Phoenix, June 2020 - The Research Issue

Phoenix ISSUE 160 JUNE 2020

THE RESEARCH ISSUE Why is research important for careers work?

Researching the experience of BAME career practitioners Sending the lift back down: developing a scholarship team within a university careers service

Phoenix is the AGCAS journal

SUPPORTING AGCAS MEMBERS THROUGH COVID-19 In these turbulent times we want to remind you that, as AGCAS members, you are part of a community of experts that will support you through and beyond the challenges currently presented by Covid-19.

In our recent all-member survey, you told us you wanted: 1. Global, national and regional student and graduate labour market information (LMI) 2. More webinars, virtual training and online resources 3. To see the work of AGCAS and its members represented nationally

LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION We are: • Collating Covid-19 related UK labour market information • Working with the Institute of Employers (ISE) and other sector bodies to understand how Covid-19 is impacting employers’ recruitment and development of students and graduates • Bringing experts together to offer their perspective on the impact of the crisis on the national and international graduate labour market, as part of the AGCAS Alternative Conference (15 – 18 June 2020) • Supporting additional online services during this uncertain time for students and recent graduates through NextStepSupport

WEBINARS, TRAINING AND RESOURCES The AGCAS Knowledge Centre is the one-stop shop for resources to inform your practice and support your professional development needs at this time, including access to: • Webinars delivered by AGCAS members, external experts and employers • The AGCAS Research and Knowledge Hub • Online training and CPD opportunities

POSITIONING MEMBERS AS EXPERTS Within the space of a couple of weeks, many of you had moved your entire programmes of activities and events online, sparking new and innovative ways of working with students, graduates, colleagues and employers. This is the message we will continue to convey as we share examples of your practice and represent you to external stakeholders, demonstrating how careers services remain essential during this time and why they are pivotal to wider recovery efforts.

To support the positioning of our profession and our members, we have: • Contributed to a series of Office for Students (OfS) briefing notes • Joined sector-wide groups, including Universities UK’s cross-sector advisory group on supporting graduates in a post-Covid economy • Shared over 40 case studies with UUK and Universities Scotland to highlight how university careers services have responded to Covid-19 with speed, innovation and immediate impact • Joined up with the world’s leading employer and careers advisory associations from Australia, Ireland, South East Asia, South Africa and the United States to deliver a series of webinars that will offer a global insight into the impact of Covid-19 on graduate employability • Written articles for Wonkhe and Luminate and responded to a number of media requests from the national press

We will continue to support and represent you over the coming months and we encourage you to keep in touch with colleagues to share best practice and concerns through existing AGCAS networks, including our Jisc discussion lists, task groups and social media channels.

june 2020

CONTENTS THE RESEARCH ISSUE 5

HY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT W FOR CAREERS WORK?

8 RESEARCHING THE EXPERIENCE OF BAME CAREER PRACTITIONERS

14 GRADUATE SKILLS AND LABOUR MARKET READINESS: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THEIR OWN EMPLOYABILITY

16 A HUB OF RESEARCH AND

25 MEASURING THE IMPACT OF CAREER LEARNING IN A DISCIPLINARY CONTEXT

26 THE I POEM: A TOOL TO AID REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

KNOWLEDGE

10 THE JOURNEY OF A WHITE-BELT PRACTITIONER-RESEARCHER

17 FINDING THE BALANCE IN RESEARCH

12 ADDRESSING THE PLACEMENT MISMATCH THROUGH PEER COACHING AND MENTORING

28 CLOSING THE GAPS: ADDRESSING THE EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES OF CHINESE GRADUATES

18 SENDING THE LIFT BACK DOWN: DEVELOPING A SCHOLARSHIP TEAM WITHIN A UNIVERSITY CAREERS SERVICE

PLUS

20 ENHANCING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE – LINKING DISSERTATIONS TO ATTRIBUTE DEVELOPMENT

22 HOW DO THE BENEFITS OF PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT TRANSLATE INTO AN EMPLOYABILITY CONTEXT?

