Skills…

What is employability?

• According to the CBI (March 2009) employability is:

‘A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace – to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy’.

Definitions

Attributes - An attribute is an inherent characteristic or quality and is often expressed through what you think, do and feel.

Skills - A skill is about doing something well – your ability to choose and perform the right technique at the right time. It’s usually developed through training and practice.

Knowledge - Knowledge is the information that you know, including theories, facts and procedures, and the ability to apply this information in different situations.

Together, these three elements make up a competency.

What an employer has to say

Employability skills?

• Job searching/seeking skills• Career management skills • Soft skills – see transferable skills• Transferable skills – see soft skills

What do employers want?

CBI/NUS 2011

Key capabilitiesSelf-management – your readiness to accept responsibility, flexibility, resilience, self-starting, appropriate assertiveness, time management, readiness to improve your own performance based on feedback and reflective learning Team working – respecting others, co-operating, negotiating, persuading, contributing to discussions, your awareness of interdependence with others Business and customer awareness – your basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the importance of providing customer satisfaction and building customer loyalty Problem solving – analysing facts and circumstances to determine the cause of a problem and identifying and selecting appropriate solutions Communication – your application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy, including listening and questioning skills Application of numeracy – manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts (eg estimating, applying formulae and spotting likely rogue figures) Application of information technology – basic IT skills, including familiarity with commonly used programmes. Working towards your future: Making the most of your time in higher education – CBI/NUS 2011

What an employer has to say

What does this mean?

NUS and the CBI say that the core foundation of the attributes, skills and knowledge that make you employable is a positive attitude.

“That type of attitude involves a readiness to take part, openness to new activities and ideas, and a desire to achieve results. It underpins and links together the other key capabilities:

4As

• Aware/Awareness• Acquire/Acquisition• Achieve/Achievement• Articulate/Articulation

Articulation• Association of Graduate Recruiters (1995):

‘Few students are able to articulate what they have gained from their experience in higher education’

Articulation (noun)…• the act or process of speaking or expressing in

words• the act or the state of being jointed together

e.g. an articulated lorry

Case study - BHA

• ‘You know - studenty sort of things’• Exaggerating/lying• Trying too hard• Lack of self-belief

QMUL website says...

2014 SESMy course helps me develop the following employability skills:

What skills will you develop?

How to be an effective Course Representative

Skills Checklist

Leadership Interpersonal Listening Speaking Problem solving Presentation Negotiation Team-working Time management

Influencing, negotiation and leadership skillsGained in Staff-Student Liaison Committee meetings. The ability to influence decisions and negotiate effectively will help you when you are applying for jobs after university.

How can you use these skills after University?

How to be an effective Course Representative

Presentation and case-making skillsThe ability to explain things and put forward a clear argument will help you in job interviews and in employment.

Transferable skills (employability)Being able to listen, communicate effectively, organise and manage your time and work with various groups are skills that you can use in any work environment. These are often raised in interview questions.

Experiential Learning Model(David Kolb)

Reflective Learning

Review/reflect

• Reflective Learning – Jenny Moon

Record contemporaneously and re-visit later, posting further reflections/actions.

Learning logDate Activity Duration

(hrs/mins)Verified

Key points

Skills identified

Learning opportunity?

Re-visited

Date Activity Duration (hrs/mins) Verified

Key points

Skills identified

Learning opportunity?

Re-visited

Learning log - exampleDate Activity Duration

(hrs/mins)Verified

08/12/14 SSLC 1.30 Minutes

Key points/issues - Raised issue of lack of lecture recordings on QMPlus

Skills/challenges identified – I was asked how many students would use them and also told that there were concerns that students would stop attending lectures – couldn’t really answer these points. Learning opportunity? – Needed more data to back up my argument. Should have anticipated this response and been prepared to counter it. Will seek advice from SU.Re-visited - Spoke to VP Education. Will raise issue again at next SSLC - will first conduct survey of class to find out how many would use recordings and why. Also will find evidence as to whether attendance has been affected where recordings available elsewhere and what can be done to mitigate this. Will then propose a trial during which usage and attendance can be monitored.

Learning log - exampleDate Activity Duration

(hrs/mins)Verified

15/03/15 SSLC 1.30 Minutes

Key points/issues - Raised issue of lack of lecture recordings on QMPlus

Skills/challenges identified - Presented findings of class survey showing 86% of respondents would use recordings. Majority for revision purposes, but also 19% to replay after lecture to confirm their understanding (as English is not their first language and 2 are dyslexic). Produced details of trial conducted elsewhere showing negligible impact upon attendance, significant usage and positive feedback. Gained agreement to trial of recording key lectures in semester one of next academic year. Presentation, problem solving and negotiating skills utilised.Learning opportunity? - Had I taken this approach for the last meeting, I might have been able to secure a trial for second semester of this academic year. Will need to think things through more carefully in future.Re-visited –n/a

How to get a QMSkills Award

• Attend initial Course Rep Training – ‘How to be an effective Course’.

• Attend 2 other training sessions during year.• Clock up 30 hours of activity• Keep Learning Log.• Produce a piece of reflective writing (1000 words) based

upon 3 key learning experiences from your Learning Log - identifying learning outcomes and skills demonstrated/developed. Also, give reasons why you chose these three examples to demonstrate your employability.

Questions?