Pearson Efficacy & Research

Employability in Higher Education:

A review of practice and strategies around the world

March 2016

Paul Blackmore
Zoe H. Bulaitis
Anna H. Jackman
Emrullah Tan

This report was commissioned by: Pearson

Contents

List of figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

List of tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04 Current context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

UK context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05
Curriculum best practice review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Bolt-on studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Best practice case study of bolt-on course. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
Present barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
SECTION ONE: How are HEIs developing coherent
Potential improvement in the future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
employability programmes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
Embedded studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
SECTION TWO: Best practice methods of embedding
employability skills into the curriculum, and the importance Best practice case studies from embedded practices. . . . . . . . . . 22
of pedagogy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08 Present barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
SECTION THREE: What graduate employability skills do Potential for the future? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
employers value? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
Pedagogy of employability skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SECTION FOUR: How can HEIs and employers build closer
Discussions in literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
working relationships?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08
Best practice case studies in pedagogy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SECTION FIVE: How is impact measured?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09

SECTION SIX: Directions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09 Section Three: What graduate employability skills do

employers value? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Key stakeholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
Relevance and prevalence of soft skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
Communication and problem solving skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 STEM subjects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Defining: “Employability”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Commercial awareness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Defining: Employability skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Enterprise skills and entrepreneurship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Extra-curricular activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Section One: How are HEIs developing coherent
employability programmes?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 A global perspective on employability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Institutional approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Global competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Context: Career service provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Transnational experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Holistic and ‘ecosystem’ approaches to employability. . . . . . . . . 13 Global skills race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Other institutional strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 National skills strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Developing and utilising alumni networks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Present barriers to understanding and fulfilling
The importance of the sharing of best practice and impact employers’ demands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
data within and beyond the institution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Defining “Employers” – SMEs or multinationals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Flexible service provision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Models and frameworks of employability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 UKCES employability model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Section Two: Best practice methods of embedding CareerEDGE model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

employability skills into curriculum, and the pedagogy of
National career development frameworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
employability skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Canadian blueprint for life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

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Contents [Continued]

Australian blueprint for career development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Appendix Two: Measurements and metrics of
student employability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Other models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Measurements and metrics of student employability . . . . . 64

Section Four: How can HEIs and employers build closer Employability league tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

working relationships? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Graduate destination surveys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

The case for HEI-employer collaboration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Quality assurance agencies and professional bodies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Types of HEI-employer collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Awards programmes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Examples of best practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

The accelerating change in built environment

education (ACBEE). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

BMW, Spartanburg, US the adoption of the German model of

apprenticeships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Barriers to best practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Section Five: Measuring impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Measuring employability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

League tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Graduate destination surveys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Quality assurance agencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Professional bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Awards programmes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Academic articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Measurement limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Section Six: Directions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Future directions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

The internationalisation of HE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

How can HEIs meet the needs of small and

medium enterprises?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Globalisation versus the growth of SMEs globally. . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Suggested reference: Blackmore, P., Bulaitis, Z.H.,
Refining the measurement of impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Jackman, A.H., Tan, E. (2016). Employability in higher
Defining the HE employability ecosystem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 education: A review of practice and strategies around
the world. London: Pearson.

Reference list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
This work is licensed under the Creative
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To view a copy of this licence, visit https://
Appendix One: HEI-employer collaboration resource. . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box
1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA

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List of figures and tables

Figures
Figure 1. Stakeholders in employability Figure 21. Provider and employer perceptions of graduate
readiness for job market, by country
Figure 2. The evolution of career services in higher education
Figure 22. Nature of employer links with universities, by percentage
Figure 3. Employability skills wheel
Figure 23. Priorities for university-industry partnerships at
Figure 4. Leadership and resources action list
different stages of economic development, and with different

Figure 5. Framework for employability institutional focus

Figure 6. Respondents surveyed on how important the Figure 24. Stages of effective HEI-employer collaboration

development of student/ graduate employability is in each of these

Figure 25. Stage four of effective HEI-employer collaboration
locations or contexts
Figure 26. Audi and the Technical University of Munich, research
Figure 7. Understanding the global employment context
project HEI-employer collaboration

Figure 8. UCL case study: framework for education for global citizenship
Figure 27. HEI-employer collaboration, University of

Figure 9. Economist intelligence unit survey: industry collaboration Wolverhampton and local contractor

with higher education

Figure 28. BMW, Spartanburg, US apprenticeship programme

Figure 10. AMTEC case study

Figure 29. Which courses/subject areas are more successful in

Figure 11. China vocational training holdings case study enhancing employability skills?

Figure 12. USEM model of employability Figure 30. An integrated approach to employer engagement

Figure 13. STEM subjects give graduates edge Figure 31. University of Birmingham: “SMEs an untapped resource?”

Figure 32. PwC professional leadership framework

Figure 14. Developing employability skills of engineers

Figure 33. Illustration of the strategic components and stakeholders

Figure 15. Largest discrepancies in importance and satisfaction
that make up the HE employability ecosystem
ratings concerning the capabilities of new graduates

Figure 16. Engineering employability skills required by employers Tables

Figure 17. Top 10 skills and capabilities when recruiting new graduates Table 1. Preferred employability skills from around the world

Figure 18. What are employability skills? Table 2. HEI-employer benefits for HEIs, employers, and students

Figure 19. CareerEDGE model Table 3. Types of HEI-employer collaboration

Figure 20. Percentage ‘talent shortage’ or difficulty in filling jobs, Table 4. Barriers to HEI-employer collaboration

by country

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Executive summary
This report is designed to provide a review of the literature associated
with the practice, ecosystems and strategies in place around the
world that are used to improve the employability levels of students
and graduates and ensure that their skills and knowledge are fit-
for-purpose for the graduate labour market upon leaving Higher
Education (HE).

The context of the review has been guided

by six main research questions:
 How are HEIs developing coherent employability programmes?

 [ What are the] Best practice methods of embedding employability

skills into the curriculum, and the importance of pedagogy?

 What graduate employability skills do employers value?

 How can HEIs and employers build closer working relationships?

 How is impact measured?

 W
 hat are the ‘directions’ that future research should
take in the short- to medium-term?

Due to the broad audience and therefore ambitious scope of the review, the
recommendations cited in this summary are intended to act as a reflective prompt only.
To the more experienced stakeholders who have had a long-standing and professional
engagement with this agenda, some conclusions may appear obvious. For many they
will not be so apparent for a variety of reasons, not least because the agenda may
not be as mature in their country or they may have limited exposure from a personal
perspective. For the latter group of stakeholders, this is not an exhaustive list, but merely
an opportunity to prompt thinking and reflection as to how ecosystems can work more
effectively, recognise mutual benefits of collaborative and co-operative working and assist
individuals in applying an increased impact in their work. These recommendations are
also intended to provide an opportunity to return and re-engage with the agenda. Indeed,
despite many of the reports reviewed being published several years apart, the messaging
often remains consistent in terms of conclusions and recommendations made to enable
graduates to become more attuned and equipped for the graduate labour market.

However, even for the more experienced stakeholders, there are new perspectives
that act as an alternative lens to address past challenges and issues. These include
ever-increasing numbers entering higher education (and growing transnational
education), new strategic and political drivers, developments in global economic
necessity for knowledge workers, improvements in information and communications
technology and an extended evidence-base that triangulates previous conclusions.
All, amongst many other factors, increase the global prominence of the
employability agenda and nurture a more intensive appetite amongst key enabling
stakeholders to implement solutions that have a real and scalable impact.

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Recommendations and reflective questions are University management, faculty/department heads,
heads of careers and employability services
presented by stakeholder group as follows:
 C
 onsider what further support mechanisms can be made
For government, policy makers and funding bodies
available to encourage and facilitate greater numbers
 C
 onsider how the effectiveness of career and employability of students a] to engage in outward mobility and b]
support interventions can be measured beyond the reflect effectively on the benefits of an international
employed vs unemployed status of graduates following experience on career prospects, for example,
their time in HE. Investigate more robust measures offering a greater number of exchange programmes
for evaluating the career ‘learning gain’ acquired by with partnering universities and companies.
students through related University support.
 D
 egree programme convenors should progress
 I dentify and reward good practice for employability beyond citing generic knowledge, skills and attributes
support interventions that have clear demonstrable in programme specifications and consider methods
evidence of impact which is both sustainable and to assess the level of which these learning outcomes
scalable. They should also demonstrate cross- have been acquired to the same degree that discipline-
institution and inter-departmental working. specific learning outcomes are assessed.

 G
 iven that SMEs are significantly greater in number  E
 nhance management structures and governance
than their multi-national counterparts, make research procedures to ensure that various directorates are working
and activity funding more available to encourage together more effectively in meeting the needs of various
better engagement between graduates and SMEs. key stakeholders associated with the employability agenda.

 E
 ncourage the formal publishing of practice and research  A
 pply predictive analytics approaches using legacy
carried out by employability professionals to disseminate performance data of previous cohorts (e.g. engagement
exemplar practice. Engagement and publishing of action- levels in employability-enhancing activity, work-based
research should be encouraged amongst those practitioners learning and graduate destinations etc.) to help students
who have an intimate understanding of the agenda and inform their own career planning and propensity for
the barriers to student and employer engagement. securing graduate-level employment upon leaving HE.

 E
 ngage SMEs and alumni as proactively as multi-
national employers to expose students to a
wider range of career opportunities.

 E
 ngage with national careers service agencies e.g. AGCAS,
NACE and graduate recruitment associations to continually
enhance service provision and share knowledge between
universities and graduate recruitment professionals.

This summary aims to provide broad recommendations that

might be drawn from the common and more frequent conclusions
that have emerged from the literature. It is not designed to be
exhaustive. To fully understand the rationale for their inclusion the
reader is directed to the main body of the report.

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Introduction
Context

The purpose of this report is to provide a review Bagoly-Simó, Finchum, Oda & Pawson, 2011; BIS, 2011; EACEA,
of the literature associated with the practice and 2015; Jameson, Strudwick, Bond-Taylor & Jones, 2012; Taylor
strategies used to improve the employability levels & Hooley, 2014). In discussing this agenda across a constantly
changing global landscape, commentators have described the
of students and graduates during and immediately
following factors for consideration:
following their experiences within Higher Education
(HE). In reviewing literature most relevant to this
1. G lobally shifting graduate labour markets
agenda, the report intends to facilitate the sharing
and challenging economic conditions;
of best practice and innovation that exists across
2. A drive to attract international students
the global Higher Education landscape, and to
and to ‘internationalise’;
surface the influences that are driving this agenda.
3. T he changing landscapes of student tuition fees and finance;
Specifically the review seeks to highlight literature relating to
4. C hanging attitudes towards ‘mass’ engagement
both sides of the University-employer interface. The scope of
or participation in Higher Education; and,
the report includes practice delivered via the curriculum, extra-
curricular interventions and support services, and examines 5. T he resultant shift in student expectation (See BIS,
partnerships and approaches to employer-engagement, including 2011; McNair 2003 cited in Taylor & Hooley, 2014).
the theories and strategic drivers that underpin the rationale for
These factors have prompted an institutional shift towards, what
delivering these activities. The review also aims to provide a better
has been termed, ‘decentralized centralization’ (Shin & Harman,
understanding of where and how impact is robustly measured
2009). This term describes the move towards both enhanced
and the limitations of such evaluation methods. This approach
institutional autonomy, and at the same time, increasing levels of
has been taken to inform further thinking about strategic policies
institutional accountability to both governments and educational
and interventions that will assist in the development of the
consumers. This balancing act has left the field of career services
next generation of employability ecosystems and partnerships
and employability provision in need of new, updated, and adaptable
between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), employers,
methodologies and practices in order to meet the growing
government agencies and other external stakeholders.
expectations of students, parents and the labour market. Examples
Throughout the review we have sought to include and highlight of such provision and approaches will be reviewed within this report.
examples of best practice from around the globe. There is,
however, a noticeable dominance in UK, North America and
Australian examples within the literature reviewed. This may
be indicative of a more established and prolonged history of
career and employability service provision and ‘communities of
practice’ existing in these countries, and subsequently a greater
body of knowledge and practice published over a period of
time. Additionally, the prevalence of the English language across
the UK, North America and Australia may lead to the practices
from these countries being more widely distributed and shared.
Brewer (2013, p.7) also highlights a bias in the literature around
skills development, stating that “most of the research in this
area has [also] been conducted in industrialized countries”.

The literature review is especially timely, given that universities

across the world face mounting pressures to increase graduate
employability and associated employment outcomes (Arrowsmith,

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Chapter overview
This literature review is structured around four key research areas associated with the HE employability
agenda. In each instance, we have sought to illustrate the contemporary context of the literature, before
highlighting key areas within the materials reviewed. With an eye to assist practitioners, we highlight best
practice and include several prominent case studies in each section.

The review begins by exploring literature that discusses how HEIs might design, develop and implement a coherent employability
programme (pp. 13-21), and examines the breadth of employability provision delivered within institutions. More specifically, the review
explores: curricular development (pp. 24-30), pedagogical practice (pp. 30 - 32), and the skills that employers demand and applicants
need (pp. 33 - 44). Finally, the modes and mechanisms through which institutions engage with employers are also reviewed (pp. 47 - 61).
This literature review is the first phase of a project which will culminate in a ‘thought leadership’ paper designed to facilitate a greater
understanding between key stakeholders engaged in the development of employability ecosystems. Therefore, in the concluding section
of this report, we suggest key areas that are emerging from the literature and look to future directions of employability service provision.

For ease of use, brief synopses of the sections within this report are as follows:

SECTION ONE: How are HEIs developing SECTION THREE: What graduate
coherent employability programmes employability skills do employers value?

This section provides an overview of the literature, examining This section evaluates the employability skills that are most valued
a notable shift in HE career service provision across the globe. by employers around the world. It looks at the specific skills that
Where career services were once marginal, they are increasingly are most frequently highlighted in the literature reviewed, such
being integrated into and across institutions via ‘ecosystem’ or as communication and commercial awareness before turning
‘holistic’ approaches. In addition to promoting this approach, to broader contextual changes. These include the development
the literature includes strategies and practices around: of the need for global competencies, and the engagement of
national skills strategies. The section concludes with a selection of
 Developing and using alumni networks;
models that have sought to open up the idea of ‘what’ and ‘how’

 S
 haring best practice and impact data within employability skills are developed in order to allow such attributes
and beyond the institution; and, to be readily understood by students and practitioners alike.

 E
 ncouraging the flexible provision of career services in
SECTION FOUR: How can HEIs and employers
order to maximise stakeholder engagement and the
impact of career and employability service provision. build closer working relationships?

This section considers the ways in which HEIs can build

SECTION TWO: Best practice methods of collaborative partnerships with employers. In so doing, it first
embedding employability skills into the makes the case for HEI-employer collaboration, referencing both
curriculum, and the importance of pedagogy. the global ‘skills shortage’ and inconsistencies in HEI and employer
understandings of graduate ‘work-readiness’. It goes on to outline
This section seeks to highlight literature that addresses the benefits of HEI-employer collaboration for both the HEI and
best practice methods of embedding employability into the employer partners. It proceeds to list the types and varieties of
curriculum alongside a discussion of the pedagogy (or ‘teaching HEI-employer collaboration, before presenting a number of global
and learning’) of employability skills. Principally, it reviews case study examples of best practice. Finally, this section will
literature that focuses on examples of employability models provide an overview of literature which captures the challenges
that directly engage with academic learning. The section and obstacles facing partners in HEI-employer collaborations.
features discussions of bolt-on employability programmes and
embedded practices. It includes examples from the literature
that have sought to synthesise best practice approaches
of careers and employment support within curriculum
development and wider pedagogical practice within HEIs.

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SECTION FIVE: How is impact measured? Key stakeholders
This review is primarily designed to inform and influence
Within and beyond HE institutions there are a series of metrics and
practice as well as wider policy making. Examples of
mechanisms used to compare and assess the quality of careers
best practice and associated commentary are identified,
and employability provision across different institutions. This
highlighting noticeable gaps and limitations of career service
section provides an insight into these relevant metrics, including:
provision where they are evident in the literature.
league tables, graduate destination surveys, quality assurance
agency recommendations, awards programmes, and the emergent
Stakeholders include the wider network of groups who are
empirical studies in academic articles and publications. It goes
interested in the employment of university graduates (such
on to briefly reflect upon the limitations of such metrics.
as career practitioners, senior University management,
academics, graduate employers, employees and, of course,
SECTION SIX: Directions students themselves). This review highlights salient details
for informing decision-making and policy within the sector
In the concluding section of this report, we suggest key areas that
of HE and those responsible for its governance.
are emerging from the literature and look to future directions of
the employability and employer-liaison agenda and its explicit
embedding across all parts of the HEI. This section evokes the
Methodology
assertion from the literature that “where the various offerings In this review we have included a wide selection of
of HE are integrated – informing and shaping one another – then materials in order to gain an understanding of best
they stand a greater chance of long term success” (Bolden et al., practice in employability provision across the world.
2009, p.45; see also Cole & Tibby, 2013; UKCES, 2009). The idea
In attempting to review employability provision and employer-
of the wider ecosystem within and external to HE is discussed
engagement literature on a global scale, there are clear limitations
as a result. The section also looks towards the future, in terms
to such research. One fundamental challenge for a literature
of the rising importance and influence of internationalisation
review such as this is that career practitioners working within
upon HE and the opportunities for HEIs in further understanding
HE careers and employability services, placement offices and
the differences between the needs of SMEs and multi-national
student entrepreneurship units are principally employed to deliver
organisations. Suggestions are also made regarding the need
services directly to their constituents (students, employers, and
for further examination and development of instruments
academics). In addition, ‘Professional Services’ employees are less
that allow the effective measurement of impact provided
likely to formally publish theoretical ‘think pieces’, approaches to
by employability and employer engagement services.
researching impact, or case studies, in the way that their academic
colleagues are likely to be encouraged and incentivised. Increased
competition between HEIs around the world may also dilute
the incentive to share good practice due to issues surrounding
commercial sensitivities. The same argument could also be applied
to those employees working in the field of Human Resources,
student and graduate recruitment and graduate development.

That is not to say that there are not professional communities of

practice in existence that allow such experiences and expertise
to be shared and disseminated. This review cites examples of
such associations and the work of centres of related ‘applied
research’. However, the method of disseminating such practice
can often be restricted to news items in trade association
magazines, short case studies, and presentations. This review
has cited such examples but there is clearly a huge body of
knowledge and experience residing within these ‘communities
of practice’ that require further and more appropriate research
methodologies, formalised peer review, and robust scrutiny.

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Definitions highlight that ‘employability’ cannot be reduced to employment,
and instead encompasses the development of a “combination”
Employability: A combination of knowledge, or “set of achievements” of skills, knowledge, understanding,
and personal attributes; that together make a graduate more
competences and personal attributes that make
likely to gain and remain in employment (EACEA, 2015; Harvey,
graduates more likely to gain employment and 2003; Mason, Williams & Cranmer, 2009; Yorke, 2006).
progress during their career.”
This broader conception of employability, as that based instead
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Eurydice brief: upon “values, intellectual rigour and engagement” (Hinchliffe &
Modernisation of higher education in Europe (2015, p.15)
Jolly 2011 cited in Pegg, Waldock, Hendy-Isaac, and Lawton, 2012,
p.19) , reflects the term’s shift from “employ” to the wider issue of
This section provides definitions of both ‘employability’ and “ability” (Harvey, 2003; see also Tran, 2015). As such, employability
‘employability skills’. It reflects the literature’s propensity to refer to is understood as an attribute enabling success within employment
both graduate employment outcomes and skills or competencies, and also life more widely, hence employability skills being referred
when defining and discussing graduate employability. to ‘skills for life’ (Cole & Tibby 2013; Dearing 1997). Within this wider
definition, employability is also considered in terms of its societal
Defining: “Employability” contribution and benefit to a range of stakeholders beyond the
student, such as the workforce, community, and economy (Bowden
Employability is becoming a core issue in many countries, and et al., 2000, and Knight & Yorke, 2004, cited in Cole & Tibby, 2013,
increasing attention is being paid “to the role of higher education p.6; Yorke, 2006). This conception of employability has been
in developing employability” (Huang, Turner & Chen, 2014, visualised in Figure 1.
p.177; see also HEFCE, 2011; QAA 2014a, 2014b). Despite the
increasing focus and attention, the term employability has many This broader and outward-facing conception of employability
meanings that vary greatly around the world (BIS, 2011; Huang has also been accompanied by an inward focus on unpacking
et al., 2014). Commentators defining employability are quick to employability skills.