24 REFLECTION, REFLECTION, REFLECTION: UNCOVERING THE VALUE OF WORK EXPERIENCE

30 RESEARCHER’S DIGEST 32 JOINING JISC – NEW CONVERSATIONS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Phoenix is the digital journal of AGCAS, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services. It is published three times a year.

To find out more about AGCAS, see www.agcas.org.uk Design and production, Marcom (Marketing Communications) Ltd tel. 01225 481734 www.mar-com.net

PHOENIX EDITORIAL GROUP Francesca Bauer Publications Officer, AGCAS

Suzie Bullock Careers Adviser University of Leeds

Jenny Hammond Employability Adviser Liverpool John Moores University

Mary Macfarlane Careers and Employability Consultant Leeds Beckett University Lisa McWilliams Head of Careers and Employability Keele University

Holly Seager Information and Guidance Coordinator The University of Manchester

Ellen Shobrook Educational Development Coordinator University of Birmingham

Rebecca Valentine

message from the

EDITOR THE RESEARCH ISSUE

W

hen we started planning this issue of Phoenix in early March, just like everybody else, we had no idea what was ahead of us. Our core aims were to share insights into the latest research in higher education careers and employability, demonstrate how research can be used to tackle key issues in the sector, and empower those new to research to consider how day-to-day careers and employability practice could become potential research material.

Fast forward a few weeks and it is clear, as the articles in this issue demonstrate, why research is important now more than ever. We can use research as a tool to build knowledge and insights, to inform service innovation, as a stimulus to important conversations, and to enhance our understanding of what’s happening around us.

Just as our lead article states: “research plays a key part in ensuring careers services respond knowledgeably to dynamic and uncertain contexts”. Research-informed careers and employability practice will be crucial in helping students and graduates to navigate an uncertain graduate labour market and the career disruption that will follow the Covid-19 crisis. We know that AGCAS members have already been drawing on research-informed knowledge and insights from the 2008 recession as part of this work.

Over the next few pages you can read about a wide range of research projects, created for different purposes and delivered using various research methods. There are articles that highlight the powerful charm of research funding in gaining institutional credibility and cross-departmental collaboration. You can also read how careers practitioners have positioned themselves to have a seat at the scholarship table to ensure their expert voices are heard as loudly as academics who are engaged in employability research. Other articles highlight the tangible benefits of working with students as partners in research projects and the challenges presented when balancing different drivers.

Doing research can also contribute to a transformation of who we are as professionals.

This issue includes personal reflections from AGCAS members who have undertaken research for the first time, and from others who are more seasoned researchers. Regardless of experience, we hope that the reflections shared will inspire others to embark on their own research journeys and add to the collective mass of careers and employability research. Speaking of which, you can also read about how AGCAS is using a new Research and Knowledge Hub to showcase research covering a wide range of topics, a timely resource to draw on during these unprecedented times.

My thanks go to all article contributors and Editorial Group members who have helped to produce this issue while contending with many other professional and personal challenges.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Careers Consultant The University of Edinburgh

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Gemma Green, Head of External Relations, AGCAS

THE SUPPORTING RESEARCHINTERNATIONAL ISSUE STUDENTS

why is research important for CAREERS WORK?

Fiona Christie, Senior Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and AGCAS Director of Research and Knowledge, and Charlie Ball, Head of Higher Education Intelligence at JISC, share their perspectives on how to get started with practitioner research and what to expect from the experience.

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esearch plays a crucial part in ensuring careers services respond knowledgeably to dynamic and uncertain contexts. It can help make meaning of the world we live and work in, and improve what we do for the students and graduates that we support. Doing research and/or being research-informed can contribute to a transformation of who we are as professionals.

Well-planned research that addresses specific questions contributes to our expertise.

Students and graduates, and the other stakeholders we work with, rely on us to draw on trusted sources. Most of us will have entered this field with vast amounts of relevant knowledge. However, this can date quickly.

Many people associate careers research with large-scale surveys and labour market intelligence. Of course, big quantitative research projects are important, but research can be about many other issues. Careers practitioners are well placed to do research, due to our access to potential participants and networks.

Our action-oriented priorities often mean we are pragmatic in what we focus upon; doing research that aligns with work or organisational priorities can be sensible as long as this does not compromise criticality.

