Embedding employability: learning for workforce development

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Embedding employability learning for workforce
development

• Peter Knight and Mantz Yorke
• Enhancing student employability enhancing
  workforce development conference
• Birmingham, 27-28 January 2005

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Overview

• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

4
The ESECT view of employability

• A set of achievements, understandings and
  personal attributes that make individuals more
  likely to gain employment and be successful in
  their chosen occupations.
• Consistent with thinking in other countries
  Hong Kong (Ed Ko), Australia (Simon Barrie),
  Canada (Alan Wright), USA (Marcia Mentkowski).
• Likely to be adopted by the European Commission.

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Embedding employability in the first degree

• Main focus of ESECT work.
• Embed employability in bachelors degree by
  evidence-informed design of
• Curriculum content.
• Learning, teaching and assessment approaches.
• The learning environment as a whole.

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USEM

• Good learning and the enhancement of
  employability involve attending to students
• Understanding of subject matter
• Skilful practices
• Efficacy beliefs
• Metacognition

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Co-curricular responses

• Co-curriculum
• All those arrangements made outside the regular
  curriculum for the educational enrichment of the
  undergraduate years
• Equity issues
• Employability for all single parents, those
  already in work, historians, minority groups.

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Employability as a curriculum issue

• Employability lies less in curriculum content
  than in curriculum processes.
• An entitlement approach to learning, teaching and
  assessment.
• A programme-focused approach to employability,
  learning, teaching and assessment.

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Employability Experience Questionnaire

• A tool to help in curriculum design and
  evaluation
• Pilot 1 complete 1417 responses suggests 5
  factors
• Academic confidence
• (Un)certainty regarding personal capability
• Confidence regarding employment
• Influence of work-experience on academic studies
• Personal autonomy
• Pilot 2 to run during February 2005
• Electronic version subsequently to HE Academy
  website

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Curriculum responses

• The LTSN/GC Learning and Employability series
  (2004). Further publications under development.
• Other Higher Education academy and ESECT
  resources, tools and networks.
• http//www.heacademy.ac.uk/Employability.htm

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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Employability a matter of transfer and
transitions?

• Transfer of training.
• A battle.
• Situatedness of practice.
• Tacit knowledge.
• Making transitions.
• Performance (and confidence?) dips.
• Applied metacognition?

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Looking beyond the undergraduate years
Part-time study
Schooling
Taught masters
Undergraduate years
Professional doctorate
Foundation degrees
Further Education or Community College
Work-based training
Non-formal learning
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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. Foundation
  Degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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Mid-level qualifications

• Often directly employment-relevant.
• Various modes of study.
• Valued particularly in continental Europe and the
  US.
• Foundation degrees introduced into England,
  Wales, Northern Ireland.

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Foundation degrees

• Designed in conjunction with employers to fit
  specific employment needs.
• Strong emphasis on work-based learning, which
  raises issues regarding mentoring, assessment.
• Notable contribution to upskilling in health,
  social care and education.
• Some particularly successful industry/education
  institution partnerships.
• A general, rather than a specific, foundation
  degree?
• What will be the impact of top-up fees?

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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Masters degrees improving employability

• Variety of masters degrees conversion,
  specialist and professional.
• Professional masters typically entail
• Reflections on practice
• Drawing on research evidence
• Drawing on research concepts
• Beginning action research.

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Masters degrees improving employability?

• Coherence?
• Are goals met?
• Boyatzis and colleagues, 1995?
• What about USEM?
• Studies needed.

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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Professional doctorates improving employability

• Growth area, especially in Australia.
• Theory-practice-enquiry interplay.
• With professional focus.
• Mixture of taught courses and
  dissertation/thesis/ project.

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Professional doctorates improving employability?

• Dilemma
• Too highfaluting?
• Bogged down in local practices?
• USEM?
• Studies needed.

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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Employability and part-time students

• Little, B. (2005, forthcoming) Part-time Students
  and Employability. York the Higher Education
  Academy.

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• Employability.
• Implications for the first degree.
• Employment is temporary, employability can be
  endlessly renewed. Examples include
• Mid-level qualifications, incl. foundation
  degrees.
• Taught masters degrees.
• Professional doctorates.
• Cross-cutting themes.
• Part-time students.
• The quality of non-formal learning.

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The quality of non-formal learning

• Blackwell, A., Bowes, L. Harvey, L. Hesketh, A.
  and Knight P.T. (2001) Transforming Work
  Experience in Higher Education, British
  Educational Research Journal, 26(3), 269-286.
• Bailey, T.R., Hughes, K.L. and Moore, D.T. (2004)
  Working Knowledge work-based learning and
  education reform. London RoutledgeFalmer.

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Other readings

• Boyatzis, R.E. and associates (1995). Innovation
  in Professional Education. San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Knight, P.T. (1997) Masterclass learning,
  teaching and curriculum in taught masters
  degrees. London Cassell.
• Knight, P.T. and Yorke, M. (2004) Learning,
  Curriculum and Employability. London
  Routledge/Falmer.
• Yorke, M. and Knight, P.T. (2004) Embedding
  Employability into the Curriculum. York the
  Learning and Teaching Support Network.

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More

• http//www.heacademy.ac.uk/Employability.htm
• peter.knight_at_open.ac.uk
• m.yorke_at_livjm.ac.uk