 Income generation
Key Stakeholders
 Knowledge exchange
Secondary Stakeholders
 Status and reputation
Benefits
 Current and relevant curriculum

 Responsive provisions

 Flexible learning opportunities

 Upskilling
ity

Em
un

 Access to facilities
m

 Workforce development
pl
om

oy

 Workforce development
ee
lC

Higher
ca
Lo

Education
Providers

 Increased employability
 Ready skilled workforce
Em

ts

 C
 urrent and relevant skills,
en
pl

ud
oy

 A
 ccess to knowledge,
knowledge and experience
er

St
s

facilities and services

 O
 ptions to develop
 Commercial Advantage
workplace relevant skills
 A
 ccess to responsive provision
Economy
to support upskillng workforce

 Economic recovery

Figure 1. Stakeholders in employability (QAA, 2014a, p.5)

- 10 -
 The skills, knowledge and competencies that enhance a worker’s
ability to secure and retain a job, progress at work and cope with change,
secure another job if he/she so wishes or has been laid off and enter more
easily into the labour market at different periods of the life cycle.”
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Enhancing youth employability: What? Why? and How? (2013, p.iii)

As mentioned in the definition of ‘employability’ above, this section outlines several dominant
ways in which ‘employability skills’ are more specifically defined. It is important to note that
definitions of ‘employability skills’ are wide ranging and are often used without clarification.
This definition therefore will be a useful tool and point of reference in the following sections
of this report.

This report seeks to define employability skills as related to higher education, and as
such, other sectors and approaches to employment are not included. In “Forging Futures:
Building higher level skills through university and employer collaboration”, (UKCES, 2009,
p.9) define employability as “the skills that make specific knowledge and technical skills fully
productive”. This definition highlights the importance of the transformation of academic
knowledge into action, or to use UKCES’ term – production. Mason (2009, p.1) argues that
employability is usually understood as ‘work- readiness’, therefore employability skills
could be understood not only as the possession of knowledge, but also as a commercial
understanding that enables graduates to make productive contributions to the workplace.

Although scholars have developed many frameworks to accommodate essential

employability skills, Sung (2013, p.185) cites the “4Ms criteria” as an example of a
strong framework. This criteria was designed by the Singapore Work and Development
Agency (WDA) and captures the overarching goals of employability skills as follows:

 Move into: from unemployment into a job;

 Move up: an employed worker moving up to undertake a bigger or higher job;

 Move between: an employed worker moving between

jobs or companies in the same industry;

 Move across: an employed worker moving across to a new industry

to seize growth and career advancement opportunities.

(Sung, 2013, p.185)

The 4Ms detail how employability skills are expected to encourage employment
and career promotion in the labour market. The mobility of workers in a global
context of employment will be discussed further in Section Three.

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 Section One:

Getting the development of employability skills right is a holistic challenge.”

UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), Forging Futures: Building higher level skills through university and employer
collaboration (2009, p.16)

How are HEIs developing coherent employability programmes?

This section of the report will provide an overview of literature exploring how universities
might design, develop, and implement a coherent employability programme in their
institution. It begins by reviewing literature reflecting on the changing environment and
landscape of university careers and employability service provision. After outlining what has
been proposed as a ‘new paradigm’ in career service provision, this section then explores a
series of institutional practices and strategies accompanying the shift. In the sections that
follow this one, two additional key areas of employability service provision, namely the
curriculum (see pp.24-30), and institution-employer relationships (see pp.47-61), are explored,
as these areas have attracted considerable interest in both literature and praxis.

Institutional approaches

Context: career service provision

In reflecting upon how HEIs might design, develop, and implement a coherent employability
programme, it is useful to first consider the history of such service provision. Dey and
Cruzvergara (2014) provide an insightful overview of the history of career service provision,
beginning with vocational guidance in the early twentieth century, and tracing a number of
shifts in modes of service delivery through to what they propose as the current and emergent
service delivery paradigm of ‘connected communities’ (see Figure 2).

1900-1920 1920-1940 1940-1970 1970-1990 1990-2010 2010-2030

Vocational Teachers Guidance Job Placement Career Counseling Professional Connected
Guidance Networking Communities

Figure 2. The evolution of career services in higher education (Dey & Cruzvergara, 2014, p.6)

The ‘connected communities’ paradigm marks a shift in service provision following the global
economic downturn of 2008, and reflects the resultant increased pressures, demands, and
service alterations faced by university career departments and facilities (Dey & Cruzvergara,
2014, p.8). In exploring the trends included in this emergent paradigm, Dey and Cruzvergara
identify a shift from a singular or standalone careers service, to one that is instead‚“becoming
an ecosystem” (p.11). The support of an ‘ecosystem’ approach to careers and employability
provision can also be understood as advocating a holistic approach as it “permeates the
culture and experience” of an institution (ibid).

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Holistic and ‘ecosystem’ approaches to employability institutions.1 The report puts forward key recommendations that
involve promoting both the collaborative and active involvement
Holistic or ‘ecosystem’ approaches to career service provision of career services in the formation of ‘institutional strategies’, and
have been discussed across a number of recent publications the importance of communicating a “common set of principles”
(BIS, 2011; Cole & Tibby, 2013; UKCES, 2009, 2014). Each of these regarding employability across the institution (pp.98, 93). As a
sources propose and outline different approaches to defining and result, the report identifies the importance of ensuring that a
implementing a careers ‘ecosystem’. Dey and Cruzvergara (2014, clear and consistent definition of employability is circulated and
p.9), for example, describe an ‘elevation of career services’, in understood across the institution and beyond, to “employers,
which career service professionals are being afforded increasing academic staff, career advisory staff, students and parents” (p.11).
“institutional influence” and intervention capacities. In practical
and logistical terms, such an ‘elevation’ is said to involve the Further notable publications in this area include the United
redesign of organizational structures and reporting lines (Dey Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) (2009)
& Cruzvergara, 2014, pp.8-9). Such alterations are proposed to report entitled “The Employability Challenge”, and more recently,
encourage the embedding of employability initiatives within, across, the Higher Education Academy (HEA) commissioned report by Cole
and beyond the institution; facilitating the engagement of internal and Tibby (2013) entitled “Defining and developing your approach
and external stakeholders (Dey & Cruzvergara, 2014, pp.9-10). to employability”. These publications are of particular note since
they include a series of useful practical resources and info-
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2011, graphics, neatly summarising distinct approaches and frameworks
p.7) report exploring the “development of employability skills in concerned with designing, developing, and implementing coherent
the UK [United Kingdom] and in an international setting” presents and holistic employability ecosystems within an institution.
a series of best practice examples across international HE

Learning more Better able to

relevant to current respond to learner
labour market and employer
needs needs
The UKCES (2009) report states that Greater Higher credibility
opportunity to with employers
developing employability skills across progress though and funding
job seeking bodies
an institution is a ‘holistic challenge’. network. Employers given Commitment & Employability is
the opportunity vision to make understood as a
In order to broach this challenge, the Use skills to to contribute to employability core core value
actively contribute programme design business
report outlines a holistic framework to the workplace. and delivery
Develop an
institutional culture Learner
Offer an
in the form of an “employability Learners optimised learning supportive of attitude reflects
employability institutional
motivated by environment
wheel” (p.17) (see Figure 3). positive attitude
realistic goals Whole
Provider seeks
and employer organisation
and acts on
feedback approach Quality assured
employer
feedback focus on clear
Invest time success criteria
Learners can and money to for employability
demonstrate Raises Employer Leadership &
develop a high
their skills to an stakes for Involvement Resources
quality staff
employer learners and resources Learners and
employers are
Develop an Plan, monitor supported by
Access to jobs
appreciation Employability Skills and evaluate professional
of workplace provision and competent
culture, style Teachers staff
and attitude & trainers Create
update their sustainable
industry and flexible
skills approaches to
delivery Continuous
Consolidate improvement
learning by Programme Design
in the service
applying skills & Delivery
Critical factors Experiential to learners and
Build in reality employers
learning
- including
with timely
Key Features feedback A focus on
responsibility
Employers
A meaningful workplace
Impact on learner, employer involved in
context an skills, attitudes Supportive Learner Better able to
design and
and provider purpose to and behaviours environment centered
delivery articulate how to
learning with time to holistic contribute to the
Mastery of skills reflect support workplace
- able to transfer
into workplace A more enjoyable
and throughout Clearer and challenging
career Develop and ability learning experience
understanding
to reflect and adjust
of progress and
skills, attitudes and
planned learning
behaviour
Figure 3. Employability Skills Wheel (UKCES, 2009, p.17)

1
The BIS (2011, p.7) report was undertaken by i-graduate, and draws upon “insights from 414 career advisory staff from institutions in 25 countries”.

- 13 -
The ‘employability wheel’ seeks to unpack the critical and high
impact factors involved in a holistic approach to the institutional Leadership and resources action list
provision of student employability services. The ‘inner circle’
1. Build up a whole-institution employability culture
of ‘critical factors’ is comprised of: ‘employer involvement’,
in which students are practising employability from
‘leadership and resources’, and ‘programme design and delivery’.
the moment they walk through the door, and in
Due to their individual significance the first and last of these which employability is understood to be everyone’s
‘critical factors’ will be discussed in further detail in separate job – employability a part of “core business”.
sections of this report (see sections two and four respectively).
Included within the ‘leadership and resources’ segment are 2. Identify an articulate the institution’s vision and values.
“the development of an institutional culture supportive of
3. Communicate vision and values consistently over the
employability”, and “a whole organisation approach”, as well as
long term, building them into foundational documents
an investment in resources. The report notes that whilst this (missions statement, strategy, guidance notes, etc) of the
agenda may appear ‘simple’, it is in reality a complex process institution, and into target and incentive structures.
to deliver, and requires strong and consistent institutional
support and leadership to ensure successful holistic service 4. Be willing to move the institution, and the
provision (UKCES 2009, p.16). As such, the report identifies a professionals within it, out of their comfort zone.

series of useful ‘actions’ for strong leadership and to ensure the

5. If necessary, reallocate time and
embedding of employability goals across an institution (Figure 4). money into employability skills

Alongside the importance of strong leadership in embedding 6. Be prepared to defer success in order to create a
employability across an institution, the UKCES (2009, p.32) report culture and institutional capability of lasting value.
also reflects upon the importance of developing the skills of
existing staff to engage with, develop and deliver employability 7. Develop capacity in employer involvement, either by
developing existing staff or by recruiting specialists.
services. The report refers to the example of Birmingham City
University in the UK, who “operate a dedicated unit to design and 8. Build strong and genuine relationships with
deliver workshops for academic staff to enable them to enhance employers, students and staff, and be resolute
personal development planning and employability provision” in seeking, hearing and acting on feedback.
(ibid). The message around the importance of a multi-faceted and
holistic institutional approach to the development and embedding 9. Treat employability skills as the complex specialism it is,
and invest accordingly in staff, CPD, and infrastructure.
of employability provision into the “cultural norm” of an institution
has also been advocated in the more recent UKCES (2014) report. 10. Provide the necessary resources and
professional development, if necessary at
In their report “Defining and developing your approach to
the expense of doing something else.
employability”, Cole and Tibby (2013) provide further practical
guidance in the development of a coherent institutional approach 11. Assess development of skills in more qualitative
to employability service provision. They outline a series of crucial and subjective ways than may be usual.
areas for consideration throughout the process of developing
and implementing effective employability strategies, including:
establishing what the “interpretation of employability is, how it
Figure 4. Leadership and resources action list (UKCES, 2009, p.34)
can be translated into practice, how students and staff can be
engaged with this, current practice and gaps in provision, and how
to monitor progress” (p.5). Cole and Tibby express the importance
of implementing a ‘flexible’ framework allowing for the reflexive
process of “discussion, reflection, action and evaluation” (p.5).
Their four-step iterative framework is neatly visualised in Figure 5.

- 14 -
In addition, Cole and Tibby also provide a range of action-plan
resources to kick-start the process of self-assessment required Stage 1.
to design, develop and implement such an approach. These Discussion &
reflection
include advocating the use of models such as ‘Career EDGE’,
‘Creating and defining a
which is described as a valuable tool for explaining the concept shared point of reference’
of employability to a range of stakeholders, as well as useful
for promoting evaluation and reflection for those involved
in service provision (p.8)2. Importantly, Cole and Tibby stress
Stage 4.
that the models and resources described are not necessarily
Evaluate Goal: Stage 2.
prescriptive, and can and should be adapted, depending on A defined, cohesive and Review/mapping
What does success look
institutional cultures and service provision goals (p.4). like & how is it measured? more comprehensive
What are we doing
approach to employability
/ not doing?
How can we enhance
These publications together demonstrate a shift in the practice further?

understanding of institutional practice regarding the positioning

of career and employability service provision. But how
pervasive is this shift across a wider global context? As part of
Stage 3. Action
the BIS (2011) report, career service advisers across 25 countries
How do we share and
were asked how important the development of student and enhance existing practice?
How do we address
graduate employability was within their institution. The BIS ‘gaps’ in provision?
report demonstrated the increasing ‘holistic’ importance of
student employability, highlighting that it is considered ‘very
important’ within career services, and ‘important’ within both
Figure 5. Framework for employability (Cole and Tibby, 2013, p.10)
the curriculum and across the broad aims and objectives of
the institutions sampled (p.59) (see Figure 6). The BIS report 3

concluded that “employability has moved from a ‘marginal’ concern Whilst there are of course differences across parts of the world,
of career services, into a more general ‘mainstream’ concern there is nonetheless a notable and international shift towards
for institutions as a whole in many parts of the world” (p.59). embracing a more holistic approach to career services provision.

300

250
Number of respondents

200

150

100

50

0
Career services The curriculum The broad aims and
objectives of the institution

Very unimportant Unimportant Important Very Important Don’t know

Figure 6. Respondents surveyed on how important the development of student/ graduate employability is in each of these locations or contexts (BIS, 2009, p.59)

2
The CareerEDGE model will be discussed further in section three of this report, see p.44.
3
Whilst the BIS (2011) report surveyed 414 career advisory staff from institutions in 25 countries, the base number that answered this question was 317.

- 15 -
Other institutional strategies

The literature advocating a holistic or ecosystem approach a range of events and workshops, including “mock interviews,
to university employability service provision also discusses specialised talks, [and] careers fairs” (p.69). Ultimately the report
and outlines a series of additional institutional practices and recommends that “institutions should review their alumni
strategies to best implement such an approach. These include: relations approaches to optimise their subsequent engagement”,
considering especially the role of alumni in the provision of
 Developing and utilising alumni networks;
schemes such as “work placements and [as] mentors” (pp.69-70).

 T
 he importance of the sharing of best practice and
In addition to reviewing such publications, this report seeks to
impact data within and beyond the institution; and,
include notable communities of praxis in its literature overview.
 Flexible service provision. One such notable community, established around the importance
of cultivating relationships with alumni as a strategic institutional
Also included are the integration of employability provision into tool, is the German-speaking collective Alumni Clubs Net4, with
the curriculum, and the involvement of stakeholders such as more than 500 members including alumni organisations and
employers in the design and delivery of employability provision. universities. This community displays a wealth of resources
As previously noted, these areas will be explored in separate regarding alumni relations, and lists amongst their objectives
sections of the literature review (see sections two and four). the promotion of the sharing of best practice, and the exchange
and sharing of concepts across universities, alumni associations,
Developing and utilising alumni networks
and other relevant institutions (Alumni Clubs Net 2015).
In conjunction with advocating a holistic or ecosystem approach,
a number of publications are recognising that employability is The importance of the sharing of best practice and
a “lifelong process” (Cole & Tibby, 2013, p.5), and as such are impact data within and beyond the institution
recommending that institutions consider and engage alumni In conjunction with promoting a holistic or ecosystem approach,
networks within their employability frameworks. For example, as a number of publications are recommending the sharing of best
part of their ‘connected communities’ thesis, Dey and Cruzvergara practice and impact data both within and beyond institutions.
(2014, pp.10-11) note the increasing recognition of the importance For example, The Higher Education Funding Council for England
of intra- and inter-institutional connectivity and collaboration, (HEFCE) have encouraged institutions to “publish statements
including the engagement of external stakeholders, such as alumni. on the outcomes of their strategies for prospective students
They also note the importance of engaging “alumni for a lifetime”, via public outlets” such as the Unistats website (BIS, 2011,
and not merely for a short period following graduation (p.8). p.18).5 This sentiment around the communication of goals and
best practice was more recently revisited and echoed in the
The value of this approach is reflected in the BIS (2011, pp.8, 69)
‘suggested ways forward’ section of the UK Quality Assurance
report, which proposes that alumni relations are well established
Agency for Higher Education (QAA) report entitled “Employer
across many global institutions, and that “77% of respondents
Engagement: Emerging Practice from QAA reviews”. In this report,
[surveyed] agreed that graduates would be allowed to access
the QAA (2014a, p.6) recommended that whilst many examples
employability activities for ten years or more following graduation”.
of best practice have been identified, the sharing of this practice
Whilst this high percentage-figure is encouraging in signalling the
“throughout the institution” could be improved upon.
value and uptake of alumni engagement, it should be noted that
the distribution of this alumni engagement varies globally. The In addition to sharing best practice within and beyond the
report notes, for example, that alumni engagement is higher in institution, a number of publications discuss the growing
countries such as the United States and Finland when compared importance of institutional impact data or measures of success.
to the UK, with these countries offering a more “open-ended For example, Dey and Cruzvergara (2014, p.11) suggest that
commitment to graduates” and maintained contact with alumni for “the ability to effectively collect data and craft a compelling
a consider post-graduation period (BIS, 2011, pp.69, 28). The report story will become a standard operating practice” across HE
presents a number of international case study examples, including institutions. In noting this, Dey and Cruzvergara refer to several
the Loyola University, in Chicago, United States, in which the career case studies examples in the United States, including: Stanford
services work with the alumni association in order to coordinate

4
See www.alumni-clubs.net/
5
For further information regarding HEFCE’s recommendation for employability statements see their circular letter to “Heads of HEFCE-funded further education colleges, [or] Heads of
HEFCE-funded higher education institutions”: www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2010/cl,122010/
- 16 -
University who now “measures the reputation of its career programmes “as flexibly as possible” in order to be inclusive and
center and staff using a net promoter score, a popular metric in foster student engagement (p.47). This inclusivity and flexibility
the retail and business”, and “Carnegie Mellon, George Mason, is stressed as both increasingly and especially significant in the
and [the] University of Miami, [who] are replacing their long current climate of “greater graduate competitiveness” (p.46).
annual reports with dynamic info-graphics that give life to
Greenbank and Hepworth (2008, p.42) similarly call upon
data and tell the university’s story in a powerful way” (p.12).
institutions to reflect upon the reasons that some students are
Whilst league tables and other external career service reluctant to engage with career services, detailing a range of
measurements data or metrics provide a valuable narrative, scenarios and thinking points for institutional and practitioner
Dey and Cruzvergara (2014, p.12) suggest that such sources consideration (see also Greenbank, 2011). Similarly exploring
tell only a “part of the story”, and propose that career services flexibility of service provision, Das, Do and Chan (2014, p.98)
must provide their own metrics showcasing “additional present a study detailing a flexible and “inexpensive careers
value”, “reputation”, and stakeholder engagement. Dey and intervention” in the form of the distribution of a fortnightly
Cruzvergara also note that there remains some hesitancy on tailored e-newsletter to students. In so doing, Das et al. suggest
the part of some career services with regard to the sharing of that the reception of said newsletters may have produced
data and best practice, but propose that the “most successful an effect on student “early career confidence” (p.98).
career centers will be those that embrace the occasion to play
Taking yet another approach to flexible service provision, Dey
a lead role in the collection and dissemination of information”
and Cruzvergara (2014, p.10) urge institutions to reflect upon
(pp.12-13). The topic of measuring employability metrics and
the changing access that students have to digital or web-based
impact will be discussed further in section five of this report.
employability information and content. They propose that
Flexible service provision in the current ‘connected communities’ paradigm of career
service provision, “gone are the days of transactional services
The flexible provision of careers and employability services
and general career information” (ibid). Dey and Cruzvergara
has also been identified by a number of publications as
suggest that accompanying the wealth of online careers
a crucial aspect of successful holistic institutional service
information is a shift in student expectation to now seeking
provision moving forward. For example, the “creation
the provision of “customized information that will be specific
of flexible approaches to delivery” is depicted on the
to their needs or desires” (ibid). As such, they envisage a future
aforementioned ‘employability wheel’ (UKCES, 2009, p.17).
in which “career services professionals can transform their
Flexible delivery is, however, approached differently across a series offices into hubs of connectivity and provide more tailored
of publications in the area. For example, Simpson and Ferguson advice, strategy, and feedback to their constituents” (ibid).
(2013) approach flexible provision as key in response to global
goals around the engagement of all students in employability Conclusions
service provision, and explore the inclusivity and engagement of
‘disadvantaged’ students in the provision of careers services at This section has sought to provide an overview of literature
La Trobe University in Australia. Simpson and Ferguson assess a examining the provision of career and employability services in
series of careers provision delivery modes, and conclude that the HE institutions. It has highlighted a notable shift across numerous
‘award programme’ was more highly attended by ‘lower socio- global institutions in which the once marginal career services
economic status’ students than the careers workshops. Simpson are increasingly leading or being integrated into a holistic
and Ferguson suggest that this is the case because the award institutional strategic approach. In addition to promoting this
programme can be carried out in the student’s own time around holistic or ecosystem approach, publications in the area have
other commitments and on or off campus, thus also offering a also promoted strategies and practices around: developing
greater degree of “flexibility across time and physical space” (p.47). and utilising alumni networks, the importance of sharing best
Whilst highlighting and acknowledging the continued importance practice and impact data within and beyond the institution, and
of “traditional programmes” or modes of careers service provision, encouraging flexible provision of career services in order to
Simpson and Ferguson stress the importance of delivering such maximise stakeholder engagement and the impact of related
provision. The ideas introduced around the ecosystem will be
raised again in Section Six in an assessment of ‘Future Directions’.