Some practitioners will undertake research either on their own (as part of a Master’s or

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a PhD) or in collaboration with others. Many practitioners will not have time to develop their own research projects, but may have options to collaborate with academics who share professional interests. Engaging in CPD, reading academic publications and publicly available reports, or following media stories all require individuals to think as researchers; at its heart, this means being open to new ideas and viewing information presented critically.

FIONA: PRACTITIONER RESEARCH – QUESTIONS TO GET YOU STARTED

?

What are your questions?

What is it you really want to find out from your research?

Move from a broad topic to specific questions. It can be useful to have one big question that you want to answer, with sub-questions.

What assumptions influence your research?

Before you start planning any data collection or design, think about how you situate your research. Do labour market studies, management, psychology, sociology, social policy, education, career guidance, or geography influence your ideas? Be candid about your bias and include references.

Is your research ethical?

Practitioners are action-oriented and used to working fast. However, if you want your research to have rigour and credibility you need to give time for research ethics and project management. Every university will have its own procedures to follow.

What is your philosophical approach?

There are two broad camps – positivist and constructivist. To generalise, positivists tend to orientate to quantitative data and seek provable findings; constructivists explore questions that are unlikely to have clear answers, and tend to favour qualitative datasets.

What methods will you use?

Methods used may include interviews, surveys, case studies, focus groups or document analysis. Whatever method(s) you use, be able to justify what samples, participants and sources you have chosen.

How to make sense of your data?

Once you have designed a project and collected data, how will you analyse it effectively? Do you want to do statistical analysis with quantitative data? Are you going to do a thematic or discourse analysis, with qualitative data?

CHARLIE: MANAGING PRACTITIONER RESEARCH PROJECTS – BUGBEARS

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Extend your timeframe Take your project timetable – and then assume everything will take longer than you think. New researchers (and experienced ones!) always underestimate how long your institution’s ethical approval process can take.

Define your research question Make sure you have a well-defined research question. It is very easy to be side-tracked, and the more vague your research question, the more vague your data will be. ‘What factors affect employability?’, for example, is a poorly defined question and you will run around in circles chasing a conclusion.

Make analysis match data If you have a small, qualitative sample, it can be tempting to start to do some ‘stats’ on the findings. For example, it is worth capturing that 10 of your 30-strong sample like cheese, 10 love cheese and 10 are barbarians who dislike cheese – it adds context to your qualitative findings exploring the effects of cheese on employability. What is not so good is you saying ‘30% of the sample love cheese’. Percentages are for when you have larger samples. In a 30-strong sample, the important findings are qualitative and using percentages can mislead.

Things will go wrong Research is very rewarding, but it is also hard work. You might not be able to get your sample in time. You might not be able to find

crucial references. Someone else might have done something that looks similar and got different results. It is OK if it is not going well, and talking it through with other researchers will help. They will have all been there.

Reap the rewards Presenting your work to an appreciative audience and knowing it will have an impact is an amazing feeling. Producing findings from your own research and telling people about them is rewarding – and your chance to learn more from your audience.

f.christie@mmu.ac.uk @FCChristie charlie.ball@jisc.ac.uk @lmicharlie

Set realistic sample sizes A huge reason why new researchers get into difficulties is due to sample sizes. Recruiting a sample is hard; getting them all to show up is harder. New researchers severely underestimate how much data an interview can produce, and then they underestimate how much effort is required to transcribe it.

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researching the experience of BAME CAREER PRACTITIONERS

Gill Frigerio, Associate Professor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick, outlines how a study can be shaped from a growing and shared awareness of a professional problem. With input from Doreen ThompsonAddo, Careers Consultant at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Marni McArthur, a postgraduate student on the MA in CEIGHE, this account sets out the dynamics of researching with and for people in the complex and political real world contexts in which we operate.

n 2018, I heard Professor Jacqueline Stevenson carefully lay out the stark truth about the attainment gap between white and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students in UK higher education. She charted the responses from the sector and was merciless about the handwringing and excuses she had heard from sector leaders. It took a white academic speaking to a largely white audience to get this issue up the agenda at Warwick, despite consistent advocacy from black staff and students.

