Employability
The Scottish dimension
Brent MacGregor
Vice Principal
edinburgh college of art
&
Chair, SHEEN
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Scottish Higher Education
Employability Network
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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 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 (ELF)
•Joint CRA/Academy/QAA Scotland work
•The Scottish Executive’s Life through Learning: Learning through
Life LLL Strategy, Feb 2003
•New Skills Strategy 24 August 2007
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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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SFC, Longitudinal Survey,
On Track 2004-09
• 5 year study, 2004-09, FE and HE
• Attempt to get beyond first destination statistics
• Surveying graduates of Colleges and HEIs, following
their career paths and further study
• questions also aimed at learners to reflect on their
college/university experience
• Contrasts with NSS (optional in Scotland)
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Employability Enhancement Theme
2004-05
• Sector-wide Steering Group Chaired by Graeme
Roberts, U. of Aberdeen now Academy Senior
Associate
• Academics, Careers staff, LTSN/Academy, SFC,
Employers….
• Establishment of an Institutional Contacts Network-
instrumental in future policy developments
• Various events, publications produced, wide number
of case studies identified
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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 re-designing
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 impact
• Raised the sector’s awareness
• Provided support for development of institutional
employability strategies and action plans
• Contributed to the development of Learning to
Work and SFC implementation plan
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Challenges at the end of the Theme
• Engaging frontline staff, particularly from non-
vocational disciplines
• Implementing Employability and PDP strategies
within institutions
• Engaging students
• 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/
Universities Scotland
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SHEEN’s remit
1. to identify, share and promote effective practice in enhancing
student employability
2. advise the Scottish Funding Council on planned policy
developments
3. assist the Council to identify collaborative development
projects for its strategic funding programme
4. share information about the progress of these projects and
help disseminate their outcomes
5. advise the Higher Education Academy and SHEEC as
appropriate on the development needs of the Scottish sector in
relation to employability.
6. 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 a year
4. External Evaluators- summative and formative roles-
“critical friends” for HEIs….
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sheen.htm
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Institutional Plans-
emerging priorities
• Academy asked to analyse plans, provide feedback
and overview to sector
• Several common priorities:
1. PDP (80% of HEIs)
2. Embedding employability within the curriculum- discipline-
specific issues…
3. Employer engagement
• 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
• 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/AUL@W.htm
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PDP and the Effective Learning Framework*
*Taken from Effective Learning and Employability,
Enhancement Themes website 18
New Scottish Government
• Fiona Hyslop, SNP, Cabinet Secretary for Education
and Lifelong Learning
• Scottish response to Leitch
• 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
• 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 theme
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Thank you
• Graeme Roberts, Helen Gibson, Alastair
Robertson, Val Butcher
Questions and discussion
vp@eca.ac.uk
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•enhancement of employability not a threat to academic
standards
• the outcomes required by high level academic
researchers and by the majority of employers are
effectively the same (Knight and Yorke, 2003)
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•qualities that take 10-15,000 hours to acquire
•subject almost irrelevant
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•various lists
•nine essential skills in Canada
•other lists: 36 or 39?
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•flexibility
•innovation & creativity
•able to cope with uncertainty
•prepared for life long learning
•social sensitivity and communications skills
•team work
•take on responsibilities
•entrepreneurial
•international
•versatile, with generic skills
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