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Section Two:
Best practice methods of embedding Current context
employability skills into the curriculum,
and the pedagogy of employability skills
The recession – and the resulting increase in
Introduction competition for jobs – throws into sharper focus
The previous section of this review identified a shift towards a the imperative for graduates to have the attributes
holistic or ecosystem approach to careers and employability
to succeed in the workplace.”
provision. In doing so, it noted that such literature highlighted the
Richard Lambert, Director-General CBI, qtd. in Future Fit – preparing graduates
curriculum as a crucial channel to enable the delivery of such an
for the world of work (UUK/ CBI, 2009, p.2)
approach. This section, therefore, seeks to highlight literature that
explores the relationship between career services and academic
This literature review has found that there is a dearth of
departments. Methods of best practice are discussed in the
research that thoroughly investigates employability across a truly
embedding of employability skills in these areas. Included are
global context. Nonetheless, there are several reports that cite
case studies which highlight best practice employability models
employability contexts across the world. Reading and analysing
around the world, and analysis which provides further insight and
such reports collectively allows for a picture of the current
clarification into how relationships between career services and
context of employability across the globe to be developed. For
academic departments function. This section provides a review of
example, throughout these internationally focused papers, there
literature that directly engages with academic learning. It focuses
are a number of recurrent factors listed, including economic
on examples which have sought to synthesise approaches of
recession, and the underemployment of graduates. This context
careers and employment support within curriculum development,
has, paradoxically, been accompanied with a “skills shortage”
and the implementation of wider pedagogical practice in HEIs.
(Mourshed, Farrell & Barton, 2012, p.11). In their report, “Education
to Employment”, Mourshed et. al. (2012) highlight the context of
This section will explore the methods and mechanisms through
skills shortages across the ten countries that are the focus of their
which employability skills and awareness are embedded and
report (Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Saudi
practiced within an academic context. A discussion of which
Arabia, United Kingdom, and United States). The report importantly
employability skills are specifically and most valued are highlighted
identifies that “only 43 percent of employers surveyed agreed that
in section three on pages 33-45. As Mason et al (2009, p.2). observe
they could find enough skilled entry-level workers” (p.11). These
in “Employability skills initiatives in higher education: What effects
barriers to applying best practice within increasingly competitive
do they have on graduate labour market outcomes” some academic
and international job markets are discussed in this section.
departments have “sought to ‘embed’ these desired employability
skills within courses”. In other departments students are offered
‘stand-alone’ skills courses that are effectively ‘bolted on’ to
traditional academic programmes whilst other are co-curricular
in nature and fall between the two models. Both approaches
will be reviewed in this section. The literature reviewed in this
section is predominantly published post-2009, and reveals a
growing tendency towards ideas of embedded practice, which
are now dominating contemporary discussions around the
curriculum and employability across the globe. Much like the
proposition of “connected communities” (Dey & Cruzvergara,
2014, p.10) that are detailed in section one, integration and
co-operation seem to be the most prevalent forms of best
practice examples of careers provision within the curriculum.

- 18 -
 In Japan, an estimated 700,000 young people, known as hikikomori, have
withdrawn from society, rarely leaving home. In North Africa, restless
youth were at the vanguard of demonstrations that toppled governments in
Egypt and Tunisia. In the United States, the still-faltering economy has been so
difficult on Generation Y that there is even a television show, Underemployed,
about a group of 20-something college graduates forced into dead-end or
unpaid jobs. It is a comedy, but of the laughter-through-tears variety.”

Figure 7. Understanding the Global Employment Context (Mourshed et al., 2012, p.10)

UK context

Within this review, pedagogy and practice from the UK tends to emerge as a forerunner
in terms of both quality and the quantity of examples cited as best practice. Therefore, a
brief introduction to the UK context is provided by way of introduction to understanding
the contemporary thinking around curriculum development and the pedagogy of
employability skills.

The landscape of higher education is undergoing a process of rapid change in the UK. Much
like its transatlantic counterpart in the U.S.A., privatisation of HE is a significant trend in the
United Kingdom. Whilst the U.S.A is further down the path of ‘free market’ education with the
costs being shouldered by individuals as opposed to the state, UK policy-making indicates a
change from public to private financing in HE (Amsler, 2011, p.62). Since the publication of
the “Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance” (commonly known
as “The Browne Review”) in October 2010, there has been an emergence of increasingly urgent
and frequent discourses around employment prospects across all disciplinary areas of Higher
Education. As Bulaitis (2014, p.7) highlights “the Browne report suggested significant changes
to the funding of education, and in effect created a marketized system of universities that are
driven by competition and consumer desire”. Post-Browne, in a field of Higher Education that
specifically seeks to place “students at the heart of the system” (Browne, 2010, p.4) the focus of
employability practice is accountable to the individual student.

Traditionally the planning and management of careers was considered to be the responsibility
of the individual (Baruch, 2006). As Tomlinson (2007) observes, employability and career
progression were largely viewed as being a problem for graduates rather than HE providers.
The managing of employability and careers was determined by the individual graduates
themselves, and their future in the labour market lay mainly in their own hands (Bridgstock,
2009; Li, 2013). In the current climate, students are increasingly commercially aware, and enter
Higher Education in order to secure better job prospects and careers in the future. The Higher
Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) relates this change in UK Higher Education
specifically to employability practice, stating:

Embedding employability into the core of higher education will

continue to be a key priority of Government, universities and colleges,
and employers. This will bring both significant private and public benefit,
demonstrating higher education’s broader role in contributing to economic
growth as well as its vital role in social and cultural development.”
(HEFCE, 2011, p.5)

- 19 -
Curriculum best practice review

The review of literature exploring curricular best practice around Best practice case study of bolt-on course
employability is divided into two sections. The first section
The case study below from University College London (UCL) is
discusses ‘bolt-on’ studies, exploring the addition or bolting on
an example of ‘bolt-on’ curricular development. The focus of
of employability skills ‘modules’ to academic programmes. The
this framework is on global citize The HEA (2011, p.2) nship6,
second section explores the practice of embedding employability
which aligns with the wider growing need for international
provision within the academic curriculum. In the assessment of
awareness in the job market. Diamond et al. (2008, p.6) state
literature around these two dominant approaches there will be a
that “Internationalisation is a key trend in higher education
discussion of present barriers to delivering best practice. In both
and opportunities
principle, there was some to workfrom
scepticism or employers
study abroad are certainly
on the implementation of suchan
instances, these barriers centre upon difficulties surrounding the employability development. Firstly, as to whether it is sufficiently global and secondly as to
important wayapproach
whether a ‘bolt-on’ to build global
works. competence”.
One employer noted: “I thinkThe
most provision
universities are of
doing
sharing of employability best practice across institutions, countries some sort of award or initiative that students can become involved in, but there is a bit of a
opportunities
mismatch between detailed
what industryin the case
is looking for andstudy
the way below, including
they are making learning
sure students get
and continents. This review of curricular best practice concludes that information”. Even providing mandatory modules could have a limited impact depending on
a second language,
the individual, volunteering,
given that: “You and realbut
can make a class mandatory, world engagement,
it doesn’t mean that people will
with literature that looks to the future, providing potential pay attention and take things on framework
board”.
form a comprehensive of careers development. It
suggestions for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and impact
is Another
worthsolution
notingis tohowever,
embed global that this framework
employability does
development within also include
the curriculum of degree
across the global HE landscape. programmes themselves. This need not be at the expense of academic quality or freedom, and
a consideration
should in fact enhanceof
and“degree design
enable it. There and
is great content”
potential to bring in(p.19)
global orwhich
international
aspects to any discipline, whether engineering, science, humanities or business related subjects.
demonstrates, and(UCL)
points to,embed
theglobal
continued importance of
Bolt-on studies University College London aims to employability through its framework
Education for Global Citizenship. This framework internationalises the curricula and prepares
employability
students for active education within courses
participation in experiential and
learning. Some academic
employers structures.
would go further to
The term ‘bolt-on’ studies is used to represent activities that suggest that there is scope to instil global modes of working into every day teaching methodology
and practice. For instance, it is possible to facilitate students to work in diverse international
sit outside of specific academic modules, but still relate to the project teams (with other universities) or help students develop learning capacity through
adopting reflective learning practice.
curriculum. Bolt-on studies include extra-curricular opportunities,
workshops, or optional courses that students are able to take. As
such, bolt-on studies are often not a part of the essential credit-
University College London (UCL), an institution with a reputation for its wide global reach,
bearing modules in a degree programme. has for some time been developing the concept of 'global citizenship'. In particular they
have developed a framework for education for global citizenship which provides a
framework to bring a global dimension to the entire student experience. This extends to
Diamond et al. (2008, p.19) discuss the prevalence of ‘bolt- the approach to programme delivery, degree design and content, and non-curricular
events and opportunities. Through instilling a real-world global dimension in programmes
on’ studies and the ‘core competencies’ that are targeted in across academic departments, the University hopes to support the development of a
distinctive kind of graduate, ambitious by nature, with critical, creative, entrepreneurial
this curricular approach. Their report as a whole provides a and leadership skills that can transcend cultures and geographical borders. As part of the
framework, UCL encourages a year or semester of international study with their network
comprehensive study of global employability provision with an of around 250 exchange partners. There are also opportunities to learn a second language
and for professional development, including student mentoring. The volunteering services
extensive focus on curricular integration and approaches. With
unit coordinates a broad range of non-curricular activities allowing students to become
specific reference to ‘bolt-on’ studies beyond curricular modules, active participants in the city and take full advantage London's vast multicultural scene.

their report entitled “Global Graduates into Global Leaders”, There is also scope for universities to strengthen links with international counterparts and enable
identifies a trend in “universities offer[ing] ‘bolt-on’ employability students to gain rich cultural experiences. To do this, universities must develop collaborative
relationships and make programme transfer affordable for students and feasible for both
modules as part of a degree programme, focused on developing institutions. Arguably, the overall experience of operating in a different country is just as valuable,
if not more so, than the detail of the programme. Nottingham University, for example, has
‘core competencies’ in areas such as negotiating and influencing, developed satellite campuses in both Malaysia and China, and actively encourages UK students to
do part of their degree at either campus, as well as attracting students from China, Malaysia and
communication, team-working or presentation skills” (Diamond et the rest of the world.
al, 2008, p.19).
Offering immersion in the world of global work
Universities can also foster global employability by providing, facilitating and encouraging work
experience for students in a global business environment. Employers are incredibly enthusiastic

Figure 8. UCL Case Study: Framework for Education for Global Citizenship
(Diamond et al., 2008, p.19)

6
This is growing area of career development programmes - see University of Exeter’s Grand Challenges Project for a further example of best practice. For more information about Grand
Challenges, see: www.exeter.ac.uk/grandchallenges/

- 20 -
Present barriers

The present barriers facing the implementation of bolt-on studies 2. Industry relevance
can be divided into two main areas of concern. Firstly, the way in
In “Closing the Skills Gap”, a report carried out by The Economist
which information about careers development is shared within
Intelligence Unit, it was reported that, in the U.S.A “More than 60%
and across institutions, and secondly, the relevance of careers
of jobs now require some kind of post-secondary education or
provision in relation to industry demands.
training” (2014, p.10). In a global world, jobs are becoming more
1. Sharing information complex and specific. As Figure 9 illustrates, many employers
are looking to meet a “skills gap” by collaborating with HEIs.
The HEA summarises this issue clearly in their 2011 “Review
of Good Practice in Employability and Enterprise Development However, as Diamond et al. discuss in “Global Graduates”, there is
by Centers of Excellence in Teaching and Learning”. The HEA a continual need for clear communication between industry and
(2011, p.2) highlight the “need to remember…that pedagogical the institution. This problem is perhaps most clearly articulated in
development will only occur if changes to teaching practices are the comments of one anonymous employer cited in their report:
supported by sharing effective and innovative practice across
institutions”. This conclusion is matched by the quantitative
research project (commissioned by Higher Education Careers I think most universities are doing some sort
Services Unit (HECSU) in 2006) that set out to investigate how
of award or initiative that students can become
widespread careers education had become (Foskett & Johnston,
2006). The same diagnosis emerges in “Values at Work” which involved in, but there is a bit of a mismatch between
describes how, in the HESCU survey, “the authors of the report what industry is looking for and the way they are
had considerable difficulty obtaining reliable information
making sure students get that information.”
about exactly what each institution was providing for students”
(Mitchell & Colcannon, 2009, p.3). This idea substantiates the (2008, p.19).
widely held opinion in the field that “Careers services had an
excellent grasp on activities in which they were involved, but
substantially less knowledge of other educational opportunities
for students in their institutions” (Foskett & Johnston, 2006, p.17).

Is your organisation currently collaborating or partnering with higher education in efforts to make post-
Q secondary education more responsive to workplace needs, or has it done so in the last three years? Please
select all that apply. (% respondents)

Yes, currently - 38%

Yes, past three years - 30%

No - 38%

Q What types of institutions have you partnered with? (% respondents)

University/four-year college - 77%

Community college - 32%

Technical/training programmes - 31%

Figure 9: Economist Intelligence Unit Survey: Industry Collaboration with HEIs (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p.10)

- 21 -
The Economist Intelligence Unit (2014, p.7) denotes “industry The best way to define a curriculum that is
relevance” as a limitation to best practice, quoting Dane Linn (who
oversees the education and workforce committee at the Business
relevant in both achieving educational outcomes
Roundtable) that “the design of the curriculum has not changed for and employer requirements is for employers and
a long time and doesn’t reflect the types of jobs employees do in
providers to work together to figure out exactly what
the workplace”.
the curriculum should cover. While many providers
Potential improvement in the future
gather input and feedback from employers, there are
Audits
two keys to success: First, there needs to be intensive
One solution that has been presented to address the barrier collaboration; second, both sides need to define their
of the lack of accessible information is that of employability
requirements at a very nitty-gritty level.”
audits. The National UK HE STEM Programme has suggested
that such audits should be student-led. For example, Dr Barrie (Mourshed et al., 2012, p.66)

Cooper and a team of researchers at the University of Exeter

in the UK, have set up a project across STEM subjects that Diamond et al. (2008) also conclude that a solution to a deficit in

aims to “[provide] support to HEIs in undertaking a student- employability skills in HE graduates is to turn to the curriculum

led review of the graduate skills currently embedded in their itself. The focus of their “Global Graduates” report is largely

degree programmes” . This approach seeks to both increase

7 upon internationalisation and global job markets, and therefore

the sharing and accessibility of best practice information for it is not surprising that it argues that “there is great potential

practitioners and to provide crucial information for students. to bring in global or international aspects to any discipline,
whether engineering, science, humanities or business related
Embedded studies subjects” (2008, p. 19). Bridgstock (2008, p.28) contributes with
the observation that “the extent to which the careers service
Whilst bolt-on studies certainly still have value and remain
is integrated, or detached, from faculty activities has a direct
spaces for research and innovation, both debates and case
impact on the way in which joint work can take place with
studies of best practice around increasing ‘embeddedness’
lecturers and the way in which they are able to influence the
are growing. This section will review the debates around
creation of employability modules within the curriculum”.
‘embeddedness’ which hold many practicable solutions for the
future and provide existing case studies of best practice.
Best practice case studies from embedded practices
“Education to employment” (2012) commissioned by the
McKinsey Center for Government in the U.S.A8 is one
Case study: USA
such source of literature and research into the benefits of
embedded provision. The report asserts that “sector-based “The Automotive Manufacturing Training and Education
collaborations are critical not only to create widespread industry Collective (AMTEC) offers an example of how this can work. To
recognition for the curriculum but also to enable delivery of develop the AMTEC curriculum, high-performing technicians
training in a more cost-effective manner” (Mourshed et al., (not managers) from several auto companies outlined every
2012, p.88). The report maps out a suggested route of best task they performed and the competencies required for each.
practice for embedded employability skills, stating that: They then ranked these based on importance, developing a
list of tasks common to the dozens of companies involved
over several rounds of iterations. This was done for each
specific activity, leaving no room for confusion […] Employers
and providers in AMTEC worked together to distill all this
information into a curriculum composed of 60 three-to-
eight-week study modules spanning 110 core competencies,
with each module focusing on specific skill sets.”

The Automotive Manufacturing Training and Education Collective (AMTEC) cited in

“Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works” (McKinsey Center for
Government: 2012, p.68)

Figure 10. AMTEC Case Study (Mourshed et al., 2012, p.68)

7
For more information on this project see www.hestem.ac.uk/activity/student-led-employability-skills-audit
8
This extensive report draws upon a survey of 8,000 education providers, youth, and employers across nine countries, and a further 70, which were engaged with in detailed interviews.

- 22 -
 2. Identifying specific skills within disciplinary fields
Case study: China
A number of reports highlight the difficulty of embedding
“Finding a job precedes enrollment: Providers will guarantee employability across disciplinary boundaries. Whilst some STEM
their students a job, and employers will “prehire” youth subjects have direct links to industry and a natural path from
and oversee—and even sponsor—their education, offering education to employment, other subjects with less tangible
a full-time position at the end of it […] China Vocational skillsets still pose a significant challenge. For example, Mourshed
Training Holdings (CVTH) is the largest training institute for et al., in “Education to Employment” (2012, p.67) note that:
China’s automotive industry; it has a 60 percent market share
nationally and up to 80 percent in key provinces. CVTH is an “One of the things we learned in our research is how highly
example of a provider that promises job placements and employers value “soft skills.” But they are harder to define,
matches graduates to jobs. Its Department for Employment distil, or express. As such, we have struggled to find good
cultivates and maintains relationships with about 1,800 examples of training programmes for soft skills that are
employers, which provide internship placements.” as precise or focused as the technical modules found in
the Automotive Manufacturing Training and Education
China Vocational Training Holdings (CVTH) cited in “Education to Employment: Collective in the United States or the ones found in the
Designing a System that Works” (McKinsey Center for Government: 2012, p.79)
Technical and Further Education system in Australia”.
Figure 11. China Vocational Training Holdings Case Study (Mourshed et al.,
2012, p.79) There is thus a need that emerges throughout the literature
for a better identification of ‘soft skills’, and further
Present barriers research and thought into how these employability skills
1. Academic backing specifically may be embedded within the curriculum.

Approaches to engaging academics in the process of embedding Potential for the future?
employability skills within the curriculum are not extensively
articulated within the literature reviewed. For example, whilst
the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) Manifesto (2015, It’s worth saying that university traction
p.9) points to the need for “genuine partnerships with employers usually takes a while for new ideas to get embedded
and to make greater use of meaningful industrial boards to help
into the curriculum.”
shape employability programmes across all courses”, it also
suggests that institutions “be required to publish data which makes Pro-Vice Chancellor qtd. in Measuring the impact of Pedagogy for
employability (2012) on employability policy and practice in higher education
transparent actual levels of employer engagement alongside
institutes (HEA, 2013, p.7)
employment outcomes at an institutional and course level”, as
this is not often comprehensively articulated. Additionally, UKCES There is a significant amount of research and published literature
in “The Employability Challenge” call for fundamental changes on the topic of embedded employability practices. There remains,
in attitude and argue that change is required in order to “give however, a need for practical resources as well as understanding
employability parity of esteem with academic skills” (UKCES, 2009, and academic discussion. Owens and Tibby (2013, p.7) highlight
p.3). This problem of parity is identified throughout the literature that “the most frequently cited influence/impact achieved [is] in
reviewed, and remains a significant barrier to best practice. relation to staff awareness and understanding of employability
development, rather than upon practice”. This suggests that the
Whilst this attitudinal barrier is highlighted as a significant
ideas that have been developed in terms of embedded practice
one across the literature reviewed, it also seeks to remind
may therefore take a greater amount of time to have a measured
academics that their backing within the curriculum “need
impact on practice.
not be at the expense of academic quality or freedom,
and should in fact enhance and enable it” (Diamond et
al., 2008, p.19). Positive changes to academic backing of
employability should be an advantage to the curriculum.