THE POSTGRADUATE EXPERIENCE Much of the discussion across the sector (such as Closing the Gap, UUK/NUS, 2019) has focused on full time undergraduate students.

This got me wondering about the experiences of our BAME students

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on postgraduate professional development programmes and, for the most part, working in the career development sector. I became increasingly aware that the career development spaces I occupy were predominantly white, yet couldn’t find much data or research on racial diversity amongst practitioners. In line with the NUS/UUK report recommendation that we need to facilitate conversations about race, an idea for a project emerged.

CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION Internal funding for pedagogical research requires collaboration across departments, so I invited our medical school (who had already taken steps in this area) and teacher education colleagues to join me in shaping a project. We established research questions to explore the BAME postgraduate student experience in each area and how these compare to their wider experiences in their professional contexts.

In light of this, we posed questions about how experiences of pedagogy at Warwick could be improved, whilst also aiming to have something of relevance to say to the profession as a whole. The project was funded and student researchers recruited.

THIS RESEARCH CAN PROVIDE

A STIMULUS TO IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE AND THE CAREERS PROFESSION BASIS FOR CHANGE The project steering group knows that there are practitioners awaiting our findings, ready to discuss them with us and use them as a basis for change. We think this gives us the best chance of creating something of impact that will contribute to the diversity of our profession and support BAME practitioners.

As soon as I read about this research project I knew I wanted to be involved as a student researcher. I have had an ongoing interest in finding out what others experience within the career development sector, and how they perceive themselves as practitioners more broadly – within their own services and institutions, and with student client groups during professional practice.

I have often reflected on my own experience as a BAME career practitioner and postgraduate student and have additionally noted a distinct culture shift in how higher education as a sector responds to an ever diversifying student body. There certainly feels to me that there is a need for our experiences to be shared and contributed, but also for research like this to stimulate wider discussion within services and across the sector.

We are still at the planning stage, but will soon be setting up student focus groups. We feel privileged to be able to access a student body who are active in applying their student experience to their professional practice. Results of the research should provide some small scale qualitative data, which can be utilised by all career practitioners to enhance working relationships within their own teams as well as with their clients and other institutional stakeholders.

Marni McArthur, Student researcher (postgraduate student, MA in Careers, Education, Information and Guidance in Higher Education The features of this project highlight some significant points about practitioner research: • Begin with a real world problem • Recognise whose voices are needed and where the power imbalances lie • Refine your questions • Take a pragmatic approach to securing the resource and backing needed • Prepare the ground for your findings, sensitising everyone that you want to engage

As a black woman fairly new to higher education careers education, and having recently completed a postgraduate careers qualification at Warwick alongside various practice roles, I was keen to find out more about this research.

When I was accepted to study for the Postgraduate Certificate in Career Development and Coaching at the University of Warwick, I asked myself questions that this research project will explore. Would I be the only black person on the course? Would I feel confident enough to bring up experiences and examples based on race? Would the study materials reflect a diverse range of educators? Would the delivery be inclusive?

This research can provide a stimulus to important conversations about race and the careers profession, adding to existing conversations taking place in areas like academic teaching (e.g. ‘decolonising’ the curriculum), widening participation, closing the attainment gap and the student experience.

Are students more inclined to use the careers service if the staffing and service delivery are more inclusive? What impact could this have on graduate outcomes? These questions arose from a Black History Month focus group I was involved in, focusing on BAME student engagement with the careers service.

Feedback suggested that race does matter to students when it comes to engagement, from how workshops are delivered and who attends employer events, to who they want to book a careers consultant appointment with.

Doreen Thompson-Addo, Careers Consultant, Royal Holloway, University of London

G.Frigerio@warwick.ac.uk M.McArthur@warwick.ac.uk

If you are interested in this topic, and particularly the career and professional development of BAME staff in our sector, do get in touch with any of us.

Doreen.thompson-addo@rhul.ac.uk

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the journey of A WHITE-BELT PRACTITIONERRESEARCHER Leigh Fowkes, Careers and Employability Consultant at The Open University (OU), shares the four important lessons he learned from completing his first research project to inspire those considering taking the first steps into practitioner research.

n karate, the white belt is a symbol for a person’s purity and birth at the start of their martial arts journey, eventually aspiring to black belt levels.

