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Implemented by

Ulster University

Employability and Careers Department

Target Groups

Year 1 or 2 students seeking work based learning opportunities.

What is it?

Two 5 credit point Level 4 modules that aimed to develop students’ skills, attributes and qualities to compete for and secure work-based learning opportunities. The Year 1 Module, entitled Developing a Professional Identity, focused on developing students’ online professional presence using digital technologies. The Year 2 Module, entitled Advanced Skills for Work aimed to engage students in their own employability journey to help develop the skills to confidently compete for and secure placement and work based learning opportunities. Both modules were effectively embedded into the curriculum, thus optimising student engagement and learning.  The modules can also be delivered flexibly within the extra or co-curricular framework and can reside within an employability awards framework.

The modules were designed through co-creation with stakeholders including employers and students, and were delivered using a range of creative and innovative teaching and learning practices. These included flipped classroom activities, individual research, paired discussion, mobile interaction, and self-directed learning and assessment. A key component of the Advanced Skills for Work module was an assessed 30 minute one-to-one consultation.

A co-curricular support package was delivered alongside the Advanced Skills for Work module to provide WP students with additional support. This support package included face-to-face and online interactive workshops which aimed to prepare students for placement application, and included topics such as CV development, interview skills, employer networking and confidence building. In addition, students were provided with bespoke email communication which highlighted relevant placement opportunities and support available from the Employability and Careers Hubs

Rationale

A modular intervention allows employability departments to work in partnership with academic leads to provide tailored solutions to strategic priorities such as placement uptake and retention. Modules also enable departments to be flexible and responsive to changes within the graduate labour market.

Student Contact Time

Lecture delivery: 3 hours per module embedded into a core curricular module.

One-to-one consultations (Advanced Skills for Work module only): 30 minutes per student for face-to-face delivery and 10 minutes approximately per student to account for scheduling activities.

Workshop delivery (Advanced Skills for Work module only): 12 hours (1 hour per workshop).

Key Process Considerations

  • To optimise student engagement and the overall learning experience, the modules should be embedded into the core curriculum.
  • Strong support from senior leaders within the institution is required to embed the modules effectively into the curriculum. This can be achieved through the presentation of a strong evidence base (i.e. using institutional data and wider research to highlight the need for the intervention).
  • Strong strategic and operational collaborations with academic staff are necessary to support embedding the modules into the curriculum and to facilitate effective and coordinated module delivery.
  • Strong engagement with students, alumni and employers to optimise the student learning experience.

Employer Input

  • Employers with live placement opportunities should be invited into the curriculum space to participate in networking activities with students.
  • Employers can take an active role in module delivery, assessment and the delivery of wraparound support.

Student/ Alumni Input

  • Current and past placement students should be invited into the classroom/workshop sessions to share insights with prospective placement students through talks and networking activities.
  • Students who receive the intervention should be asked for feedback, and this feedback should subsequently be utilised to tailor the offering.

Academic Input

  • Close collaborative working with academics is necessary to ensure modules are effectively embedded into the curriculum.
  • Students respond positively to targeted, tailored and visual communication around placement opportunities and support. It is important that students are aware that these messages are endorsed by academic colleagues (e.g. relevant module coordinators, placement tutors).   This can be achieved through sharing physical learning spaces (e.g. both employability and academic staff displaying coherence during classroom sessions) and online learning spaces (employability staff sharing online learning spaces such as Blackboard Learn or equivalent with academic staff).

Key Resource Considerations

  • Institutional systems and analytical support from internal colleagues to identify target student cohorts and support evaluation activities.
  • Mechanisms to identify and communicate with WP students discretely.
  • Spaces that facilitate the use of innovative and creative teaching and learning techniques.
  • Access to a centralised system to support the promotion of live placement opportunities to students.
  • Input from highly motivated and inspirational career professionals with advanced teaching expertise.
  • A robust and realistic evaluation plan to evidence impact.
  • An internal framework that facilitates the accreditation of co-curricular modules and promotes quality assurance.
  • The coordination and facilitation of the one-to-one consultations can be a resource intensive exercise. The extent of resources required will be dependent on the size of the student cohort. A combination of paper-based and remote tools can support scheduling and coordination of this activity.

What is the evidence base?

  • Strong gains in confidence and resilience for those students that engaged in the modules. For example, all of the 14 attitude statements displayed positive gains, particularly around students feeling informed about their career goals (+50%) and preparedness towards placement application (+35%).
  • The control group that did not complete the intervention recorded notably lower levels of confidence and resilience than those students that received the modules.
  • Placement uptake increased for targeted students when compared to the four year average.
  • WP students recorded higher gains and had higher final levels of confidence and resilience for the majority of attitude statements than their non-WP counterparts. Further information on the results of the evaluation can be found in the report embedded within the 'Associated Resources' section.

Key Challenges

  • Challenges associated with the resource intensive nature of the one-to-one consultations were overcome by using a hard-copy booking form in the classroom in conjunction with an online booking system which was supported through the Microsoft Office 365 sharing platform.
  • Participatory and interactive teaching and learning practices were a key component of module delivery. However, the large cohorts of students targeted and the teaching spaces available presented some challenges around this element of delivery. This challenge was overcome by utilising online digital tools in the classroom, small group discussion, flipchart feedback exercises and flipped classroom exercises to support deeper engagement with students.

Associated Resources

Contact Details

  • Shauna McCloy (Head of Careers and Employability Services)
  • s.mccloy@ulster.ac.uk