- 23 -
Pedagogy of employability skills

Discussions in literature

To be employed is to be at risk. To be employable is to be secure.”

Hawkins qtd. in Why is employability important? (University of Edinburgh, 2011, n.p.)

The relationship between academics and industry is complex. This section of the
review examines the literature that has tried to connect academic thinking with
employment outside of the HEI through the use of pedagogy. As Tibby (2012)
argues in her “Report on Teaching and Learning Summit” for the HEA, “The general
consensus was that models for addressing employability are often presented
without the theoretical roots and underlying value positions exposed and explored.
This can disengage academics from the debate”. As such, literature in this area
of employability increasingly attempts to engage pedagogy with practice.

Mitchell and Colcannon (2009) examined how individual practitioners have

established and evolved careers education modules over time, in order to add
to knowledge about careers education which circulates in policy statements.
This analysis includes benchmarking (AGCAS, 2006), quality assurance exercises
(QAA, 2001), and evaluation of teaching-oriented publications, such as the
Higher Education Academy (HEA) “Learning and Employability” series.

Best practice case studies in pedagogy

Bolden et al. (2009), in “Employer Engagement with Higher Education: Defining, Sustaining
and Supporting Higher Skills Provision”, build upon a CIHE Report authored by Connor
and Hirsh (2008) which explored how employer demands can influence the curriculum
within HEIs. Bolden et al. drew on the 27 case studies detailed by Connor and Hirsh (2008,
p.4) to assess the situation of employer engagement in curricular development. The
report highlights “an increasing demand on HEIs to collaborate in multi-organisational
partnerships in the design and delivery of educational provision” (Bolden et al., 2009, p.4).

The report additionally provides a model of engagement of potential relationships

between HE providers and employers collaborating on the same initiative. Bolden
et al. explain how in one instance, a “five-day programme developed through joint
discussions between partners offered undergraduates an opportunity to learn to
design and construct scaled down versions of buildings, bridges”, and that “much of the
active support and supervision on the programme came from the industry partners”
(2009, p.24). Bolden et al. discuss how such short-term projects can expand into longer
lasting relationships. For example, in the case quoted above, “the Technical Director
of one of the companies took a close interest and managed the programme along
with a number of civil engineering staff at the university who felt passionately about
involving industry in the undergraduate curriculum” (ibid). Such collaboration requires
interest from industry alongside the support of academics within the HE provider
in the consortium in order to secure on-going support and benefits to students.

- 24 -
 S
Skillful practices in context

U
Personal qualities including self- Employability; broader
theories and efficacy beliefs personal effectiveness

Subject understanding Meta-cognition

U M

Figure 12: USEM Model of employability (Knight & Yorke, 2003, cited in Cole and Tibby, 2013, p.7)

In addition to the HE-employer consortium model created by that “the complexity of employability and the variety that exists
Bolden et al., Knight and Yorke (2004) propose both an effective in curricula in UK higher education mean that no single, ideal,
working definition for employability and a framework for prescription for the embedding of employability can be provided”,
embedding it into the curriculum. The model identifies key areas a statement that clearly has applicability beyond the UK context.
underpinning best practices in employability and is represented
Looking to the future, Barnett (1990, p.78) presents an aspirational
through the USEM model of employability (Figure 12).
projection in “The Idea of the University” which, whilst published
Cole and Tibby corroborate the effectiveness of Knight and over 25 years ago, still remains a keystone in contemporary
Yorke’s pedagogical ideas. In “Defining and Developing Your pedagogical thought. Barnett argues that:
Approach to Employability” Cole and Tibby (2013, p.7) state that:
“It is imperative – if higher education is to recover
“The USEM model provides a framework for thinking anything approaching the liberal qualities that it
about how to embed employability into the curriculum promises – that students are encouraged to stand back,
[and] encourages us to reflect on the way curricula to reflect deeply, to consider the ethical dimension
includes assessment that develops the student’s of both thought and action, […] and to gain their own
efficacy and meta-cognition and relate this to the independence from all that they learn, think and do”.
development of subject knowledge and professional
Strategic and operational consideration should be given
skills that are transferable to the practice context.”
to pedagogical practices for improving and promoting
Further examples that relate to a review of best practice in best practice in employability skills development and
employability pedagogy can be found throughout this report. For provision across global higher education systems.
example, see page 43 for the Career Edge Model created by Dacre
Pool and Sewell (2007). This literature around employability and
pedagogical practice reveals that frameworks need to be multiple
and various. Knight and Yorke (2004, p.2) importantly reflect

- 25 -
 cannot be disassociated from the personal qualities and attributes
Section Three: of the graduate”. The experience of individuals within many
institutions produces a multitude of results. As the Organisation for
What graduate employability
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) acknowledge in a
skills do employers value? recent white paper “a range of basic and generic skills are becoming
As seen in the definition for employability skills (see increasingly valuable as a result of changes in labour-market
pages 10-12), there are many graduate attributes that demands and the related uncertainty about individual career
are regarded as beneficial by employers. This section will trajectories” (2011, p.29). The OECD is representative of 34 countries
evaluate the question of which skills are most valued, in and therefore is a significant force in an evaluation of employer
specific contexts and with the use of case studies. demands. Therefore, it can be broadly observed that generic or
soft skills and an individuals’ aptitude remain a significant part of
There are numerous studies and a variety of research relating to employers’ assessment of employability potential in graduates.
both generic employability skills and context-specific knowledge.
The topic of STEM knowledge and commercial awareness were The literature reveals that soft skills are by far the most desired
most notable in terms of the latter. This section will reference a attributes in graduates around the world. These skills are defined
wider approach to global competencies. This is an emergent area in “The Value of Soft Skills to the UK Economy” to be “an individual’s
in terms of what employers seek in graduates, and therefore ability to listen well, communicate effectively, be positive, manage
is worthy of recognition within this report. This section then conflict, accept responsibility, show respect, build trust, work well
examines strategies that countries across the world have pursued with others, manage time effectively, accept criticism, work under
in supporting the development of employability skills that are most pressure, be likeable, and demonstrate good manners” (2015, p.3).
valued. Finally, it concludes with a selection of employability models Throughout the literature reviewed, soft skills are synonymously
that are designed to be tools for furthering the understanding of referred to as employability skills, generic, or transferable skills.
skills and the methods through which they can be cultivated.
Communication and problem solving skills
Relevance and prevalence of soft skills Across the countries surveyed in this literature review, the
In “Employer and University Engagement in the Use and Development demand for both communication skills and the ability to
of Graduate Level Skills” Hogarth et al. (2007, p.10) assert “employers interpret information are recognised as the general skills in most
are concerned to recruit the set of skills associated with graduates”. demand by the labour market. These skills are non-technical and
The processes of higher education are designed to produce skills in therefore can be harder to assess and articulate. Nonetheless,
graduates that equip them for employment. However, as Hogarth et numerous reports cite these skills as the table 1 indicates.
al. (2007, p.10) highlight it is important to remember, “graduate skills

Number of
Date of Country / employers Preferred Skills
Study Region interviewed (Top Three) Reference for Study
1. Willingness to learn (84%) South Africa Graduate Recruiters
2. Problem solving (83%) Association (SAGRA) SAGRA Employer
2013 South Africa 80 3.Team working (81%). and Candidate Survey (2013)
1. Communication Cambodian Federation of Employers and
2. Analytical Business Associations (CAMFEBA) Youth
2008 Cambodia 220 3. Problem solving and employment: Bridging the Gap (2008)
1. Communication skills (86%) Council for Industry and Higher Education
2. Team-working (85%) (CIHE) Graduate employability: What do
2008 UK 223 3. Integrity (83%) employers think and want? (2008)
1. Ability to make decisions National Association of Colleges
and solve problems and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook
2014 USA 161 2. Verbal communication 2014: Spring Update (2014, p.8)
3. The ability to obtain and
process information
1. Teamwork European Commission Employers Perception
2. Sector-Specific of Graduate Employability (2010, p.12)
2010 Europe 7036 3. Communication
Table 1. Preferred employability skills from around the world

- 26 -
STEM subjects Commercial awareness
A CBI report “Learning to grow: What employers need from education
and skills”, highlights the most important factors in graduate
I expect everyone who works for me to be
recruitment and the most sought after degree subjects preferred
by employers (CBI, 2012). The report reveals that the acquisition commercially aware! […] Its about being aware of
of employability skills is a more important factor than degree the opportunities for making money and making
subject. However, 70% of employers still consider degree subject
sure that the business products and or services are
an important factor in graduate recruitment, and suggests
that STEM subjects are most highly valued by the employers delivered. It’s about a shared understanding of what
(see Figure 13). The CBI (2012, p.47) survey suggests that 50%
the business organisation is about.”
of the UK employers prefer job applicants with a STEM degree,
Richard Williams, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Knowledge Transfer,
though 28% of the employers who were interviewed did not
qtd. in “An exploration of the term ‘Commercial awareness’: what it means
state any particular preferences for graduate recruitment. The to employers and students” National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
importance of STEM subjects is also highlighted in recent literature (NCGE) 2007 p.10
published by the Department for Employment and Learning
in Northern Ireland (DELNI). DELNI (2009) reports that there
Commercial awareness is a skill that is frequently cited in the
will be an increasing gap between supply and demand in STEM
literature reviewed within this report. Hogarth et al. (2007, p.35)
subjects, asserting that if this demand is not met, then economic
argue that, while employers tend to be pleased with graduate
growth will not be achieved at the desired rate or will prove to be
skillsets, “where criticism was voiced, it was overwhelmingly
unsustainable. The DELNI report (2009, p.32) states that many
directed towards a lack of commercial or practical skills that
countries “are pursuing STEM strategies aggressively in an attempt
new graduate recruits were equipped with” 9. Such criticism
to attract more young people into STEM subjects” and asserts
highlights an unfilled demand of employers. However,
that countries which “do this effectively will reap the benefits”.
getting a grasp on the term “commercial awareness” can be
difficult. Like soft, or generic skills, the idea of commercial
Languages 2%
Arts 1% awareness can be difficult to precisely define. In line with
Social Sciences 2% this, researchers Wilkinson and Aspinall (2007, p.5) argue that
“commercial awareness is an amorphous term with no clear-cut
Business 17%
definition in the research or practitioner-based literature”.

STEM
50%

No subject
preference
28%

Figure 13. STEM Subjects Give Graduates Edge (CBI, 2012, p.47)

See also Brown, P., and R. Scase, ‘Universities and employers’ in The Postmodern University: Contested Visions of Higher Education in Society, Milton Keynes, SRHE/OUP, 1997.
9

- 27 -
In a report for the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship,
Wilkinson and Aspinall (2007) reduce this ambiguity by identifying Importance Satisfaction
Gap
rank Rank
two working definitions of commercial awareness. The first is
a narrow sense, often defined by organizations as the ability to Commercial awareness 13 33 -20

work in a business environment and apply theoretical knowledge Analysis and decision- 10 26 -16
making skills
in real-time. For example, Hogarth et al. (2007, p.35) describe
Communication skills 1 16 -15
how graduates might be seen as “ill-equipped to operate to
Literacy (good writing 8 23 -15
time schedules, within budgets, and within the constraints
skills)
of other professional demands”. The second definition of
Passion 12 25 -13
commercial awareness is more general. Wilkinson and Aspinall Relevant work 17 30 -13
(2007, p.4) highlight that commercial awareness may relate to experience

entrepreneurship in a broader sense, as they state “a commercially Planning and 7 17 -10

organisational skills
aware graduate is one who has an enterprising or entrepreneurial
Confidence 5 13 -8
approach to their work”. From an educator’s perspective, a useful
Personal development 21 28 -7
example of embedding commercial awareness in the curriculum skills
can be found courtesy of the University of Ulster (Morgan and
Figure 15. Largest discrepancies in importance and satisfaction ratings
O’Gorman, 2011, pp.242 – 245). Their model is shown in figure 14.
concerning the capabilities of new graduates (Archer & Davison 2008, p.10)

Enterprise skills and entrepreneurship

Technical Competence
As alluded to previously, the notion of commercial awareness is
engineering science, mathematics, engineering
closely associated and intertwined with the concepts of enterprise
analysis, design, materials, manufacture
and entrepreneurship. Indeed, the broad nature of enterprise
education would encompass many of the competencies, skill sets
Commercial Awareness
and attributes that have already been described. Attempting
business management studies, company
to review the wider body of literature available relating to
visits, speakers from industry, student
enterprise education and entrepreneurship support would not
placement, programme sponsorship
do justice to the extensive body of published work dedicated
to this agenda. However, it is useful to explain how they are
Soft Skills Development
intrinsically linked. Helpfully, the UK Quality Assurance Agency
team-working, negotiating skills, oral and
provides useful definitions explaining these relationships in
written communication, IT skills
their publication ‘Enterprise and entrepreneurship education:
Guidance for UK higher education providers’ (QAA, 2012).

In short, enterprise education provides individuals with the

Highly Employable Graduate Engineer skills, tools and insights to enable them to create ideas and
make them happen. Examples of enterprise skills that might
Figure 14. Developing employability skills of engineers (Morgan and facilitate this outcome are described by the QAA (2012, p.8) as:
O’Gorman, 2011, p. 242)
“…taking the initiative, intuitive decision making,
making things happen, networking, identifying
Archer and Davison (2008) identify that commercial awareness
opportunities, creative problem solving, innovating,
presents a large discrepancy between valuation and satisfaction.
strategic thinking, and personal effectiveness [and]…
Put simply, businesses value commercial awareness, but are
extends beyond knowledge acquisition to a wide range
often not satisfied with the possession of such a skill within
of emotional, intellectual, social, and practical skills.”
the graduate recruitment pool. Figure 15 outlines the gap
between employer importance and employer satisfaction.
The study ranks commercial awareness against other soft
skills such as decision-making and communication.

- 28 -
In contrast, entrepreneurship is the process of applying enterprise A global perspective on employability
skills to create and grow organisations in order to identify and build
on opportunities. Global competencies
Employability skills are increasingly seen as relating to global
Whilst elements relating to the delivery of enterprise education
perspectives and attributes. For example, Diamond et al.
are implicit within the support provided by conventional
argue that “educational institutions need to provide the right
careers and employability services, provision within these
environments and opportunities for young people to […] develop
functional areas to support and advise on self-employment
not only sound employability skills but global competencies
and business start-up is by no means consistent or even
and a globally attuned mindset” (2008, p.21). Similarly, Playfoot
readily available across the sector. This may be due to a lack of
and Hall emphasise that across the world “the nature of
expertise within these departments or, more likely, that these
skills demand is increasingly consistent, with businesses and
areas of responsibility may reside with university directorates
organisations in different countries looking for people with a
associated with 3rd mission (or business support) objectives.
core set of transferable qualities” (2009, p.12).
Extra-curricular activities
The literature reviewed sees the present time as the era of
The literature suggests that extra-curricular activities also globalisation, which has meaningfully changed the ways in which
provide evidence of graduates’ suitability to employers. Yorke employers will be recruiting graduates, and the skills that they
and Knight, among others, have highlighted that “there is a need desire in employees. Processes of globalisation have led to what
to recognise that the co- and extra-curricular achievements Abbas et al. have described as a demand for “graduate[s] who
of students contribute to a graduate’s employability” (2006 are not only highly skilled and well qualified, but are able to
p.2). Whilst these activities are not a specific set of skills adapt [and be] flexible [and] apply and transfer their knowledge
contained within the curriculum, or even necessarily part of the and skills to different contexts” (2013, p.40). Abbas et al. write
academic practices of a university, extra-curricular activities from a Malaysian perspective, and argue strongly that:
are nonetheless part of the processes of higher education.
Cole et al. (2007) suggest “recruiters attribute leadership, “As Malaysia works to position itself in this network
interpersonal skill, and motivational qualities to applicants of global interactions and changes, higher education
with numerous extracurricular activities” (2007, p.323). will have to adapt to the rapidly changing environment
[…] to produce the skills and technological innovations
Purcell et al. have explored the impact of extra-curricular activities necessary for successful economic and social
on graduate recruitment in the UK. Their study reveals that participation in the global world” (2013, p.35).
“graduates who took part in extra-curricular activities […] were
less likely to be unemployed, and more likely to be employed in a Transnational experience
graduate job” (2013, p.xxiii). Purcell et al. continue, and assert that:

“this demonstrates the value employers place on A student with international experience will be
such activities as a means of demonstrating desirable better prepared to work in teams with people from
characteristics, such as teamwork and leadership […]
different backgrounds and with different views. They
as increasing proportions of graduates leave HE with a
1st or 2:1, ‘added value’ in the form of extra-curricular are also more likely to be more open-minded, flexible
experience, along with work experience, outside academic and able to adapt to any situation. International
studies has become an increasingly important way
graduates may set themselves apart” (2013, p.xxiii).
exposure opens the mind to different ways of thinking
and challenges students to consider innovative
In the United Kingdom, there is a growing recognition of the
importance of extra-curricular activities; for example, the approaches and solutions.”
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has actively encouraged the Kerrie-Ann Stein-Goujon, Head of Employment and Recruitment, Airbus
establishment of award schemes for such activities (2013, cited in Group qtd. in “What are employers really looking for when hiring graduates?”
(European Association for International Education, 2012, p.25)
Ward, 2012).

- 29 -
The body and scale of research literature expounding the value of So why might a transnational experience add to the career
an international experience, whether study or work related, has development and employment prospects of an individual above
grown significantly in recent years. The levels of evidence and beyond engaging in the same activities in their native country?
demonstrating improved career prospects have also increased In a review of associated literature the Erasmus Impact Study
(European Union, 2014). cited several studies that demonstrate that experience abroad
goes beyond the development of professional and academic
As higher education has become more internationalised and attributes and knowledge but is also able to “…promote openness,
the effects of globalisation continue to affect an increasing adaptability and flexibility, or enhance language learning,
number of businesses around the world, the value placed on intercultural skills, self-reliance and self-awareness (p.62)”.
the attributes gained through such experiences continues to
grow. The number of students studying in higher education Indeed, the surveys undertaken with Erasmus students demonstrate
outside of their home country doubled during the period 2000- that the skills improved the most from the perspective of the
11 and reaching 4.3 million in 2013 (OECD, 2013, p.32). This is student were those associated with specifically being abroad.
expected to rise to 7.2 million by 2025 (Hazelkorn et al., 2014, These included for example, knowledge of the host country’s
p14). As a result, employers are increasingly recognising and culture and society, ability to work with people from other
being exposed to the value of these experiences as the numbers cultures, learn and develop foreign language skills and other
of graduates returning to the labour market continue to grow. intercultural competencies. All of which were rated higher,
in terms of levels to which they were acquired, than those
The 2011 Global Employer Survey, drawing on responses from
more generic employability skills such as reading and writing,
over 10,000 employers from 116 countries from around the world, decision-making skills, analytical and problems-solving skills.
revealed that 60% of respondents “value international study when
recruiting talent” (QS Intelligence Unit, 2011, p.6). Spain (89%) Whilst acknowledging the opportunities for students to gain these
had the highest number of employers agreeing they “actively aspects of ‘global competencies’ during an international experience,
seek or attribute value to an international study experience when Ouyang and McAlpine (2013) argue that the benefits go far deeper
recruiting” with China and Thailand (70%) having the highest for an individual enabling them to develop as a ‘global citizen’. The
score amongst Asian countries, whilst South Africa (26%) and New authors further describe the development of ‘global citizenship’ as
Zealand (24%) scored the lowest (QS Intelligence Unit, 2011, p.9). the empowerment of individuals “by a broader knowledge of the
wider world that contributes to their intellectual abilities of problem-
Not surprisingly, with students demanding higher rates of return solving and critical thinking, and most importantly a strong sense of
from their investment in higher education, the increased value social responsibility from an unbiased global perspective” (p.10).
placed on international experience by employers has not gone
unnoticed by the increasing number of students who venture Global skills race
abroad to study. In a recent survey of 500 students from France,
Playfoot and Hall (2009, p.9) argue that “the ‘global skills race’ is
Italy, Russia and the UK, ‘employment prospects’ was cited as the
real and is intensifying”, and describe how “levels of skills and
most common benefit associated with attending an internationally
education are vital components in the skills race and will increasingly
recognised university by students (Karzunina & Bridgestock, 2015).
determine the economic fortunes of many countries”. Some specific
62% of the students rated this as the highest incentive, followed
examples from a variety of countries will be further expanded
by ‘connections worldwide’ (45%), ‘quality of education’ (34%),
upon below in the following review of “national skills strategies”.
‘student experience’ (28%) and ‘opportunities to travel’ (27%) (p.3).