Research has no such grading system.

Nevertheless, I found myself nervously hoping to channel my inner strength as I embarked on the path of my first HECSUfunded research project, Bumping online discussion forums in a social media age, which I completed in late 2019.

Online discussion forums (ODFs) form a prominent part of the OU’s careers and employability provision, facilitating the creation of networked communities involving students, alumni, employers and careers professionals. The aim of my research was to explore the impact and utility of our forums in supporting the career learning and career identity of our students.

To encourage and support other practitioners considering research, I wanted to share the four most important lessons I have learned.

LESSON 1: FINDING YOUR “WHY?”

A RESEARCH PROJECT COULD BE

THE CHALLENGE YOU NEED TO

DEVELOP YOUR CAREER AND HONE NEW SKILLS

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I found the idea of contemplating research and believing I could do it to be the biggest psychological battle. Before you start, find out what is driving you to consider research and let that energy feed you and become bigger than your fears. Why do you want to complete a research project? Have you seen a gap in the literature that your research could fill? Could your research help you better serve students and the wider sector?

A research project could be the challenge you need to develop your career and hone new skills.

LESSON 2: FIND YOUR MENTORS Research doesn’t have to be a lonely endeavour! There will be people and resources you can draw on to harness the strength of collective wisdom. In my report, I make several acknowledgements to people who helped me along the way.

Surround yourself with people and tools that can make you better at research. I secured a de facto mentor and our informal catch-ups were crucial to ensure I was on the right track. You will also find support in university departments when you are seeking ethics approval and compiling data protection plans. Don’t be afraid to use social media: I found myself learning about Braun & Clarke’s model of thematic analysis from a YouTube video made by Braun & Clarke themselves. (The key message I learned was that themes do not emerge).

LESSON 3: DON’T TAKE ON TOO HEAVY A BURDEN There are lots of things to consider when designing a research project, including: • establishing the evidence base through a literature review • having clear research aims and a robust methodology • choosing your modes of analysis • gaining ethical approval • collecting your data • writing up your efforts whilst deciphering research ‘jargonese’ • disseminating far and wide.

Focussing on my research project as a whole felt overwhelming, so I broke it down week by week to include pockets of learning (reading material and watching videos), writing and admin. I used the Planner function in Microsoft Teams and a Gantt chart in Excel to keep myself organised, and everything else fell into place. This approach also meant I could see my progress and celebrate the small successes along the way.

BEFORE YOU START, FIND OUT WHAT IS

DRIVING YOU TO CONSIDER RESEARCH AND

LET THAT ENERGY FEED YOU

LESSON 4: TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS AND JUDGEMENT At the start of my research journey, I kept trying to find the ‘right way’ to design my research. My colleagues’ views, my reading and my experiences all influenced my research design, which made decisions confusing. Over time, however, I found there are no right or wrong answers as long as your approach considers your research questions, your underlying philosophy,

your preferences and skillset. Time spent understanding, justifying and writing down your methodological approach is time well spent. Although I gathered views and listened to feedback, I made my decisions on what felt right for me and the research.

As practitioners, we have a unique insight so use it – and trust it.

WHAT NEXT? I have written about the psychological aspects of first-time practitioner research because that is what can hold us back, but also push us beyond our comfort zone. If you have research ideas, I recommend giving them some breathing space: look for opportunities in your workplace (and externally) and see where they take you. Alongside completing my research report, I have had the opportunity to present my work at conferences and validate the positive impact our career-focused online discussion forums have made to our students. This has influenced further service innovation and scaling, our forum design, quality standards and hosting activity.

We now know online discussion forums have the potential to provide a supportive learning community that connects students with the support they need for their career. Now that we’re all experiencing isolation, my research feels particularly relevant and important.

/in/leighfowkes Leigh.Fowkes@open.ac.uk @careers_chap

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addressing the placement mismatch THROUGH PEER COACHING AND MENTORING Vianna Renaud, Placement Development Adviser for the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, is undertaking her doctoral studies on peer-to-peer employability coaching and mentoring.

