institute of Psychological Sciences FACULTY OF
MEDICINE AND HEALTH

• Dr. Siobhan Hugh-Jones
• (in collaboration with Dr. Ed Sutherland and
  Annabelle Cross)
• June 2008

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Background to study

• Developed PACES on-line PDP
• is this what employers wanted?
• HEA (Psychology Network) mini-project
• interview employers and non-employers of
  psychology graduates
• To explore
• employers expectations of, and levels of
  satisfaction with, the typical (psychology)
  graduate
• how they want employability evidenced
• reasons for recruiting / not recruiting
• how they think employability can be improved

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Destination Data

• 6 month destination data of Uni of Leeds
  Psychology graduate students was examined for the
  past 3 cohorts of graduates (2002- 2006).
• Administrative work
• Science (NHS trusts, Psychology assistants)
• Education (Teaching assistants, PGCE)
• Social care
• Sales and Finance
• Advertising and Personnel
• In total, 18 typical employers of psychology
  graduates were contacted. 11 typical
  non-employers were also contacted.

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Recruitment

• Response rate was extremely poor and only 4 of
  the intended 8 employers of psychology graduates
  were interviewed
• KPMG
• NHS
• PGCE Programme
• Yorkshire Water
• 1 of the intended 4 non-employers (CORUS -
  Engineering).
• Nonetheless, the completed interviews were
  extremely useful and delivered important
  outcomes.

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Are employers happy with the standard of
Psychology graduates?

• very satisfied with the skills, attributes and
  general workplace-preparedness of graduates.
• essential transferable skills, prepared to
  function responsibly within the workplace.
• However, employers did not feel it necessary to
  isolate Psychology graduates from the general
  market of graduates, i.e. no unique features
  about Psychology graduates above and beyond those
  of other graduates
• I mean I wouldnt say, oh yes, we can spot the
  Psychology graduates a mile off, you know,
  theyre always behind on this or theyre always
  brilliant at that. You cant.
  (PGCE
  Admissions Tutor)

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Are employers happy with the standard of
Psychology graduates?

• Other than for Psychology-specific employment
  arenas, need to prepare our students for
  employment competition in ways that promote the
  unique benefits of undertaking a psychology
  degree.
• Although employers were generally satisfied with
  the standard of graduate they were getting, they
  did isolate areas of continuing dissatisfaction.

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Key themes 1. Seeking uniqueness

• degree classifications as initial screening tool
  but little utility thereafter.
• Because I have seen the most intelligent
  people in the world with a string of
  qualifications but theyve not been to the
  university of life(Yorkshire Water).
• Is Psychology is doing enough to communicate with
  employers about the criteria for differing
  classifications, and what employers can reliably
  expect from a graduate with a certain degree
  classification?
• employers were keen to see students draw upon a
  wide range of experiences in their applications
  and in competency based interviews.

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Key themes 1. Seeking uniqueness

• What does the candidate put on their application
  form that differentiates them from the 110 other
  people who are applying for the same role?...its
  sometimes the odd phrase or something like that
  that brings it to life. (Yorkshire Water)
• Employers placed indisputable emphasis on a
  graduates ability to sell themselves, meaning
  that students need both the tools and the ability
  to promote themselves.
• employability support for Psychology students
  must encourage the adoption of a wide perspective
  on what constitutes skills and experience and
  students should be encouraged to identify and
  promote what is unique in their own experiences.