According to the results of the recent Erasmus Impact Study National skills strategies
(European Union, 2014), the assumptions held by students in the
Across the world countries have elected to focus on the development
survey above are well-founded with many students benefiting
of specific skills that reflect the economic and social needs of a
their career prospects compared to those who didn’t engage in an
society. The demand for specific skills can raise the valuation of
international experience. Supporting the results from the employer
employability skills in particular contexts. As a result, government
survey, 64% of the employers surveyed in the Erasmus Impact Study
and policy-makers have taken a direct role in employability in some
consider an international experience as important for recruitment
(p15). The views amongst the graduates who had worked or studied
abroad during their time at university are equally compelling with
1 in 3 students being hired or offered a permanent job by their
host company whilst on placement. Longer term benefits are
also apparent in the report with unemployment rates amongst
Erasmus students five years after graduation reported as 23%
lower than those not having secured a transnational experience.

- 30 -
countries. Wright and Sissons (2012, p.6) highlight that “initiatives to Similarly, Zaharim et al. (2009) have compared the importance of
improve skills utilisation [that] have been undertaken in Australia, engineering skills in Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong (Figure
New Zealand, Scandinavia, and also Scotland” Appendix 2. In 16). Zaharim et al. use a variety of locations that reveal different
Scotland, the skills programme seeks to “improve the skills and preferences in terms of the skills that are most valued. For example,
employability of individuals and creating high skill, high productivity, in Malaysia and Japan effective communication is perceived to be
healthy workplaces where this talent can be best used” (“Skills for the most valued skill whilst in Singapore numeracy and literacy are in
Scotland” n.p.). The specific attention to “high skills” reveals the need highest demand (Zaharim et al., 2009, p.312).
for a complex job roles and specific proficiencies in Scotland.

No. Malaysia Japan Singapore Hong Kong

1 Communication effectively Communication skills; Workplace literacy Work Attitude

& numeracy

2 Competent in application Problem-solving skills Information & Interpersonal skills

and practice communications technology

3 Interpersonal or team Goal-setting skills; Problem solving & Analytical & problem-
working skills decision making solving skills

4 Engineering problem solving Personal presentation skills; Initiative & enterprise English language proficiency
and decision making skills

5 Apply knowledge of science Visioning skills; Communication & Numerical competency

and engineering principles relationship management

6 Competent in specific IT and computer skills Lifelong learning Information technology

engineering discipline literacy

Figure 16. Engineering employability skills required by employers (Zaharim et al., 2009. p.312)

Present barriers to understanding and

fulfilling employers’ demands
Defining “Employers” – SMEs or Multinationals?
One of the problems in understanding the skills that employers want within the literature
reviewed is the distinction between global companies and SMEs. In general, surveys rarely
differentiate between the different kinds of employability skills that might be demanded
by international organisations compared to SMEs. As Archer and Davidson (2008, p.6)
argue “the needs of an international company will differ to one that does not trade
internationally”. This issue is further explored in the final section of this report in “Future
Directions” where the growth of SMEs is examined in more detail.

Archer and Davison have sought to address this deficit in skill demands through
descriptions of various sizes of business. In their study of 233 UK firms, Archer and Davison
(2008, p.7) demonstrate that regardless of company size, ‘communication skills, team-
working and integrity’ are the most valued soft skills by UK employers (80%) while decision-
making and analytical skills are deemed more important by large companies in comparison
to those with fewer than 1000 employees. Archer and Davidson reveal that character and
personality become less important as the size of organisation increases, while the ability to
make decisions is considerably higher than in the case of smaller businesses (Figure 17).

- 31 -
 Skills/Size 1-99 100-999 1000+ Grand Total

Communication skills 88% 86% 82% 86%

Team-working skills 85% 84% 84% 85%

Integrity 81% 86% 82% 83%

Intellectual ability 81% 84% 78% 81%

Confidence 80% 81% 78% 80%

Character/personality 81% 79% 60% 75%

Planning & organisational skills 74% 72% 75% 74%

Literacy 68% 72% 75% 71%

Numeracy 68% 67% 69% 68%

Analysis & decision-making skills 64% 67% 73% 67%

The Employability Challenge UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Figure 17. Top 10 skills and capabilities when recruiting new graduates (Archer & Davison, 2008. p.7)

The UK Commission is firmly on the side of this second type of learning provider. It is
against complacency and a preference for staying in the comfort zone. If this message is
Models and frameworks of employability welcome to everyone, then somebody has misunderstood it. We do not think that what is
happening at the moment is good enough. We want to see change. Although that change
In addition to a discussion of specific examples of skillsets and has to be empowered and encouraged (and not impeded) by policy, funding and
employment preferences, this section concludes with several assessment, it has to happen at the level of individual schools, colleges, universities and
models of employability. In literature concerning HE career service employment training providers.
provision, delivery methods are commonly cited to assist in For the purposes of this document we take employability skills to be those set out in the
capturing the abstract, or generic, skills that employers demand. diagram below:
There are a number of different theoretical models that articulate
employability skills in different ways. This section focuses upon the Self- Thinking Working
and solving together and Understanding
UKCES’ employability model, the CareerEDGE model, and National management the business
problems communicating
Career Development frameworks.

Using numbers Using language Using IT

effectively effectively effectively
UKCES employability model
The UKCES employability model concentrates on the idea that Positive Approach
the graduate employee should begin with a positive approach to
employment (Figure 18). According the UKCES (2009, p.10) this means We expand on this definition in Chapter 1, which also sets out why employability skills are
“being ready to participate, make suggestions, accept new ideas and so important to the UK. In keeping with our focus on what needs to happen in the learning
environment, however, we do not wish to be over-prescriptive about definitions. There are
constructive criticism, and take responsibility for outcomes”.
many good ones: they all overlap. Regardless of how employability skills are defined, the
Here, the importance of individual development is stressed. challenges in helping people develop these skills are the same.

Communication, technological and numerical skills are the three The evidence from the existing literature (see Chapter 1) supports the broad conclusions
Figure 18.
from our “What
survey of justare
overEmployability
200 organisations.Skills?” The Employability
It is a conclusion that, we expect,Challenge
will not
most important factors according to this model. These skills
(UKCES, 2009, p.5)
come as a surprise to many experienced teachers and trainers. In broad outline,
are seen to be the keystones in fulfilling more non-specific skills
developing employability skills entails:
such as “thinking and solving problems” and “self-management”
(UKCES, 2009, p.11). ●● experiential action-learning: using skills rather than simply acquiring knowledge,
placing emphasis on trial and error, and with a clear focus on the pay-offs for the
learner in employment and progression
●● work experience: a work placement in an actual business, or an authentic classroom
- 32 - simulation based on a real workplace
●● opportunities for reflection and integration
Chapters 2, 3 and 4 explore in more detail how to make this happen. Chapter 2 is about
CareerEDGE model

Employability

Self-esteem

Self-efficacy Self confidence

Reflection and Evaluation

Emotional
Career Experience Degree Subject Generic Skills Emotional
Intelligence
Development (Work and Life) Intelligence
Knowledge,
Learning
Skills and
Understanding

Figure 19. CareerEDGE model (diagram adapted from Pool & Sewell, 2007 p.280)

The CareerEDGE model (Figure 19) was developed by Dacre, Pool Canadian blueprint for life
and Sewell (2007, p.280) and describes a more complicated model
One such example is the Canadian Blueprint for Life model
for the acquisition of employability skills. As highlighted in Section
which was devised through a collaboration of a number of career
One (see page 17), career practitioners Tibby and Cole advocate
practitioner agencies with Canada and the USA (National Life/Work
the use of the CareerEDGE model as a tool for explaining the
Centre, 2001). Its overarching purpose is to provide a common
intangible concept of employability to a range of stakeholders.
language across Canada for the outcomes of career development
initiatives and activities at any stage of an individual’s career
National career development frameworks development. More specifically, the Canadian Blueprint for Life
is designed to describe “The competencies Canadians require,
In contrast to the HE-centric career and employability models
from childhood to adulthood, to effectively manage their life/
already mentioned, more holistic models exist around the
work development;” and “A comprehensive process for developing
world in the form of national career development frameworks.
and redesigning programs, products and services that will help
Whilst the review was unable to surface the extent to which the
Canadians acquire the above competencies” (National Life/Work
following cited models are adopted in individual universities,
Centre, 2001, p.1).
higher education is mentioned as a component of lifelong
learning and career planning in both examples and therefore
warrants inclusion in this review.   

- 33 -
Australian blueprint for career development
Adapted from the Canadian Blueprint for Life model, the Australian Government’s Department
of Education and Training is the national sponsor promoting the “Australian Blueprint for Career
Development” (MCEECDYA, 2010). Not surprisingly due to the primary influence from the
Canadian equivalent, it shares a similar purpose:

“[t]he primary aim of the Blueprint is to enable teachers, parents, career development

practitioners, employment service providers, employers or others who are in a position to
support people’s careers and transitions, to work with a nationally consistent set of career
management competencies which will help all Australians to better manage their lives,
learning and work” (MCEECDYA, 2010, p.9).

Other models
The USEM Model (Yorke & Knight, 2006) is included in Section Two of this review (see page 31)
and therefore will not be repeated in this section. The model is of use to practitioners within
the field particularly in understanding the ways in which desirable skills are embedded into the
curriculum in higher education.

Conclusion

This section has evaluated the desirable skills that employers seek in graduates across the world.
As the employability models above have outlined, soft skills are consistently the most highly valued
skillsets in employment. Communication skills, the ability to problem solve, and attitude to work
are seen to be valued by employers across the globe. That said, this review has also highlighted that
in a technological world, STEM subjects and technical skills continue to be in short supply. Beyond
curricular and academic skill acquisition, extra-curricular activities are seen to be an important
experience to help graduates acquire these skillsets and stand out from the crowd.

Given the wide range of employability skills, knowledge and attributes outlined in this section,
it is reasonable to ask which of these skills a student should concentrate on acquiring and
developing. From the context of most career practitioners, the answer is simple: “it depends”.
Ultimately it depends on the competencies and knowledge required for successful entry
into a given sector, occupation and the specific requirements of the employer. Many career
practitioners will have a variety of tools to support this decision-making process, including a
variety of underpinning theoretical models which support the rationale for the context in which
they are used. This section has already provided models where this reflective process is implicit,
if not explicit. Dowson (2015, p.45) describes the process of ‘skills acquisition’ as a three staged
approach consisting of:

 S
 kills analysis – what skills are needed for the world of work generally? Which do I already
possess and where are the gaps?

 Skills match/ identification – what skills do I need for my target career?

 S
 kills training – how do I secure the opportunity, training or experience that will equip me
with the required skills and knowledge?

In an era of globalisation, the need and expanding breadth of skills that are labelled as ‘global
competencies’ is an emergent area for future career and employability provision. There is a need
for HEIs, in collaboration with employers, large and small, to assist students in making sense of
these skillsets and taxonomies so students are able to apply this understanding in the context
of their own career planning, acquire relevant skills for a given opportunity and successfully
articulate their value for the career opportunities of their choosing. This is discussed further in
the “Future Directions” section of this report.

- 34 -
 Section Four:
How can HEIs and employers build closer working relationships?

Universities think they’re adequately preparing students for the

workforce. You couldn’t have a more stark difference of opinion from
industry. They’re not getting anywhere close to what they need.”
Dane Linn, the Vice President for the Business Roundtable qtd. in Closing the skills gap: Companies and
colleges collaborating for change (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p.7)

The previous section assessed literature exploring which employability skills employers
most valued in graduates. This section moves on to consider the ways in which HEIs can
build collaborative partnerships with employers. It first makes the case for HEI-employer
collaboration, referencing both the global ‘skills shortage’ and inconsistencies in HEI and
employer understandings of graduate ‘work-readiness’ (Mason et al., 2006, p.2). It then
goes on to outline the benefits of HEI-employer collaboration, for both HEI and employer
partners. It proceeds to list the types and varieties of HEI-employer collaboration, before
presenting a number of global case study examples. Finally, this section will provide an
overview of the challenges and obstacles facing partners in HEI-employer collaborations.

The case for HEI-employer collaboration

As has been illustrated in section 3 (pp.34 - 46), there is an increasing demand for
graduates with “higher level skills”, a demand that is not always being matched by supply
(UKCES, 2014, p.8). This condition has been described within the literature as a global ‘skills
shortage’ (see CBI, 2012; City and Guilds Centre for Skills Development, 2008; DELNI, 2009;
Manpower, 2015; Mourshed et al., 2012; UKCES, 2014).10 This ‘skills shortage’ has been
highlighted as a contemporary employability issue in Manpower’s recent (2015) “Talent
Shortage Survey”.11 In their extensive global survey, Manpower (2015, p.3) calculated and
ranked global graduate ‘talent shortage’ (Figure 20), noting that, “the number of global
employers reporting talent shortages in 2015 peaks at a seven-year high of 38%”.

10
For further information about the context and history of the global skills shortage, see The Economist Intelligence Unit (2014, pp.4-6).

11 
The Manpower (2015, p.3) report “surveyed more than 41,700 hiring managers in 42 countries to identify the proportion of employers having difficulty filling positions, which jobs are
difficult to fill, and why. Employers were also asked about the impact talent shortages have on their organizations and what steps they are taking to address them.”

- 35 -
 Japan 83%
Peru 68%
Hong Kong 65%
Brazil 61%
Romania 61%
Greece 59%
India 58%
Taiwan 57%
Mexico 54%
Turkey 52%
New Zealand 51%
Bulgaria 50%
Colombia 47%
Hungary 47%
Costa Rica 46%
Panama 46%
Germany 46%
Guatemala 44%
Australia 42%
Poland 41%
Switzerland 41%
Singapore 40%
Austria 39%
Israel 39%
Sweden 39%
Global Average 38%
Argentina 37%
Canada 32%
USA 32%
South Africa 31%
Norway 30%
France 29%
Italy 28%
Slovakia 28%
Slovenia 27%
Belgium 24%
China 24%
Finland 22%
Czech Republic 18%
Netherlands 14%
Spain 14%
UK 14%
Ireland 11%

Figure 20. Percentage ‘talent shortage’ or difficulty in filling jobs by country, measured in 2014 (Manpower, 2015, p.7)
0 20 40 60 80 100

- 36 -
Those reporting the largest “talent shortage” and thus “struggling HEI-employer collaboration may also aid in addressing what the
to fill jobs” include “83% and 68% of employers in Japan and Peru literature has identified as differences and inconsistencies in the
respectively”, and those reporting the smallest talent shortage perspectives of each partner in terms of their expectations of
include the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK (14%), and Ireland graduate ‘work-readiness’. This issue has been highlighted as a
(11%) (Manpower, 2015, pp.3, 7). The Manpower (2015, p.5) global one in Mourshed et al.’s (2012) report entitled “Education
report also details the “top 5 reasons for difficulty filling jobs”, to employment: Designing a system that works”. Here, Mourshed et
of which a “lack of experience” (22%) is listed as the third reason al. (2012, p.40) highlight the global variations in the perception
of five. Similarly, in an extensive survey, The McKinsey Centre of graduate work-readiness from the perspectives of both
for Government equally found that only 43% of employers were employers and HEIs. In so doing, they also calculate the percentage
able to find skilled entry-level workers. The report suggests differences in the perceptions of held by each collaboration
that “this problem is not likely to be a temporary blip; in fact, it partner (Figure 21).
will probably get much worse,” estimating that “by 2020 there
Mourshed et al. (2012, p.40) found that the largest inconsistencies
will be a global shortfall of 85 million high- and middle-skilled
between the perceptions of HEIs and employers around graduate
workers” (Mourshed et al., 2012, p.11). In raising questions about
work-readiness are present in Germany, the United States, Mexico,
experience provision, such reports have then turned to consider
and Brazil.
HEI-employer collaborations as a potential mechanism through
which to redress these global talent imbalances.

Agreement that graduates/new hires are adequately prepared

% of respondents

Provider perspective Employer perspective Difference

United
87% 49% -38%
States

India 83% 51% -32%

Germany
83% 43% -40%
Mexico
77% 40% -37%
Saudi
Arabia 70% 55% -15%

Turkey 70% 50% -20%

Brazil
67% 31% -36%
United
Kingdom 61% 36% -25%

Morocco 53% 20% -33%

Figure 21. (HEI) Provider and employer perceptions of graduate readiness for the job market, by country (Mourshed et al., 2012, p.40)1

Those ‘providers’ surveyed were asked whether they agreed with the statement, “Overall, graduates from my institution are adequately prepared for entry-level positions in their chosen
12 

field of study”. Those employers surveyed were asked whether they agreed with the statement “Overall, employees we hired in the past year have been adequately prepared by their
pre-hire education and/or training” (Mourshed at al., 2012, p.40).

- 37 -
In acknowledging the existence of both the global ‘skills shortage’ they found that 63% of those surveyed considered investments
and inconsistencies in HEI and employer understandings of graduate and relationships in “post-secondary educational institutions or
work-readiness, numerous commentators have recommended programmes” yielded a “long term return to the company” in the
HEI-employer collaboration as an approach to redress the balance form of “broadening the pool of skilled talent” (p.19).
and to produce work-ready and skilled graduates. HEI-employer
The literature concerned with HEI-employer collaborations also
collaboration is therefore presented as a “valuable tool for building
proposes that such partnerships are beneficial for a number of
relevant higher level skills” (UKCES, 2014, p.9; see also Docherty,
additional reasons. These benefits are often outlined and framed
2014). This sentiment is reflected in a recent study by the Economist
separately for both the HEI and employer partners. A range of
Intelligence Unit (2014, p.1), in which 343 US business executives
collaboration benefits for each partner are presented in Table 2.
“familiar with their company’s workforce-development strategy
and higher-education efforts” were surveyed. 12
In so doing,

Source Collaboration benefits for employers

UKCES (2014, p.11) Providing “pathways into industry”
Drawing in “new talent into an industry or region”
UKCES (2014, p.7) Improving “competitiveness and productivity”
Improving the “retention of existing staff “
Lambert Review cited in Providing a “supply of skilled graduates and post-graduates for recruitment”
Hogarth et al. (2007, p.11)
Providing access to “the latest research and cutting-edge technology”
The Economist Intelligence To address the “need for workers with strong ‘foundational skills’”
Unit (2014, p.18)
To address the “need for workers with strong ‘soft skills’”
The Economist Intelligence To “lower employee turnover “
Unit (2014, p.19)
Benefiting the “brand” by “being seen as socially responsible and invested in the community”
Providing “access to research infrastructure at a low cost”
“Tax incentives”
Flynn (2014, p.4) The “chance to bring in new ideas, [and] different ways of looking at things”
Collaboration benefits for HEIs
UKCES (2014, p.11) “Increasing student employability through work-based practice”
“Differentiating their offer from other universities”
“Creating a more relevant curriculum for employers”
“Raising their profile and increasing income diversity”
UKCES (2014, p.7) “Universities can extend and strengthen their curriculum”
“Access to real world problems and an opportunity to market ideas”
“An enhanced role in regional and national economic development”
“Access to new facilities and equipment”
Collaboration benefits for students
Flynn (2014, p.4) Students are provided with the “opportunity to develop knowledge, skills,
contacts, industry insights and their marketability to future employers”
“Research from the [UK-based] High Fliers Graduate Market Report 2014 suggests
that graduate recruiters estimate 37% of the graduate vacancies available
from employers participating in the research will be filled by applicants who
have already worked for the organisation as a placement student”

Table 2. HEI-employer benefits for HEIs, employers, and students

In this study, “nearly half (47%) of respondents are C-level executives or equivalent, and 53% are senior vice-presidents, vice-presidents or other senior managers. More than half
13 

represent very large companies, with 54% of respondents hailing from companies with annual revenue of more than US$1bn. Nearly one-third (34%) come from companies that have
more than 10,000 employees” (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p.1).
- 38 -
This section has sought to make the case for HEI-employer The popularity of each of these forms of HEI-employer
collaboration. The following provides examples of the different types collaboration varies on both a global and institutional level.
and forms of HEI-employer partnership found within the literature. For example, in their report entitled “Changing the pace: CBI/
Pearson education and skills survey 2013”, CBI surveyed “294

Types of HEI-employer collaboration [UK] employers, collectively employing some 1.24 million
people” (2013, p.6). From this the survey then ranked the
forms of HEI-employer links by percentage (Figure 22).
The response from universities to date has
been to go all out for more: more placements, 52%

more internships, more years in industry, more Graduate recruitment

employability. It’s an employability gold rush and the 43%

Provide sandwich years or work placement to university students
results are all around us”
41%
Redmond, A response to David Docherty’s paper (Docherty, 2014, p.8)
Offer internships to graduates

There are numerous forms of HEI-employer collaboration. A

39%
selection of recurrent forms of collaboration which have emerged
Provide ‘real-life’ projects and resources
from the literature are listed in Table 3.
39%
Type of HEI-employer Partner with universities for research and innovation
Source
collaboration
37%
CBI (2013, p.61) Work placements
Careers events
Sandwich years
Internships 25%
Projects Participate in course design

Careers fairs or events 23%

Sponsorship Sponsor students
Work-based learning
Involvement in degree 20%
Collaborate on work-based learning programme for existing staff
advisory boards
Hogarth et al. (2007 p.8) Graduate recruitment 18%
Funding University provides off-side workforace training for our organisation
Involvement in assessment
15%
Hogarth et al. (2007, p.9) Involvement in teaching
Participate in degree advisory boards
or curricular activities
Lambert Review (2003, cited Research and development 9%
in Hogarth et al., 2007, p.9) Other
Knowledge and
4%
technology transfer
School leaver programmes
Mitchell (2011, p.5) Mentoring
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
‘Dragon’s Den’ panels
Bottomley and Secondment of academic
Figure 22. Nature of employer links with universities, by percentage (CBI,
Williams (2006, cited in to an employer 2013, p.61)
Mitchell, 2011, p.5)

Table 3. Types of HEI-employer collaboration

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For those surveyed, the most common form of HEI-employer aiding the implementation of a range of HEI-employer types of
links include ‘graduate recruitment’ (52%), followed by ‘sandwich collaboration and provide several best practice case studies.
year or work placements’ (43%), and ‘internships’ (41%). Such An additional table of further resources and case studies is also
distinct forms of HEI-employer collaboration differ in terms of included for reference (See Appendix 1 in “Researchers’ Toolkit”).
their length (i.e. short-term or long-term), formality (“from formal
In their recent report, the UKCES (2014, p.16) state “collaborations
equity partnerships, contracts, research projects” to “publications
between universities and employers are diverse in nature, but
and interactions in conferences”), focus (i.e. on “training or
successful examples share certain common features”. Drawing
research”), and intensity (Guimón, 2013, pp.1-2). In addition, both
upon twelve (UK-based) case studies, the report presents a
the types and priorities of HEI-employer collaboration may also
series of “general principles on how effective collaboration can
vary depending upon whether the HEI is a teaching or research
be established and maintained” (ibid). The report presents four
focused institution, and depending upon the host country’s level of
key stages, namely: “identifying employer needs and scoping
economic development. These contexts are illustrated in Figure 23.
solutions”, “design and setup”, “delivering outputs”, and “building
for success” (2014, pp.16-17). Extensive descriptions and tools are
Given the variety of HEI-employer collaboration types and forms,
provided to equip both HEIs and employers in implementing each
this review will not detail examples of each. Rather, it will first
stage. The basic details associated with each stage are also neatly
reference a useful guidance tool, suitable for facilitating and
demonstrated (see Figures 24 and 25).