A

s a Placement Development Adviser supporting third-year students within the Faculty of Marketing and Communication, I very often see a mismatch between student expectations and the reality of where they ended up on placement. Given the impact of this on student confidence and the overall student experience, I chose to further investigate a possible initiative to help students for my doctoral studies. To gain a holistic perspective, I have drawn upon my involvement as a Trustee for ASET, and activities for the Workplace Division of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the International Association for Student Affairs and Services (IASAS).

Currently at Bournemouth University, there is an established Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) programme on campus, where second-year students support first-year students in their transition to university life.

While Navigating Change: A Typology of Student Transition in Higher Education (Gale and Parker, 2014) confirms that similar peer-topeer learning has been proven to improve the transition to university life and create greater confidence in students, a particular focus on employability and the transition to the sandwich placement is less explored and understood.

RESEARCH QUESTION My research questions stem from how a coaching and mentoring initiative with a focus on employability can impact both first and final-year placement students. For first-year students, I wanted to

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explore their awareness of their own employability, their concept of personal responsibility in the process, their awareness of both campus and external resources available to them, and any change in confidence and knowledge as a result of being coached and mentored by a peer over a period of time. For final-year students, I was keen to explore how they could develop their coaching and mentoring skills to enhance their employability upon graduation and whether or not being a coach/mentor to a peer had made an impact to their own development.

In this project, I matched first and final-year students within the Department of Corporate and Marketing Communications. I created a series of guided one-to-one engagement points to take place over a short period of time. Given that both coaching and mentoring techniques were going to be used, I named the first-year participants M-Coachees and final-year participants M-Coaches.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS In looking at the project design, it was crucial to me that it was a collaborative process with students. I met with all participants regarding their thoughts and expectations about what to include.

I also met with key academic staff for their input and, based upon my own knowledge of the employability and placement domain within higher education, I combined the information to create individual session guidance notes.

The pairs had three to four engagement points, where I left it to them to determine how it was going to be conducted. Students chose to either meet up in person, exchange emails, use Facebook instant

PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO IMPROVE THE

from their peers, how they can learn from doing, and how coaching and mentoring can encourage and support the reflection of this learning, can be effective and impactful.

IN STUDENTS

Whilst I have learned that there are multiple aspects to alter for the next time, I feel that the greatest learning outcome has been to be better aware of student schedules. My initial ideas included having group discussions amongst the participants, but it proved to be impossible to gather everyone together. It was interesting to see that there was a great sense of enthusiasm within some of the pairs where, once paired, they stayed in constant contact. I now know that in the future it will be best to provide all of the guidance notes at the very beginning.

Across the higher education sector, and even more so in the future following the aftermath of Covid-19, universities will be looking for effective, innovative and resourceful ways to support students preparing for both work placements and graduate roles. This smallscale study suggests that peer-to-peer student employability coaching and mentoring can be a good route to build the confidence and knowledge of those preparing for their next employability step.

TRANSITION TO UNIVERSITY LIFE AND CREATE GREATER CONFIDENCE

messenger, or LinkedIn messaging. Whilst surveys were completed at the end of each session, I conducted end-of-project interviews and also had follow-up interviews three months later to document any lasting impact of the interaction.

IMPACT The resulting feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Whilst the first-year participants were compelled, through their contact with their M-Coach, to create their social media profiles and secured work experience for the following summer, the final-year students observed a greater reflection of their own employability journey.

For all participants, a greater sense of confidence and awareness of the next step was achieved, whether securing a sandwich placement or securing a graduate role.

My findings demonstrate that this type of intervention greatly impacts the student experience. Every student confirmed that they wished the programme had been part of their academic curriculum.

This shows that great value is placed on this kind of peer relationship, in addition to support from university staff. The results also suggest that an intervention that is focused around how students can learn

WHAT DID I LEARN?

/in/viannarenaud vrenaud@bournemouth.ac.uk @ViannaRenaud

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graduate skills and labour market readiness: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THEIR OWN EMPLOYABILITY Maxine Swingler, Lecturer in Psychology, and Archie Roy, Careers Manager, at the University of Glasgow, report on a student-focused study, funded by QAA Scotland, intended to gain a multidimensional perspective of where students feel they have got to in their readiness to enter a complex, global graduate labour market.