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Key themes 2. Importance of evidence

• Employers stressed that students need to be able
  to substantiate their application and interview
  statements with evidence.
• if weve got a lot people, then the people who
  will rise to the top will be people who can give
  us evidence so rather than just saying Im good
  at this, Im good at that, you actually want the
  evidence. (NHS)
• but in the end its just a pile of paper of
  what people write, they can write anything. Is
  that whats really is that really a true
  reflection? Now the process of doing it may be
  very important, the product to somebody looking
  at it may just be well, you know, youve got one,
  but so the has the next person and it looks
  exactly the same. I think if they develop skills
  of reflection and analysis and synthesis of a
  number of different issues, then its going to
  come out. But its not coming out necessarily on
  bits of paper. (PGCE Admissions Tutor)

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Key themes2. Importance of evidence

• Although Universities are making progress in
  terms of encouraging students to record
  achievement, these efforts should expanded to
  support reflection on that evidence and what it
  demonstrates about the individual.
• Indeed, when employers were asked about the
  value of Work Placements or embedded Careers
  Modules, the general consensus was that
• Placements are useful only in so far as the
  student can get something out of it and can
  articulate that to a potential employer. (Corus)
• And its not just having the experiences, what
  have they learned from that experience (PGCE
  Admissions Tutor)

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Key themes3. Culture of PDP

• Employers were unsurprised by the difficulty in
  engaging both staff and students in PDP.
• Stressed that PDP ( its counterparts, e.g.
  Continuing Professional Development) was part of
  working life and that this should be emphasized
  to students. It was seen as reflecting important
  attributes of autonomy and drive.
• Wherever they go theyll have to do learning
  logs, personal development plans, they might have
  a mentor. Its the same everywhere . (NHS)

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Key themes3. Culture of PDP

• The people who want to develop are the ones that
  are going to succeed and push further. We as a
  company expect individuals to be responsible for
  their personal development. Its not something
  that the company is going to do for them, they
  need to own it and therefore also understand why
  the company wants them to own it. (Corus)
• KPMG recommended that HE institutions invite
  employers (or trainees) into their degree at an
  early stage to motivate students to engage in PDP
  and for them to see how much employers value it.

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Key themes4. Barriers to employability

• Firstly, employers were perplexed by the
  purported transferability of skills and how this
  could be evidenced. In addition, the PGCE
  Admissions Tutor felt that the typical Psychology
  skill portfolio was lacking in the explicit
  development of listening skills.
• Secondly, the breadth of psychology at
  undergraduate level was perceived to be impeding
  students employability as it was felt that they
  do not have an early focus on a particular career
  path
• It may be especially difficult for psychology
  students to become employment-focused because of
  the breadth of the degree and its open-endedness.
  Subsequently, it may be a challenge for students
  to isolate early on the types of skills they have
  that an unspecified employer may deem important.
  (KPMG)

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Key themes4. Barriers to employability

• Thirdly, many employers reported that
  employability was hindered by a lack of
  professionalism in students.
• For example, they often identified that
  applicants simply copied and pasted responses for
  different applications forms, usually misnaming
  the target employer.
• They also reported poor written English in
  applications and in email correspondence (indeed,
  KPMG have now introduced an Email Test to screen
  for this).
• Poor personal impact in interviews was also
  considered a lack of professionalism (e.g. not
  researching the employer, being unprepared for
  competency based interviewing etc.) as was a lack
  of career motivation.
• Need to create a more professional,
  employment-focused ethos in UG Psychology degree
  programmes. There are considerable opportunities
  within degree programmes from coursework to
  interactions with academic staff to promote and
  develop professional attitudes in students.

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Issues raised by project

• difficulty of engaging employers for this type of
  study
• a need to improve communication with employers
  about what degree classifications meaningfully
  represent
• a need to communicate to Psychology
  undergraduates how they are perceived by
  employers and a subsequent need to sell the
  benefits of Psychology to employers
• a mechanism to effectively support students in
  appreciating how their wider experiences
  contribute to employability and how this can
  evidence their uniqueness

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Issues raised by project

• how to develop students ability to promote /
  sell themselves
• whether psychology programmes should incorporate
  more grading of skill acquisition
• a need to promote and develop professionalism
  among UG students
• how to support student reflection on their work
  placement experiences
• easier mechanisms to integrate employers in the
  delivery of the curriculum

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