Transcript Document

Employability- Learning to
Work: The Scottish dimension
Alastair Robertson, Higher Education Academy
Presentation at: “The National Agenda for Employability:
Implications for HE policy and practice” 28 June 2007
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Outline
•Employability in Scottish HE- a recent history
•The Employability Enhancement Theme
•Current work
•Other related sector-wide work, including
PDP
•The future…
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Employability in Scottish HE:
a recent potted history
•(ESECT)
•SFC’s “Learning to Work”, Oct 2004
•Enhancement Theme, 2004-05
•SFC Strategic Funding, 2007-10
•Research-Teaching Enhancement Theme, 2007-08
•PDP and the Effective Learning Framework
•Joint CRA/Academy/QAA Scotland work
•The Scottish Executive’s “Life through Learning:
Learning through Life” LLL Strategy, Feb 2003
•New Skills Strategy, Oct 2007?
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My personal involvement
•Personal case study
•QAA Scotland: managing support for the
Employability Enhancement Theme
•Current role: SHEEN, PDP, HEI support
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SFC, Learning to Work, 2004
• Acclaimed policy paper written by Helen Gibson and
Lawrence Howells, Further and Higher Education
sectors.
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Employability Enhancement Theme,
2004-05, Model of engagement
• Sector-wide Steering Group Chaired by Graeme
Roberts, Uni of Aberdeen now Academy Senior
Associate
• Academics, Careers staff, LTSN/Academy, SFC,
Employers….
• Establishment of an Institutional Contacts Networkinstrumental in future policy developments
• Various events, publications produced, wide number
of case studies identified
• www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk
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Employability Enhancement Theme,
Publications
• Overview, Graeme Roberts
• Innovative Projects from across the Curriculum,
Debra Macfarlane and Archie Roy
• Working together, Duncan Cockburn and James
Dunphy
• A Guide to International Best Practice in Engaging
Employers in the Curriculum, Andrew Bottomley and
Helen Williams
• Benchmarking Employability, Brent MacGregor et al.
• Skills for Business Network briefing
http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/themes/Employability/publications.asp
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Enhancement Theme findings i
Key lessons and issues
1. Address skills development in a progressive
manner at programme level
2. Create space in the curriculum, especially in early
stages of programmes
3. Possibility of tuning rather than redesigning
existing curriculum
4. Convert what students do alongside their
academic curriculum from a potential obstacle into
a significant opportunity for learning
5. Make explicit links between classroom
assignments and workplace tasks
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Enhancement Theme findings ii
Key factors for Employability success
1. Discreet support from the careers service
2. Funding for a dedicated employability
support post
3. Energetic employability champion
4. Access to project funding
5. Mechanism for co-ordinating activity
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Enhancement Theme’s
successes and impact
• Raised the sector’s awareness and understanding
• Provided a catalyst and support for development
of institutional employability strategies and action
plans
• Piloted a successful model for engaging the
sector in future enhancement themes through
institutional contacts network
• Contributed to the development of Learning to
Work and SFC implementation plan
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Challenges at the end of the Theme
1. Engaging frontline staff, particularly from nonvocational disciplines
2. Implementing Employability and PDP strategies
within institutions
3. Engaging students
4. Information management
5. Ensuring sustainability of action and momentum
built up over the life of the Theme.
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SFC Strategic Funding for Scottish HEIs
1. Consultation in June 06
with ICN- big change in
proposals requested by
sector
2. £4M over 4 years, 90%
direct to HEIs
3. SHEEN subsequently
established
4. Partnership Approach:
SFC/ Academy/ QAA/ Uni
Scotland
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SHEEN’s remit
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
To identify, share and promote effective practice in enhancing
student employability
advise the Scottish Funding Council on planned policy
developments
assist the Council to identify collaborative development
projects for its strategic funding programme
share information about the progress of these projects and
help disseminate their outcomes
advise the Higher Education Academy and SHEEC as
appropriate on the development needs of the Scottish sector in
relation to employability.
advise SHEEC on areas of work that might usefully be
addressed in future enhancement themes
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SHEEN’s membership and infrastructure
1. Chaired by Prof Brent MacGregor, Edinburgh
College of Art
2. HEI reps, stakeholders, student body
3. Two meetings, January and June 2007
4. “Hub and spoke” model proposed for SHEEN and
sub-networks e.g. institutional employability coordinators
5. External Evaluators- summative and formative roles“critical friends” for HEIs….
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sheen.htm
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Institutional Plansemerging priorities
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Academy asked to analyse plans, provide feedback
and overview to sector- “employabilitymatch.com”
Several common priorities:
1. PDP (80% of HEIs)
2. Embedding employability within the curriculum- disciplinespecific issues…
3. Employer engagement
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Academy to continue to support HEIs and sector
(SFC 2007-08 grant letter)
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•
3 year project worth £2M involving Uni of Glasgow, St. Andrews and
Glasgow Caledonian Uni; SFC Strategic Change Grant
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3 strands:
Research
Exploring and developing opportunities for work
experience
Support for Embedding work related learning

Aimed at undergraduate students in Biosciences, Business &
Management, History, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology.
http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/careers/[email protected]
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PDP and the Effective Learning Framework*
*Taken from Effective Learning and Employability,
Enhancement Themes website
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New joint forum to support
institutional implementation of PDP
•
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Two meetings, May and June 2007
A number of priorities/challenges identified:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Staff engagement
Student engagement
Assessment
More integrated approaches
Transferability
Developing the Academic/Personal Turtor role
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New Scottish Executiveimplications???
•
Fiona Hyslop, SNP, new Cabinet Secretary for
Education and Lifelong Learning
• Scottish response to UK-Leitch review
• New Scottish Skills Strategy announced which will:
1. Highlight the skills valued and required both by
employers and individuals
2. Demonstrate how sectors from Further
Education/Higher Education to schools, community
learning and workforce development can contribute
to the skills agenda
3. Outline the responsibilities of those involved in
skills development
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Conclusions
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Partnership works
A shared agenda: learners, educators and employers
A long term agenda
Joined-up approach
Embedding within the curriculum; buy-in from
academic staff key
Opportunities afforded by current spotlight on the
Research-Teaching nexus…?
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Thank you
•
Graeme Roberts, Helen Gibson, Brent
MacGregor, Val Butcher + + +
Questions and discussion
[email protected]
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