“It’s [digital skills] becoming super important in ever y single aspect, not just employme nt, but ever yday life, basically. So, going forward, I’m not going to sto p here.”

people from Getting to know ed unds has open diverse backgro lly a t the world is re my eyes to wha of e more aware like. It makes m how re ut I’m not too su globalisation b into ings when I go that changes th rk. the world of wo

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his research was commissioned by QAA Scotland to investigate students’ views on equality of access to skills development opportunities, skills acquisition (including digital skills) and readiness for graduate employment. We used surveys and focus groups to gain in-depth understanding from 327 undergraduate and postgraduate students (51% UK, 26% EU, 18% international) across fifteen Scottish universities. The project was led by a team of academics, a careers manager and student interns.

EFFECTIVE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Our results suggest that higher education institutions are successfully equipping students “…I had to with graduate skills, work par t ti m y expens through academic es, I was o ft e par take in courses, professional extracurr ic ula or social events wh ich w provided oppor tun ities developm ent.”

ersity could “I think the univ the age students in do more to eng ar he I f the degree. earlier years o g /4th years doin a lot about 3rd ry ve ing skills but more and gain years.” little for 1st/2nd

ha skills t s u h an “Teac n d e rs t u s u e h e lp field w of the ike ooks l l t i t a is wh . T ha t d l e fi t he t o u ni v

services support (e.g. the careers service) and student organised activities (e.g. clubs and societies). However, there is room for improvement.

Students were less aware of the embedding of skills in the earlier stages of their studies (i.e. first and second year) and would like more subject-specific careers guidance and workplace experience.

Students are comfortable with their inter-cultural communication skills but feel less equipped to apply their knowledge and skills to the global workplace, citing limited provision and the financial cost of study abroad as perceived barriers to development of global skills.

Students felt equipped with digital literacy and indicated that digital skills are embedded in their studies and learning but felt less confident in professional communication, career and identity management in digital settings.

ime to co ver en unable to ar activitie s would ha ve s for skill

.. need. at we t marke nd t h e nd in a e are a job in g g e t t in c ame we s why .” versit y

PREPARATION FOR THE WORKPLACE

INFORMING EMPLOYABILITY PRACTICE AND HE POLICY

While students are confident that they are developing a broad range of skills relevant to the workplace, they are less confident about how to evidence these skills, how to meet employers’ expectations, and what the realities of the workplace really are.

Given our findings we recommend that higher education institutions consider: 1. Strengthening connections to the workplace and capitalising on informal work experience: for example, by incorporating volunteer, part-time work and internship experiences in the curriculum (Artess et al., 2017).

2. Emphasising global perspectives within the curriculum, by recognising achievements in global skills beyond travel and study abroad: for example, students’ experiences of internships and intercultural group work (Riley, 2012).

3. Providing opportunities to recognise graduate, global and digital skills, particularly in the earlier years of study: for example, by building reflection and articulation of skills development into the curriculum (Bath, Smith, Stein, Swann, 2007).

4. Embedding career management skills and employability training within the subject discipline, and incorporating digital settings (e.g., Copsey, 2018; Kenyon 2019).

5. Providing flexibility in the academic and extracurricular development opportunities on offer for disadvantaged students or those working part-time: for example, online opportunities and local and informal work experience (Heagney & Benson, 2017).

BARRIERS TO SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Students emphasised the importance of personal responsibility for seeking opportunities and support for skills development and most felt their higher education institution had provided equal opportunities for skills development.

Around 20% of students experienced barriers, with extracurricular opportunities viewed as less accessible to students juggling part time work and those with ill health or caring responsibilities.

The goal of our research was to enable future students from all e l b s backgrounds and characteristics a ill e e n n d s k as b to transition successfully to the fi ave and is h w n h h t I , o “ graduate workplace. Working e ep had my ig d ew I ce in in collaboration with academics, d to kn en ws.” r d e fi students and careers advisers v ie n I ne e c o and v m helped us to develop a more e n bi l i t y giv a inclusive perspective on employability (Daubney & Walling, 2019).

Full report: QAA Scotland Focus on: Graduate Skills Student Views.