Most developed countries Least developed countries

Teaching University Private participation in graduate programmes Curricula development to improve
undergraduate and graduate studies
Joint supervision of PhD students
Student internships
Research University Research consortia and long term research Building absorptive capacity to adopt and diffuse already
partnerships to conduct frontier research existing technologies to respond to local needs
Entrepreneurial Spin-off companies, patent licensing Business incubation services
University
Entrepreneurship education Entrepreneurship education
Figure 23. Priorities for university-industry partnerships at different stages of economic development and with different institutional focus (Guimón, 2013, p.3)
(style adapted)

Stage 1:
Stage 2: Stage 3:
Identifying employer needs and scoping
Design and setup Delivering outputs
solutions
 Scope and identify demand  Align strategic focus  E
 nsure products are fit for purpose or
universities and relevant for employers
 A
 ccount for complexity that spans  C
 hoose appropriate models
different industries and regions of engagement, and models  A
 rticulate the benefit of
and methods of delivery collaboration to participants
 P
 rovide clarity around offer
and any expected outcome  Resourcing and clear shared agenda  D
 evelop the virtuous circle of learning,
application, feedback and refinement.
 Is a collaborative approach needed?  C
 onsider how collaborations
will be funded

 A
 cknowledge the strengths and
limitations of collaborating partners
Figure 24. Stages of effective HEI-employer collaboration (UKCES, 2014, p.16)

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 Stage 4: Building for success

What does success look What does success look What does success look
like for employers? like for universities? like for individuals?

 A
 ccess to new talent and  P
 rogrammes which deliver  O
 pportunities for people to
people with the right skills relevant skills and qualifications progress into industry, specific
businesses or specific roles
 Improved economic performance  P
 rogrammes which are adaptable
to changing economic contexts  A
 ccess to high quality
 T
 alent pipeline is established
and credible alternative
meeting a clear business need  W ider organisational
pathways into employment
goals are met
 Changing recruitment practices
 G reater networking
 The best staff are retained
opportunities

Figure 25. Stage four of effective HEI-employer collaboration (UKCES, 2014, p.17)

As demonstrated in the above figures, each of the four stages raises Examples of best practice
a particular set of questions and tasks for both employers and HEIs
wishing to implement collaborative ventures. As is evident, this The following examples include a range of HEI-employer
framework is one reflecting the ethos of a holistic or ecosystem collaborations taken from different global contexts. Included are: a
approach to employability provision, as discussed in section one of research project between the Technical University of Munich and Audi
the review (see pp. 14-18). This section concludes with examples of (Figure 26), an HEI-employer curriculum development collaboration
best practice in order to demonstrate the application and outcomes at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK (Figure 27), and an
of successfully and carefully planned HEI-employer collaborations. apprenticeship programme run by BMW based in the US (Figure 28).
Whilst these case studies offer distinct approaches and detail, this
review has also provided a more comprehensive list of further case
study resources (see Appendix 1 in “Researchers’ Toolkit”).

Audi and the Technical University of Munich research project

Audi proposed a “deep and strategic collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM)” in 2004 (Edmondson et al., 2012, p.22).
This involved the establishment of an institute which would “support over 100 PhD students working on technology and innovation issues
vital to Audi’s competitiveness” (ibid). The collaboration involved Audi “invest[ing] in the infrastructure”, the university encouraging “faculty
to work closely with Audi”, and the government “providing a site” (ibid). The collaboration is managed by a “strategic steering committee”
who meet “twice a year to define areas of research interest, review progress, address problems and discuss goals” (ibid). In their ‘lessons’ or
recommendations, the partners suggest that “defin[ing] a clear strategy and listen[ing]”, and “meeti[ing] and talk[ing] regularly” are key (p.23).

Outcomes:
 There has been a “steady flow of technology process innovations built into Audi’s cars and production lines”;

 “Improved competitive edge”;

 An “enhanced exchange of knowledge”;

 A
 “highly successful recruitment channel”, with “80% of candidates stay[ing] with
the company following three years of work on their PhD”;

 “Successful replication”, as the concept has been transferred to sites in China and Hungary” (Edmondson et al., 2012, p.23).             

Figure 26. Audi and the Technical University of Munich, Research Project HEI-employer collaboration (Edmondson et al., 2012, pp.22-23)

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 The accelerating change in built environment education (ACBEE)
HEI-employer curricular collaboration at the University of Wolverhampton

The Virtual Design Enterprise Centre at the University of Wolverhampton has worked with a local building
contractor as part of an HEI-employer collaboration. In so doing, the collaborative project has employed the
framework promoted by the ACBEE initiative, through which “industry and universities can work collaboratively
to provide a more relevant educational curriculum” (ACBEE, 2006, cited in Heesom et al., 2008, p.34).

 T
 he ACBEE framework is comprised of the following stages:
“Awareness Activity – activity of a marketing/public relations nature;

 Ad-Hoc Engagement – opportunistic and expedient engagement;

 F ormal Agreement – planned activity with structured identifiable objectives;

 P
 artnership – formal agreement in existence between two or more parties, with
identified objectives and benefits but with no formal measurement;

 S
 trategic Alliance – formal agreement between two or more parties with certain consideration to both parties.
There is measurement and achievement or objectives and a realisation of an intended strategic outcome”

(Heesom et al., 2008, p.35)

Outcomes:
In undertaking the aforementioned ACBEE process, the following activities and outcomes took place:

 “ A series of seminars was developed to promote advanced technology to local SMEs within the construction
sector, in a bid to engage and enhance awareness of smaller companies with new and emerging techniques;

 F
 ollowing these awareness activities, one company engaged with postgraduate researchers to implement
some advanced ICT and visualisation tools to review how these may improve the design process;

 T
 his subsequently proved successful and the company sponsored a prize and set a challenge for postgraduate
students to develop a visualisation solution for design review and subsequent marketing for a specific project;

 ...Throughout these phases, the University and the company were continually developing a more in depth relationship
and this subsequently lead to the development of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the School which
received support from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and is ongoing” (Heesom et al., 2008, p.35).

Through engaging in this collaboration, the HEI benefited in several ways. For example, “students have been exposed to the real life
implementation of the technology” they often encounter in lectures and workshops (Heesom et al., 2008, p.36). The HEI has also increased
its capacity to implement new and emerging research technologies in a live commercial environment. Lastly, through this collaboration,
the University of Wolverhampton has extended its “research portfolio through the development of a KTP research project” (ibid). In so
doing, it has “enhanced the research provision of the department”, affording more academic staff the opportunity to engage in knowledge
transfer activities (ibid).

Figure 27. HEI- employer collaboration, University of Wolverhampton and local contractor (Heesom et al., 2008, pp.35-36)

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 BMW, Spartanburg, US
The adoption of the German model of apprenticeships
The Economist Intelligence Unit (2014, p.11) provides a case study involving apprenticeships in the United States. Drawing
upon the apprenticeship model associated with German firms such as “BMW, Volkswagen and Siemens”, the report details the
transfer of this model to the US. In so doing, it gives the example of the BMW-operated Spartanburg plant in South Carolina,
US. “Workers there build 300,000 cars a year, 70% of which are exported”. An apprenticeship programme was started in
2010, involving “partnerships with three local technical colleges, driven by the company’s need for skilled workers to operate
the high-tech equipment central to its manufacturing process”. In so doing, the “BMW Scholars Programme” was set up,
encompassing, “a selective apprenticeship that takes only 20-25% of applicants”. Successful applicants then receive “tuition
assistance from the company and combine study for a two-year degree with up to 25 hours a week of work at the facility.”.
Outcomes:
 This German-inspired model is said to “allow students to split their time between on-the-job training and classroom study”;

 T
 he apprenticeship programme often leads to “career-long, well-paying jobs in the industry”,
which is reflected in the statistic that “all 26 students who have gone through the [BMW
Scholars] programme so far have accepted offers for permanent positions”.
Figure 28. BMW, Spartanburg, U.S apprenticeship programme (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014, p.11)

Barriers to Best Practice

Whilst many examples of best practice of HEI-employer collaboration exist, the literature also lists a number of
obstacles that such joint ventures face. A number of frequently-cited challenges or obstacles to HEI-employer
collaboration that emerge are summarised in Table 4.

Source Barriers to HEI-employer collaboration

Employer experiences
The Economist Intelligence “Policies or red tape that slow down or inhibit initiatives”
Unit (2014, p.18)
“Negative attitudes inside my company about the likely return on investment”
“Concern about investing in education that might not directly benefit the
company e.g. Investments in students who won’t become employees”
“Employee lack of interest in participating in education or training programmes”
“Budgetary or financial constraints”
“Difficulty measuring success”
Mitchell (2011, pp.3-5) “Poor communication”
“Lack of time or other resources”
“Timing” - in particular concern around academic timetables
and the structure of the academic year
“Students’ skill level”
Hogarth et al. (2007, pp.11-12) “Difficulty in identifying ‘who does what’”
When links are established, they are “vulnerable to staff turnover” and thus “difficult to maintain”
The HEI can be viewed as “deficient in terms of customer service,
project management and delivery to agreed timetables “
There may be “disagreement[s] over Intellectual Property”
HEI experiences
Lambert review (in Hogarth “Protracted negotiations about Intellectual Property ownership and value”
et al., 2007, pp.11-12)
Businesses may have “unrealistic expectations”
Businesses may “not [be] prepared to bear the full economic
costs of research and other activities”

- 43 -
 CBI (2009, p.20) “Small businesses are struggling to make links with universities”
CBI (2009, p.7) Smaller firms face challenges in terms of having no “dedicated HR function”, not
being “aware of the support for placements available from many universities”
Wilson (2012, p.28) “The needs of the business do not align with the mission and strategy of the university”
“Contrasting views on the management of indemnities and liabilities”
“Mismatch in expectations and objectives”
Student experiences
Docherty (2014, p.2) A large proportion of students want placements but “fewer than half receive them”
Many “students claim to have secured their work experience themselves or via
their family rather than through any formal relationship” with their HEI

Flynn (2014, p.5) Placements “can become mechanistic, bureaucratic, logistically challenging and students can
be seen as a burden in placement, not as a potential investment in a future employee”
Table 4. Barriers to HEI-employer collaboration

In addition to these barriers preventing implementation of HEI-employer best practice,

the literature also reflects upon the degree choices offered by HEIs as a notable factor
in the level of “success” in “enhancing employability skills of graduates” (BIS, 2011, p.81).
This is illustrated in the BIS (2011, p.7) report, which, in surveying “414 career advisory
staff from institutions in 25 countries”, posed the question “which courses/subject
areas are more successful in enhancing employability skills?” (p.82). The results, and
some global comparisons, are depicted in Figure 29.

Figure 29. Which courses/subject areas are more successful in enhancing employability skills? UK and U.S
compared to All responses (BIS, 2011, p.82)

As illustrated, the level of engagement in seeking to develop employability skills varies

considerably depending upon the degree subject and location. Respondents were asked
why they believed there was a “differential engagement of subjects with employability”
(2011, p.83). Responses included “highly engaged subjects” were “designed specifically to
include access to the workplace” (ibid). These comparative trends may reflect the more
“integrated nature of employability” in locations such as the UK.

- 44 -
Whilst BIS (2011, p.82) warns that “there is insufficient data here to  “Reductions in bureaucracy”;
draw firm conclusions”, it is evident that further research exploring
 “Greater flexibility for employers to design frameworks”; and,
the “relative engagement of subject disciplines with employability
activities” would be of great value. Such data provides a useful  “ A clear definition of what an apprenticeship
thinking point for HEIs and employers who may wish to create means” (CBI, 2013, p.52).
partnerships to redress the employability skills imbalance across
disciplines. This sentiment is reflected by Docherty (2014, p.3) who HEIs may therefore wish to consider these concerns when
calls on practitioners to “build up connectivity at a sector level”, communicating their collaborative goals with employers.
and to acknowledge that “what is relevant to an engineering course Further advice regarding the nuances of HEI-employer
is not so relevant in a fashion design module”. Docherty further collaboration can also be found at the European Commission’s
stresses the importance of adapting HEI-employer collaboration ‘University Business Cooperation’ website, (European
depending on the degree subject or sector. Commission, 2015a, n.p.).14 The website is especially valuable
to those interested in the wider agenda of university-business
Whilst there are numerous existing and fruitful HEI-employer collaboration, including issues beyond employability.
partnerships, several surveys have sought to ask employers
specifically about the steps HEIs could take to both encourage and This section has reviewed literature concerned with how
better facilitate such ventures. Employer responses have included: HEIs can build relationships and collaborative pathways
with employers and it has highlighted both the business
 Making “qualification programmes that are cases and value of HEI-employer collaborations. It has
more relevant to business needs”; gone on to illustrate a range of modes through which such
collaborations exist and a number of case studies illustrating
 R
 outing any “apprenticeship grant from the
government...directly to employers”; best practice. Finally, it has flagged a range of barriers to
best practice in order to facilitate better communication
and relationship building between HEIs and employers.

14
The European Commission’s ‘University-Business Forum’ was created to facilitate the sharing of good practice amongst all stakeholders in this area and (HEIs, student-led bodies,
employers, Government etc.) and has convened regular thematic forums since 2008, all of which are documented on their website. For details see: ec.europa.eu/education/tools/
university-business_en.htm

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Section Five:
Measuring Impact

[Employability] is not something that can be quantified by any single measure.”

Cole and Tibby, Defining and developing your approach to employability: A framework for higher education institutions (HEA, 2013, p.6)

Within and beyond HE institutions there are a series of metrics and mechanisms often used to compare and assess the quality
of careers and employability service provision across different institutions. These include league tables, graduate destination
surveys, quality assurance agency and professional body recommendations, and awards programmes. Many academic
studies containing empirical data also exist. The choice of metrics and measurement systems varies greatly, depending on
the country or region. Examples of these metrics have been tabulated in Appendix 2 (see pp.88-92). Following an overview
of these methods of evaluation, the final part of this section briefly reflects upon the limitations of such metrics.

Measuring employability There are also surveys conducted by independent research

firms, such as High Fliers Research, who also operate within the
League tables United Kingdom. As part of their ‘UK graduate Careers Survey’,

There are, of course, numerous global, continental, regional, for example, High Fliers Research interview, face-to-face, around

and national HEI league tables, many of which have the 18,000 final year students regarding their career aspirations.18

capability to rank universities by their careers and employability

Quality assurance agencies
service provision. Commonly-cited global league tables
include the QS World University Rankings, in which users can Quality assurance agencies aim to evaluate and guide careers
rank universities by ‘employer reputation’ (and by faculty, services and employability provision, influence related policy,
region, location) 15, and The Global Employability University and encourage best practice. Such agencies act as “important
Survey . There are many other league tables used on a
16 mechanisms” through which HE institutions can be encouraged
national scale only, which can provide further insight into to “enhance the employability of their graduates” (EACEA, 2015,
reputation and successes within national contexts. p.20). These bodies tend to operate at a national level. Within
South Africa, for example, the South African Qualifications
Graduate destination surveys Authority (SAQA) oversee development and implementation

In addition to league tables, comparative analysis of HEIs often of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (Playfoot

draws upon graduate destination surveys, also known as ‘career and Hall 2009, p.47) and Careers Advice Service (CAS), which

tracking surveys’ or ‘tracer studies’ (EACEA, 2015, p.19). This report have together provided training workshops on ‘basic career

also provides an overview of graduate tracking surveys that exist development: concepts and applications’ (SAQA, 2014).19

in Europe (p78). Such surveys contain questions regarding: the Equally, within Canada, the Canadian Association for Co-

‘quality’ of jobs, the period of job-searching, and the job skills operative Education (CAFCE) is a national forum seeking to

requirements (ibid). In so doing, they utilise the “self-assessment” establish standards and co-operative programmes across its

of graduates, and are often understood as the “most accurate tools 79 post-secondary member institutions (BIS, 2011, p.26).20

available for evaluating employability” (ibid). Examples of such

Within the UK, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
surveys include the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education
(QAA) is the independent monitoring and advice agency for
(DLHE), which surveys UK HEI leavers on their employment status
HE.21 Across a number of their reports, the QAA (2014a, 2014b)
six months after graduation using a standardised questionnaire.17
have identified ‘student employability’ as a key theme worthy

15
QS World University Rankings can be seen at: www.topuniversities.com/.
16
The Global Employability University Survey can be seen at: emerging.fr/rank_en.html
17
Information about the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) see: www.hesa.ac.uk/stats-dlhe
18 
For information regarding High Fliers, see www.highfliers.co.uk/. High Fliers reports are available for purchase. They have however released a freely available report entitled, ‘The
Graduate Market in 2015’, available at: www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2015/graduate_market/GMReport15.pdf
19
For information about the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) see: www.saqa.org.za/show.php?id=5658. For information about the training workshops see: www.saqa.org.za/
docs/guide/2014/fet-basic-career-guide-v2.0-23022013.pdf
20
For information about the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) see: (see www.cafce.ca/about-us.html)
21
For information regarding the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) see: www.qaa.ac.uk/about-us

- 46 -
of further investigation. In the ‘suggested ways forward’ section Examples of promising ROI measurement practices listed include,
of their report entitled ‘Employer Engagement: Emerging Practice the inclusion of “both quantitative and qualitative measures”,
from QAA Reviews’, the QAA (2014a, p.28) have advocated both the adoption of “a wide variety of performance measures”, and
monitoring the impact of employer engagement, and utilising the value of selecting “what is important to measure, rather
this information as an institutional performance monitoring than what is easy to measure” (p.2). Conversely, the challenges
tool. Similarly, within the United States, the National Association identified were that a number of the measurements of ROI
of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identifies best practice and “lacked adequate specificity, relevance, and quality”, and that
quality benchmarks in the area of graduate employability.22 it is also difficult to ‘link interventions to outcomes’ (p.3).

Professional bodies Ultimately, the ICCDPP report asserts that whilst the
ROI is a valuable metric, currently more is known “about
A number of professional bodies for HE careers and employability
what constitutes the challenges...than ...about emerging
practitioners and graduate employers exist on both sides of
promising practices” (Sampson, 2015, p.3). The report
the HE-business interface. These ‘communities of practice’
thus identifies some key areas for continued exploration
are often a unique and invaluable source of information
in the areas of “practice, research, and policy” (p.4).
and provide professional development opportunities and
research that are key for their members and the sector they
Awards programmes
represent. Whilst knowledge residing within these associations
In addition to these metrics and measuring mechanisms
might not always be available in conventional literature form,
previously described, there is also a growing recognition and
the websites of these organisations can often be a unique
proliferation of awards programmes seeking to reward global
source of information and contacts for the purpose of further
and national examples of best practice in the area of student
research. The table in Appendix 2 provides examples of the
employability. For example, the Reimagine Education Awards is a
more prominent associations that exist around the globe.
global HE competition seeking to reward innovative approaches
There are also organisations operating at an international level. to HE pedagogy and projects enhancing employability.24
For example, The International Centre for Career Development and
There are also numerous national award competitions. Within
Public Policy (ICCDPP), established in 2004, seeks to promote and
Australia, for example, NAGCAS hold a national competition
improve “policies and systems for career development services in
entitled the ‘Best Practice Award’, in which Australian institutions’
the fields of education, training, employment and social inclusion”
career services are encouraged to showcase “innovative
in collaboration with, and for, “policy makers, researchers and
projects and activities”, and in so doing, compete for a $1,000
career development professionals” (ICCDPP, 2015, n.p.).
prize.25 Within the UK, the Association of Graduate Recruiters
In preparation for their 2015 Symposium, the ICCDPP prepared (AGR) ‘Graduate Recruitment Awards’ seek to raise standards,
a report exploring several key policy areas, one of which was the and for entrants to gain industry recognition, a competition
‘return on investment (ROI)’. ROI is thus emerging as another in which a number of universities enter.26 The AGCAS ‘Awards
measure of careers and employability service provision. In for Excellence’ are designed to showcase and promote
preparing their report, authored by Sampson (2015), the ICCDPP good practice across UK institutions27 whilst the National
engaged with representatives from fifteen countries, who Undergraduate Employability (NUE) Awards are designed
synthesised “the policy areas” and “highlighted key findings across to reward UK institutions that showcase innovative careers
countries”.23 Those surveyed were asked, “Why does return on provision projects delivered by both HEIs and employers.28
investment (ROI) matter?”. The ICCDPP then collated and reflected Lastly, within the UK a number of the national newspapers run
upon global examples of both ‘promising’ ROI measurement annual university competitions with relevant employability
practices and ‘emerging challenges’ (Sampson, 2015, pp.2-3). awards, including the Guardian’s ‘employability initiative’ in

22
For information regarding the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) see: www.naceweb.org/. NACE (2015) encompasses a network of “more than 6,300 college career
services professionals at nearly 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide”, as well as “more than 2,700 university relations and recruiting professionals, and the business affiliates that
serve this community.”
23 
The countries providing input for the ICCDPP reports are: AsiaPacific, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Tunisia,
the United Kingdom, and the United States (Sampson, 2015, p.1).
24
For information about the Reimagine Education Awards see: reimagine-education.com/the-winners
25
For information about the NAGCAS ‘best practice awards’ 2014 see: www.nagcas.org.au/conference/conference-2014/best-practice-awards-2014
26
For information about the AGR awards see: www.agr.org.uk/Graduate-Development-Awards
27
For information about the AGCAS awards see www.agcas.org.uk/pages/agcas-awards)
28
For information about the NUE awards see: nueawards.co.uk/winners.php

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their ‘University Awards’29, and the Times Higher’s ‘Outstanding is the suggestion that in measuring careers development,
Employer Engagement Award’ in its ‘Education Awards’. 30
different indicators or understandings of impact are required.

Academic articles An illustration of the inherent difficulties in evaluating HE

employability interventions is highlighted by Harvey (2001, p.103)
Lastly, a number of academic articles and publications contain
who challenges the validity of using ‘graduate destination tracking’
interesting and relevant empirical studies and data, though, as
as a metric to validate how effective a university in assisting a
Taylor and Hooley (2014, p.188) note, “the empirical evidence
graduate into a job. To illustrate these limitations, Harvey cites
that exists around the impact of employability initiatives
nine factors that may affect on the propensity for an individual
is [currently] limited”. Those interested in this area may
to gain a job. These include: type of HEI; mode of study (full-time
begin by consulting the following: Hall, Higson and Bullivant
vs part-time); student location and mobility; subject of study;
(2010); Mason et al. (2009); Taylor and Hooley (2014).
prior work experience; age; ethnicity; gender; and social class.
Due to the vast sources of information mentioned in this
As a reflection of such concerns regarding the robustness and
section, the literature review has provided a comprehensive
effectiveness of such measures in adequately capturing graduate
table of the measurement indicators in “Researchers’
employability achievements and accomplishments, a growing body
Toolkit” (Appendix 2). Whilst it is by no means a definitive
of literature in the area of ‘learning gain’ is emerging. ‘Learning
list, it should nonetheless provide a useful tool for those
gain’ can be understood as an approach to metrics concerned
seeking to pursue specific avenues of impact measurement,
with measuring the ‘distance’ a student has travelled ‘before and
or for those looking to get an overview of the sector.
after’ engaging in a given activity or spanning discrete periods of
time within HE, by considering and assessing a variety of attributes
Measurement limitations and analytics reflecting a student’s progress and success (see
HEFCE, 2015; Grove, 2015). ‘Learning gain’ has been referred to as
Whilst the metrics associated with the measurement of the impact
utilising a set of indicators in order to assess the “value-added” of
of careers and employability service provision are valuable in
HE engagement (Grove, 2015, n.p.). Such approaches are gaining
various contexts, and frequently cited, the literature also identifies
ground within the global HE agenda given the increasing costs
limitations associated with such metrics. For example, when
and fees associated with tuition, and the resultant desire to
discussing the DLHE graduate destination survey, a number of
demonstrate return on investment (HEFCE, 2015; Grove, 2015).
commentators have described the metrics obtained as “crude”
and “simplistic indicators of employability” (see discussions Capturing the nuances and complexities of an individual’s career
in Taylor & Hooley, 2014, p.491; Jameson et al., 2012). Whilst development journey and applying effective measuring tools
acknowledging that they provide valuable insight, such discussions to assess the impact of interventions facilitated by HEIs and
point to the temporal limitations of such metrics, in that they stakeholders will be key in order for the sector to take the next
represent only a “snapshot in time” (Taylor & Hooley, 2014, p.496). step change to improving services that benefit the student and
As such, it has been called for the recognition that such surveys employer. It should therefore be a priority for HEIs to better
provides a “measure of employment” rather than capturing understand the emerging benefits of learning analytics to inform
the full complexity of employability (Cole & Tibby, 2013, p.6). the development of their own ‘career’ learning gain models.

Such critiques reflect the assertion that measuring employability

and employment progression more widely, remains a difficult
exercise involving the consideration and assessment of a complex
set of skills, attributes, and dynamic processes. To illustrate this
complexity, the measurement of employability might be contrasted
with the process of undertaking an academic programme
in which a student is required to pass defined milestones
and provide continual evidence (in the form of coursework,
seminar participation and examinations), allowing for a simpler
assessment and measurement of skill. The quantification of
‘results’ and division of ‘acquired’ knowledge is more complicated
in the process of employability progression. Therefore, there

29
For information about the Guardian’s University Awards see: www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/series/guardian-university-awards-2014-ideas-bank
30
For information about the Times Higher’s education awards see: www.the-awards.co.uk/the2014/awardswinners/2014-winners#

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Section Six:
Directions

Concluding remarks

This report has provided a review of literature in the area of employability skills provision
in the context of the global HE landscape. Throughout, the report has sought to identify
the most relevant examples of practice in the sector. We hope that this review will provide
a valuable toolkit for universities and HEIs, encouraging and facilitating the sharing of best
practice in the future.

Taught Masters Curriculum

Programmes development
Teaching
Student Placements
Knowledge
Transfer Careers advice & support
Partnerships (KTP)
CPD & workforce
development
Access to specialist
Academic placements
facilities
& secondments
Business
Research Engagement
Consultancy

Collaborative R&D PhD studentships and

post-doc fellowships

Figure 30. An integrated approach to employer engagement (Bolden et al., 2009, p.4)

This review has highlighted best practice identified within the literature reviewed. In
so doing, it has focused upon several key areas; the holistic institution, the curriculum
and pedagogy, and employer engagement. In the diagram above (Figure 30), Bolden
et al. (2009, p.4) neatly visualise these interlinked and symbiotic areas, and their
connections. The findings of this literature review are in line with the ethos behind this
model. As such, this review, reflecting the literature, “supports the notion that where
the various offerings of HE are integrated – informing and shaping one another – then
they stand a greater chance of long term success” (Bolden et al., 2009, p.45; see also
Cole & Tibby, 2013; UKCES, 2009).

In demonstrating these connections, this report has highlighted and reflected upon
various aspects of the changing landscape of global HE. In the final section, emergent
areas for further consideration are recognised.

Future directions

The literature review has revealed a number of conditions and factors affecting the
global HE landscape which hold important considerations for careers and employability
practitioners and service providers. In this final section, emergent areas that the
literature points to for further consideration are raised with the prospects of further
examination being required.

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The internationalisation of HE in relation to these potential future careers (Huang et al., 2014,
pp.189-190). Within the context of their study, Huang et al.
also propose that there are “significant differences” in both
Higher education is a growing market the “understanding of employability” and the “initiatives to
develop” international student employability within “research-
worldwide, with predictions that almost 6 million
intensive” and “teaching-centred universities”, providing each
people will be seeking an international higher type of institution with additional thinking points regarding their
education experience by 2020.” employability provisions for international students (p.189).

Professor Rick Trainor, President, Universities UK, 2008, qtd. in Employability The HEA (2014), in their short report entitled “Employability and
for International Students: An Introduction to Finding Work in the UK (Guidance
next steps” have similarly provided a series of recommendations
and Employability Team (GET), 2013, p.1
to (UK) institutions seeking to develop the employability of
their international students. Recommendations include the
A growing concern has been highlighted regarding the use of ‘personal development planning’ and ‘work placements
importance of considering a changing student demographic and volunteering’ (HEA, 2014, p.5). The report also provides
- specifically, the growing numbers of international students a valuable list of resources focused around ‘impact’ for
that many global institutions are increasingly seeking to further reading (ibid). They also highlight resources such as
attract (Arrowsmith et al., 2011, p.366).13 This institutional the University of Manchester’s careers blog for international
“drive to internationalize” results in a group of students students and AGCAS’ ‘internationalisation community’. 16 In
who “desire international employability” skills (ibid). response to such publications, universities and university-
affiliated organisations within the UK are increasingly issuing
To this end, Huang et al. (2014, p.175) have published a paper
tailored employability guidance for their international
outlining the importance of attending to the “employability of
students (see GET, 2013; NUS, 2012; Sheffield Hallam, n.d).
international students”. Huang et al.’s paper focuses upon the
growing number of international students attending universities In addition, the European Union (2014), in its “Erasmus Impact
within the United Kingdom.14 Whilst focusing upon mainland Study”, has tried to take into consideration students who
Chinese international students in UK HEIs, the paper and its are participating in the ERASMUS programme regarding the
associated survey results, raise a series of points valuable for internationalisation of HEIs. The report states that for 85% of
consideration to internationalising institutions more widely. For students surveyed, enhancing their employability was a top
example, following the analysis of their extensive survey work priority.17 The report also valuably identifies and overviews
(see footnote 32), Huang et al. offer a series of recommendations relevant literature and studies ascertaining to the ‘impact’ of
to universities with growing international student cohorts. Erasmus on employability (see European Union, 2014, pp.69-71).
The growing number of students opting in to this international
These recommendations include: understanding the views
mode of study should be a consideration of any institution wishing
of international students regarding their approaches to
to tailor their employability service provision to cater for this
employability15, researching the career preferences of international
changing, increasingly international, student demographic.
students, and tailoring and emphasising institutional courses

31 
This is particularly the case across institutions in “the English-speaking countries of the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand”, who are driving the desire “to internationalize”
(Arrowsmith et al., 201, p. 366).
32
In their article, Huang et al. (2014, p.176) conduct a survey of “mainland Chinese students’ understandings and approaches to managing their employability”. In so doing, Huang et al.
(2014, p.180) surveyed students from 25 UK Universities, collecting 449 usable questionnaire responses (both online and face-to-face) during the period of 1st October - 30th November
2012.
33
Huang et al. (2014, p.189) found that ‘skills’, ‘careerist’ and ‘ritualist’ approaches to employability were most popular and common among the Chinese students surveyed.
34
For information about the University of Manchester’s careers blog for international students, see: manunicareersblog.com/about-the-international-blog/ , and for information about
AGCAS’ Internationalisation Community, see: www.agcas.org.uk/communities/13-Internationalisation
35
The Erasmus Impact study carried out a (2013) survey of 78,891 individuals (including students, alumni, staff, institutions, and employers) across 34 participating countries (European
Union, 2014, p.15).

- 50 -
How can HEIs meet the needs of small Attempts to address this ‘untapped potential’ are yet to be
and medium enterprises? documented in a comprehensive or sustained way within the
literature, and thus further exploration of this area provides a
direction for future literature. This sentiment has since been
I’m very concerned that students get to know echoed in the AGCAS Biennial Conference, in which a session
featured discussions entitled, ‘SME: the untapped employability
what it’s like working in a company, it helps them
resource’. The slides accompanying this session detail the
to understand what’s going to happen when they biggest barrier to fruitful SME-HEI collaboration, which is SMEs’
graduate. If they come into the workplace totally understanding of the “benefit of working with HEIs”, and the
creation of a “clear proposition” (Bacon & Reali, 2013, slide 16).
unaware of business, it can be a big stretch for them.
This discussion was summarised in the presentation (Figure 31).
I think it’s very important to encourage business and
education to link up.” GROUP 3 – responses…
Anne Duncan, Yellowfin’s chief executive (SME) What are the goals, aims and barriers to SME engagement?
qtd. in Future Fit (CBI, 2009, p.32)
Goals: Aims: Barriers:
Persuade SME to offer bespoke opportunity Make the process painless and SIMPLE (what Clear proposition is difficult (competing offers,
are our responsibilities?) lots of jargon)
Changing student perception / showing the A clear message from all parties at the Power of the big companies
value of SMEs university
Another significant direction revealed in the literature is that of SMEs understand the benefit of working with Putting your own house in order Time / resource
HEIs - Sell the benefits

accommodating the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Use their language Universities working collaboratively

SMEs are increasingly being recognised around the world as “drivers

Give evidence to students

Making it relevant to the local community

of growth and job creation” (OECD, n.d.). Within the European Union
alone, it is estimated that there are approximately 20 million SMEs
compared to only 77,000 large companies employing over 250
employees. SMEs also created 85% of new jobs in the EU between
2002 and 2010 (Clements, 2013, p.95). As such, a number of reports Figure 31. University of Birmingham “SMEs: An untapped employability
in the literature reviewed recognise the need to consider and resource?” Presentation by Bacon & Reali. Conference Proceedings. Slide 16
accommodate SMEs in the discussion of graduate employability.
These goals, aims, and barriers illustrate avenues for further
Unlike international companies that often recruit on the basis
exploration within the literature, which at present contains a
of competency lists, shared across branches and continents,
dearth of comprehensive exploration of the ‘untapped potential’
SMEs tend look for someone who will make reasonable
of SMEs in terms of graduate employability and employment.
impacts on their business. Whilst SMEs are fruitful areas for
further consideration, the literature also identifies challenges Globalisation versus the growth of SMEs globally
associated with “engaging smaller firms”, particularly those
SMEs often require specific skills and look for individuals who will
without “a dedicated HR function” (CBI, 2009, p.7).
fit the gap in their business. A BIS report on “Graduate Recruitment
One of the specific challenges identified includes the fact that to SMEs” highlights research into the value of graduates for SMEs
“SMEs may not be aware of the support for placements which is (2011, pp.13-16). BIS suggests that there are a number of reports
available from many universities”. Reflecting this, HESCU (2010, which demonstrate the potential contribution and value of
p.20) noted that “less than a quarter (23%) of SMEs involved local graduates to SME development. For example, BIS cite Hanage et
universities and colleges in their graduate recruitment process”. al. (1994) and their suggestion that “graduates employed in SMEs
This number is significantly low considering that SMEs in 2010, for make a major contribution to the success of the organisations”
example, accounted for the employment of 23.1 million people therefore “increasing the numbers of recent graduates employed
in the UK (p.14). HESCU (2010, p.20) additionally highlights “the in SMEs would lead to SME success, economic growth and
untapped potential for greater higher education-SME collaboration, the personal development of graduates” (2011, pp. 14-15).
particularly as most universities and colleges are attempting
to engage with businesses on a number of other fronts such
as contract research and workforce development” (p.20).

- 51 -
This focus on personal development and smaller scales of success held or the institution attended” (2010, p.15). Such results
could be considered somewhat at odds with the rise of common point to need for institutions to carefully consider this context
graduate competencies required by multi-national organisations. of SMEs, and to encourage further clarification of skill-sets.
International businesses are seen to more commonly recruit
HEIs have much to gain by collaborating and partnering with
on a set of graduate competencies and look for leadership in all
both SMEs and global business on behalf of their students and
applicants. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have
graduates. HEIs should therefore aim to provide graduates
established a framework of core competencies that they expect
with relevant understandings of such nuances regarding the
“people, at all grades and all areas of our business” to have as they
demands of both the local and global labour market. In this
“expect all of [their] people to be leaders” (PwC, n.p.). These ‘core
same context, when HEIs state that their students and graduates
competencies’ are depicted by PwC in the visual below (Figure 32).
will acquire a defined set of ‘graduate attributes’ specific to
the institution, the HEI should ensure that students are made
PwC Professional aware of ‘where’ and ‘how’ these will relate to the career
The
aspirations of the students and the needs of the labour market.

Refining the measurement of impact

Bus
ips ine Section five (Part Two: Measurement limitations) highlights
sh s
on the inherent limitations in many of the methods currently
sa
i
lat

cu

used to measure the impact of institutions upon the

Re

me

employability development of their students and more

n

frequently, the use of employment destinations data

Whole
leadership and rankings as a proxy for such evaluation.
ti e s
Glo

As the literature suggests, there are many flaws inherent in many

b ili
ba

pa

of these approaches. However, whilst the myriad of factors cited

cu
la

ca

l
m
en n ica by Harvey (2001) that affect an individual’s career prospects still
Tech exist, the sophistication and detail of many of these instruments
have been improved incrementally over recent years. Student
registry systems and customer relationship management (CRM)
systems used by HE careers services increasingly contain more
detailed and useful data regarding a student’s engagement in
the employability agenda, their career preferences, vacancies
Figure 32. PwC Professional leadership framework: What Skills We Look For?
viewed, and extra-curricular activity engaged in. As these datasets
(PwC, n.p.)
increase in scope and record entire student journeys through an
PwC is not alone in highlighting the need for “global acumen” in individual’s university experience, opportunities start to arise
its ideal job candidate. Comments from HSBC (cited in Diamond permitting both the data mining of multiple CRMs and the use
et al. 2008 p.5) provide another example of an international of learning analytics. Whilst acknowledging that these methods
company expressing the need for “its graduates need to have and tools are still in the early stages of development, these
additional ‘global competencies’, as well as the traditional systems, together with developing concepts around ‘learning gain’
capabilities employees have always had”. In terms of international evaluation, present a useful vision and focus of research to assist
companies the desire for “development of global leaders” students in their career planning (and by default, employers too).
takes centre stage in conversations about employability.
Defining the HE employability ecosystem
SMEs, conversely, cite more diverse graduate skillsets in recruiting
An explicit aim of the literature review has been to highlight
requirements (CBI, 2009, p.7). Each organisation has differing
good practice of career and employability provision
requirements, and often global leadership may not always
across the global HE landscape and where possible, to
be a key priority in hiring for specific SME roles. Defining and
identify the critical success factors and delivery models
developing employability skills in the context of SMEs specifically
that enable them to achieve their desired impact.
is therefore of the utmost importance. In a similar vein, an HECSU
survey found that “SMEs prioritise the skill set (47%) and work
experience (34%) of graduate applicants over the qualifications

- 52 -
The report has also sought to surface the main drivers and strategic rationale for these approaches. Even on a
national basis this agenda is vast. From a global perspective this becomes ever more complex. Acknowledging
limitations of the review methodology already cited, the report has taken a ‘broad-brush’ approach in examining
relevant literature in order capture and represent the wide range of components that might be considered key
creating an effective employability ecosystem.

The complexity of the drivers, stakeholders, strategic motivations and numerous relationships that contribute to
an institution’s employability agenda is illustrated in Figure 33.

Talent Pipeline
(students & graduates)

Internationalisation
Strategy

Research & Education A

Knowledge Strategy
Transfer B B
Strategy
Employability University-Business
Interface Employer
Strategy

Alumni Comms & A A

Relations Marketing
Strategy Strategy
Knowledge Exchange Educational & professional
(research, consultancy, B development
services, etc.) (of alumni/employees)
A. Increase and improve relationships with University
suppliers and employers

B. Improve levels of organisational efficiency and collaboration

between internal suppliers and stakeholders

Figure 33. Illustration of the strategic components and stakeholders that make up the HE employability ecosystem (adapted from Blackmore, 2015, p.36)

The vector diagram on the left of Figure 33 provides examples of the discrete strategic considerations which
will influence the investment, resourcing, focus and prioritisation that in turn will influence the scope of an
institution’s engagement in this agenda. These elements influence the internal governance and management
of the institution’s employability strategy and are as such often determined by the nature of the overarching
university mission and the balance between its main strategic priorities, namely, Research, Education and 3rd
mission, also referred to by the European University Association (2010, p.1) as: research, teaching and learning,
service to society and support services.

The Knowledge Skills Triangle on the right illustrates the external-facing relationships and interactions that
relate to the employability agenda. It demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between the developments of the
student and graduate career path and their connection, or prospective role that they play, as part of the HEI’s
external relations, services and HEI-business partnerships.

The links denoted by the label ‘A’ represent the interface for employers with the HEI, namely around services
relating to ‘knowledge transfer or exchange’, as a source for supplying their ‘talent pipeline’ and for the purpose
of providing ‘continuing education’ for the professional development of their workforce. The links labelled ‘B’
represent the journey and direction of the career path for the student and graduate facilitated by the HEI. In
terms of knowledge exchange services, students (undergraduate to post-doctorate level) can be an invaluable

- 53 -
and cost-effective way for employers to tap into the research and at employers. Other provision may include a combination of
knowledge-base residing within higher education. The experience career practitioners, academics, Student Unions and other
of the student taking the role of knowledge exchange agent then HE professionals with external stakeholders also invited to
increases the propensity for the student to become employed in a contribute e.g. employers, alumni, professional associations,
graduate-level role. community organisations etc. Whilst there may be evidence to
illustrate common approaches to ‘what’ and ‘how’ career and
Finally, as alumni, the individual may complete the ‘student employability services are delivered, in contrast the literature
lifecycle’ by then engaging once again with their alma mater in holds limited examples discussing the strategic position of such
any number of ways including: further Continuing Professional services, how they are governed and how such multiple service
Development (CPD); to procure ‘knowledge exchange’ services providers and stakeholders are managed. For this reason there
on behalf of their employer or own business; to provide ‘good- is an greater absence of evidence comparing the relative levels
will’ contributions to the development of current students and; of impact that might help to determine which ecosystems
potentially to make financial donations to the institution as they and governance structures deliver the greatest outputs.
progress through their careers. In summary, despite ‘career
development’ provision being often embedded within ‘teaching Due to this multi-stakeholder delivery framework (see also
and learning’ directorates whilst ‘knowledge exchange’ and CPD Figure 32), it is clear that the employability agenda straddles
is embedded in research and 3rd mission structures, they are not all mission aims, and arguably unlike most ‘core’ HE activity
mutually exclusive areas of activity as far as the work-preparation there might be any number of locations that this agenda
of students and graduates are concerned. As suggested earlier and associated services might reside within across the HEI’s
in this section, the integration of such provision and services management structure. The scope of this review has not included
is likely to create a multiplier effect in terms of facilitating the an examination of the kinds of organic and matrix management
longer term success of such services and partnerships. approaches that might need to be adopted to fully realise the
benefits of such collaborative approaches, nor has it confirmed
It should be noted that the knowledge skills triangle should the degree to which these frameworks already exist or not.
not be confused with the significant amount of literature
associated with the ‘knowledge triangle’ concept, defined by This apparent position suggests that further research might
the European Commission (2015b, n.p.) which refers to “the be useful to surface different models, highlight good practice
contribution of higher education to jobs and growth, and where impact is evident and provide further insight into
its international attractiveness, can be enhanced through discussions that might inform how HEI missions can be further
close, effective links between education, research, and aligned to serve this agenda more effectively. No doubt such
innovation”. However, there are many common references research would assist the HE sector and governments around
and the two frameworks share the same stakeholders. the world by informing approaches that are able to achieve
greater cost-efficiencies, encourage the sharing of best
The report has highlighted a number of employability and practice, facilitate innovation and ultimately improve services
employer services that exist across the global HE landscape, to students, employers and the economy and society at large.
often delivered centrally to students and many directly aimed

- 54 -
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Researchers’ toolkit
Appendix One: HEI-employer collaboration resource
In this table, we have collated a range of HEI-employer collaboration resources.

HEI-employer collaboration resources

Resource Details Source/link
Ball and Manwaring (2010) This QAA Scotland commissioned report www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/docs/
is a guidebook for Work-based learning. publications/making-it-work-a-guidebook-
It contains definitions, strategic and exploring-work-based-learning.pdf?sfvrsn=10
operational guidance, and a variety of tools
to facilitate implementation and review.
BIS (2011) This extensive report has a section www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
exploring ‘employer involvement in attachment_data/file/32421/11-913-supporting-
the curriculum’, in which various global graduate-employability-other-countries.pdf
case study examples are detailed.
CBI (2009) In addition to exploring what universities www.cbi.org.uk/media/1121435/cbi_uuk_future_fit.pdf
and employers are doing to address growing
employability needs, this report details 13
case studies of HEI-employer collaborations.
CBI (2011) This report, based on an extensive survey, www.cbi.org.uk/media/1051530/cbi__edi_
has a section exploring ‘businesses and education___skills_survey_2011.pdf
universities in a new era’, which details
survey results regarding business links with
universities in terms of type and sector.
CBI (2013) This report, based on an extensive survey, www.cbi.org.uk/media/2119176/
has a section exploring ‘putting business education_and_skills_survey_2013.pdf
at the heart of apprenticeships’.
CIPD (2012) A section of this report reviews the www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/learning-to-
role of employers in engaging with work%20survey_2012.pdf
young people and education.
Cole and Tibby (2013) This report provides a framework for www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/
the implementation of HEI employability resources/Employability_framework.pdf
goals, which may be of use for those
developing HEI-employer collaboration.
European Commission (2015) This report explores the state of European ec.europa.eu/education/tools/university-business_en.htm
university-business cooperation. In so
doing, it identifies 8 broad areas in which
universities and businesses cooperate. 4
of these 8 themes are associated directly
with the HE employability agenda. These
include ‘Mobility of students, Curriculum
development and delivery, Lifelong
Learning (LLL) and Entrepreneurship’.

HESCU (2008) This report includes a section on www.hecsu.ac.uk/assets/assets/documents/

graduate schemes and internship PROP_Career_pathways.pdf
opportunities in the voluntary sector.
Mourshed at al. (2012) This report includes a section on mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/
‘delivering skills the right way’, which Education/Education-to-Employment_FINAL.pdf
discusses various types of relationships
between HEIs and employers.

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 HEI-Employer Collaboration resources
Resource Details Source/link
NCUB (2015) The National Centre for Universities www.ncub.co.uk/blog/sip-blog.html
and Business (NCUB) has an interesting
piece on ‘bridging the gap between
university and employment’ in their blog.
In this the ‘science industry partnership’
is detailed as a case study example.
Playfoot and Hall (2009) This report takes a global perspective in www.eee-edexcel.com/xstandard/docs/effective_
exploring the links between education and education_for_employment_web_version.pdf
employment. In so doing, it explores the
relationship between HEIs and employers
through a number of global case studies.
Spada (2012) This report includes a section exploring the www.professionsforgood.com/wp-content/
provision of ‘productive work experience and uploads/2012/03/SocialMobilityToolkit-FINAL.pdf
internship opportunities in a fair manner’.
The Economist Intellligence This report has a section exploring www.luminafoundation.org/files/publications/
Unit (2014) ‘industry-university collaborations, Closing_the_skills_gap.pdf
past and present’, detailing a range
of international case studies.
UKCES (2009) This report contains chapters dedicated http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.
to exploring both ‘employer involvement’ uk/20140108090250/http://www.ukces.org.uk/
and ‘programme design and delivery’. upload/pdf/EmployabilityChallengeFullReport.pdf
UKCES (2014) This report contains chapter dedicated www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/
to exploring both why collaborations Documents/2014/ForgingFutures.pdf
are valuable for higher skills
development, and how to implement
collaboration. In so doing, it draws upon
a range of case study examples.
Wilson (2012) This report details a range of HEI-employer www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
collaborations, including work experiences attachment_data/file/32383/12-610-wilson-
and placements, internships, and knowledge review-business-university-collaboration.pdf
transfer partnerships. In so doing, it presents
a number of case study examples.

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Appendix Two: Measurements and metrics of student employability
In this table, we have collated a range of global metrics commonly referred to in discussions of measuring graduate
employability. Names of the metric and information from the corresponding metric website link are included.

Measurements and metrics of student employability

Name Information Link
Employability league tables
Global Employability University Survey This global ranking surveys over “2,200 emerging.fr/rank_en.html
recruiters from 20 countries” and “2,300
CEOs and Chairs” from the “top 1,000
companies in 20 countries” (Emerging 2014)
High Fliers Research (UK) High Fliers reports are available for www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2015/
purchase. They have also released a graduate_market/GMReport15.pdf
freely available report entitled, ‘The
Graduate Market in 2015’, available at:
www.highfliers.co.uk/
QS World University Rankings Universities can be ranked by ‘employer www.topuniversities.com/
reputation’. This QS ranking include
“surveys of employers, graduate
employment rates and career service
support” (QS Rankings 2015)
Graduate destination surveys
Australian Graduate Destinations Survey “The Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) is the www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/
national census of newly qualified higher surveys/australiangraduatesurvey/
education graduates. Conducted annually
since 1972, the AGS surveys new graduates
from all Australian universities, and a number
of higher education institutes and colleges,
approximately four months after they
complete the requirements for their awards.”
Destination of Leavers from “The Destinations of Leavers from Higher www.hesa.ac.uk/stats-dlhe
Higher Education (DLHE) (UK) Education (DLHE) survey asks leavers from
[UK] higher education what they are doing
six months after graduation. About three
quarters of leavers complete the survey.”
Graduate Employment Survey (Singapore) “The Graduate Employment Survey (GES) www.moe.gov.sg/education/post-
is jointly conducted by NTU, NUS and secondary/files/ges-ntu.pdf
SMU annually to survey the employment
conditions of graduates as at 1 Nov, about
six months after their final examinations.”
Tracking Learners’ and Graduates’ This report by the European University www.eua.be/Libraries/Publications_
Progression Paths (TRACKIT), Europe Association (EUA) hopes to “contribute homepage_list/EUA_Trackit_web.sflb.ashx
to raising awareness of the importance
of tracking by launching a European
debate on this important topic and
also – through the examples of good
practice and the guidelines it provides – by
supporting institutions in developing or
further enhancing their own institutional
tracking approaches.” In so doing, it
discusses graduate destination surveys
in 31 countries via country factsheets.

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UK Graduate Careers Survey (High Fliers) This UK-based graduate survey is based www.highfliers.co.uk/
upon “face-to-face interviews with
finalists and on-campus research groups
with student job hunters. Each survey
provides a unique insight into the career
expectations and aspirations of final year
students – just weeks before they leave
university – and provides a definitive
record of their search for a graduate job.”
Quality assurance agencies and professional bodies
The Australian Association of The AAGE “is the peak industry body www.aage.com.au/
Graduate Employers (AAGE) representing organisations that recruit
and develop Australian graduates.
Our current membership comprises
over 350 organisations, including a
variety of large and small employers
across a wide range of industries in
both the private and public sectors.”
The Association of Graduate Careers AGCAS “The Association of Graduate Careers www.agcas.org.uk/pages/about-us
Advisory Services (AGCAS) (UK) Advisory Services (AGCAS) is the professional
body for careers and employability
professionals working with higher
education students and graduates and
prospective entrants to higher education.”
The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) “The Association of Graduate Recruiters www.agr.org.uk/About
(AGR) is an employer-led membership
organisation, whose goal it is to ensure that
all our members can recruit and develop
the best student talent for their needs and
the needs of the UK economy.” It includes
a “network of over 700 members.”
Asean Quality Assurance Network AQAN’s aims are: “To promote and share www.mqa.gov.my/aqan/
(AQAN), Southeast Asia good practices of quality assurance in aboutus_mission.cfm
higher education in the Southeast Asia
region; to collaborate on capacity building
of quality assurance in higher education
in the region; to share information on
higher education and facilitate mutual
recognition of qualifications throughout the
region; and to develop a regional quality
assurance framework for Southeast Asia.”

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CACEE CACEE is an “association that fosters the www.cacee.com/history.html
essential networking partnership between
Canadian educational institutions and
employers.” CACEE’s membership has
grown “with members representing
almost every Canadian university, many
colleges, and employers across Canada.
CACEE continues to be a growing
association. It consistently provides its
members with valuable networking
opportunities, professional development
and education to employers and career
service professionals across Canada.”
Canadian Association for Co-operative CAFCE “is the voice for post-secondary www.cafce.ca/about-us.html
Education (CAFCE) (Canada) Co-operative Education in Canada and
its mission is to foster and advance
post-secondary Co-operative Education
in Canada. CAFCE members from 79
postsecondary institutions [approximately
80,000 co-op students enrolled] across the
country have worked in partnership since
1973 to develop resources to promote
the highest quality of post-secondary
Co-operative Education Programs.”
Career Service Network Germany (CSND) The CSND is concerned with developing www.csnd.de/
professional career service standards,
and acts as an “interface” for those
interesting in facilitating a “transition”
from HE to the workplace.
Employability skills, graduate careers “EMPLOI aims to be the leading www.eaie.org/home/about-EAIE/expert-
and international internships (EMPLOI) European network of higher education communities/overview/emploi.html
professionals dealing with employability
skills, careers guidance and international
internships. In the current context of
increasing globalisation in education
and industry, EMPLOI aims to support
institutions in preparing their students to
succeed in the global labour market.”
Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) GCA “is the leading authority on graduate www.graduatecareers.com.au/
employment issues in Australia,” producing
“a range of graduate-related publications and
research that informs students, employers
and careers practitioners about industry
and salary trends, graduate employment
opportunities and career development.”
European Quality Assurance Register “EQAR’s mission is to further the www.eqar.eu/register/search.html
for Higher Education (EQAR) development of the European Higher
Education Area by increasing the
transparency of quality assurance, and
thus enhancing trust and confidence
in European higher education.”

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Higher Education Academy (HEA) (UK) The HEA “is the national body for enhancing www.heacademy.ac.uk/about
learning and teaching in higher education
(HE). We are committed to excellent
learning and teaching, supporting UK
HE organisations with an emphasis on
improving the student experience.”
Higher Education Careers “Established in 1972, the Higher www.hecsu.ac.uk/about.htm
Services Unit (HECSU) (UK) Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU)
is an independent research charity
specialising in higher education and
graduate employment.” HESCU seeks to
“support careers advisory services as they
guide students and graduates through
university and into the labour market”.
The International Centre for Career The International Centre for Career http://iccdpp.org/about/
Development (ICCDPP) Development and Public Policy (ICCDPP),
established in 2004, seeks to promote
and improve “policies and systems for
career development services in the fields
of education, training, employment and
social inclusion” in collaboration with,
and for, “policy makers, researchers and
career development professionals”.
The International Network for INQAAHE “is a world-wide association of www.inqaahe.org/
Quality Assurance Agencies in over 200 organisations active in the theory
Higher Education (INQAAHE) and practice of quality assurance in higher
education...INQAAHE offers members many
services, including a journal, a bulletin, a
query service, a good practice database,
and a professional qualification in QA.”
Higher Education Funding “We use resources from the Welsh www.hefcw.ac.uk/home/home.aspx
Council for Wales (HEFCW) Government and others to secure higher
education (HE) learning and research of
the highest quality, make the most of
the contribution of HE to Wales’s culture,
society and economy and ensure high
quality, accredited teacher training.”
National Association of Colleges NACE (2015) encompasses a network of www.naceweb.org/
and Employers (NACE) “more than 6,300 college career services
professionals at nearly 2,000 colleges
and universities nationwide”, as well as
“more than 2,700 university relations and
recruiting professionals, and the business
affiliates that serve this community.”

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National Association of Graduate Careers “NAGCAS is Australia’s peak professional www.nagcas.org.au/
Advisory Services (NAGCAS) (Australia) body for career development in the
higher and tertiary education sectors.”
NAGCAS’ “core areas of expertise are:
career development learning for life;
graduate employability; work integrated
and cooperative learning; university
and employer engagement; and career
development education and policy.”
The New Zealand Association of Graduate “The NZAGE is the industry body educating, www.nzage.co.nz/
Employers Incorporated (NZAGE) and supporting organisations that currently
or wish to recruit or develop New Zealand
graduates. The NZAGE is supported by a
broad range of organisations, including large
and small employers across many industries
in both the private and public sectors. The
NZAGE also seeks to consult with related
associations including careers advisory
services; non profit bodies and entities
which offer services in connection with
graduate recruitment and development.”
Quality Assurance Agency for The QAA is “the independent body entrusted www.qaa.ac.uk/about-us
Higher Education (QAA) (UK) with monitoring and advising on standards
and quality in UK higher education.”
The South African Qualifications SAQA “is a body of 12 members www.saqa.org.za/show.php?id=5658
Authority (SAQA) appointed by the Minister of Higher
Education and Training”.
(SEAAGE) “Founded and based in Singapore, SEAAGE http://www.seaage.org/about-us
is a not-for-profit organisation led by a
panel of graduate employment specialists.
We represent both recruiters and those
with a role in developing undergraduates,
graduates and MBAs. As an independent
organisation run by graduate employers
for graduate employers in South East
Asia, we encourage information sharing
across a broad range of industries.”
Advancing cooperative and work- “WACE is the only international professional www.waceinc.org/
integrated education (WACE) organization dedicated to developing,
expanding, branding and advocating for
cooperative & work-integrated education
programs within industry and educational
institutions. Cooperative & Work-Integrated
Education (CWIE) is a term created by WACE
to acknowledge and embrace all forms of
experiential learning utilized by industry
and educational institutions to prepare the
next generation of global professionals.
CWIE is an encompassing term that includes:
cooperative education, internships, semester
in industry, international co-op exchanges,
study abroad, research, clinical rotations,
service learning and community service.”

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Awards programmes
The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory The “AGCAS Awards for Excellence www.agcas.org.uk/pages/agcas-awards
Services (AGCAS) Awards For Excellence encourage, reward and share good practice
amongst HE careers and employability
practitioners, and their partner organisations,
by promoting high-quality, creative,
innovative and collaborative projects and
high professional standards across the full
range of HE careers and employability work.”
AGR Graduate Development Awards The annual AGR awards welcome “entries www.agr.org.uk/Graduate-
from all AGR recruiting members to Recruitment-Awards
showcase best practice across the entire
sector.” They describe their awards as
those “designed to raise standards; truly
independent; judged by students and fellow
professionals; transparent and open; free
to enter; [and] recognised by the sector.”
Guardian University Awards “The Guardian university awards showcase www.theguardian.com/higher-
best practice, achievement and innovation education-network/2014/oct/22/-sp-
across a range of categories.” A category university-awards-2015-categories
of interest to employability practitioners
is the “employability initiative”, which
is awarded to “to a successful initiative
within the university and/or in partnership
with industry that equips students with
the skills they need for the job market,
provides networking opportunities and
gives them access to potential employers”.
National Association of Graduate “Each year NAGCAS hosts the “Best www.nagcas.org.au/index.php/
Careers Advisory Services (NAGCAS) Practice Award” which is an opportunity conference-2015/conference-2014/
Best Practice Awards for tertiary careers services to showcase best-practice-awards-2014
the innovative projects and activities that
they have been involved in during the past
12 months...A $1000 prize is awarded to
the careers service that is judged to be
an outstanding example of best practice
based on the selection criteria.”
NUE awards The NUE awards “completed its sixth nueawards.co.uk/about.php
ceremony in 2015, benchmarking
success across all stakeholders in the
undergraduate employability market.” The
awards are dubbed “the only Awards in
the undergraduate space”, and have been
“rebranded to the National Undergraduate
Employability Awards to ensure they
represent the widening pool of work
experience opportunities available to
students in today’s competitive market.”

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Reimagine Education Awards “QS Quacquarelli Symonds, in partnership reimagine-education.com/the-team
with The Wharton School SEI Center of
the University of Pennsylvania joined
forces in 2014 to launch the first global
competition to identify the most innovative
approaches in higher education to enhance
learning and student employability.”
Times Higher Education Awards A notable category in the Times Higher www.the-awards.co.uk/the2014/categories
Education awards is the ‘outstanding
employer engagement initiative’. This
award recognises “a strategic and
innovative approach to delivering
employers’ workforce development needs.
It is open to institutions in the UK.”

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