“I k no w t he s loo k realit y k good on p ills that aper o f a re al bu hours, dif ficu workplace ( t the long o lt custo ver me be lea rned o rs/clients) c due n a un iversit annot c ampu y s!”

Thank you to the co-authors of the report: Maria Gardani, Anna Rolinska, Aikaterini Manoli, Grigorios Kokkinidis, Anoushka Kapoor, William Hasty and Debra Macfarlane

Maxine.Swingler@glasgow.ac.uk @maxine_swingler Archie.Roy@glasgow.ac.uk

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Gabi Binnie, AGCAS Policy and Research Manager, provides an overview of the AGCAS Research and Knowledge Committee and how the work of the committee supports AGCAS members to embed research into their practice.

a hub of RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE

T

he AGCAS Research and Knowledge Committee is a dedicated group of AGCAS members who are passionate about championing careers and employability research.

Members have a broad range of roles and research interests, enabling the committee to identify emerging issues, ideas and gaps in careers and employability research. The committee helps to identify research projects and collaborations that are of the most value to the AGCAS community and lend a critical eye on research projects to ensure that central AGCAS research is robust and of high quality.

Recently, the committee has supported a number of central and task group-led research projects, including: research commissioned by Universities UK International on supporting international students; a HEPI report exploring the policy focus on graduate employment; and a survey by the AGCAS Employer Engagement Task Group exploring the effectiveness of employer engagement activities for universities and employers.

MAKING RESEARCH ACCESSIBLE The committee plays a critical role in helping AGCAS members and groups to develop and manage their own research projects with AGCAS support. Through the research review process, any AGCAS member or group can submit a research proposal and tap into the committee’s expertise to gain feedback

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and guidance. We hope that through this collaborative process we can help any AGCAS member, particularly those new to research, to have the confidence to research topics that are important to them, the careers profession and wider society.

The committee put out a call to action early in April 2020 and we have already received submissions on a huge range of topics, from careers in times of uncertainty to virtual careers service delivery.

FROM RESEARCH TO PRACTICE

Whilst it is difficult to estimate what will happen as a result of the current global crisis, there is a lot that can be learned from previous recessions and periods of uncertainty. The committee hope that the Hub will provide AGCAS members with empirical data and insights to help them to respond as best they can.

Looking ahead, we hope that more careers and employability professionals see the benefit of using research findings in their work and have the confidence to undertake research projects of their own.

It is through these mechanisms, and by drawing on the expertise of the committee, that we will achieve our vision for AGCAS to be recognized as the experts in higher education student career development and graduate employment. In turn, we can grow our abilities to influence policy at a national level to support the best possible career outcomes from higher education for individuals, institutions, society and the economy. This is crucial during economic uncertainty to ensure that any impact on students and graduates is recognised and remedial action put in place to support them.

The committee also acts as a conduit to disseminate knowledge and encourage it to be utilised by AGCAS members in their everyday practice. One of the ways that the committee showcases research is through the Research and Knowledge Hub, which is a repository for articles, research and resources in the field of careers and employability. Any AGCAS member can contribute to the Hub, provided that their submission is researchbased (i.e. based on observation or data rather than opinion). The committee is keen to convey that it is not just academics or practitioner researchers who have valuable research to contribute. As a result, we welcome a wide range of submission types from published journal articles to unpublished dissertations/theses, case studies and media articles.

RESPONDING TO A CRISIS The Research and Knowledge Hub was originally intended to launch in time for AGCAS’s Annual Conference in June 2020.

However, when the Covid-19 crisis hit, the committee recognised the value of utilising the resource to collect research that will help inform members’ practice during this period.

IMPACT AND INFLUENCE

THE RESEARCH ISSUE

finding the BALANCE IN RESEARCH

work-based learning. We also lacked employability infrastructure: we have no cross-institutional employability forum or network, and our approach to embedding employability is somewhat uncoordinated.

The challenge was to balance these internal drivers with the need to make an original contribution to the wider community. One clear example of this was whether the project should centre on focus groups with students, or with staff. From the institution’s point of view, it made more sense to discover whether the model resonated with students, who are after all the end-users. I felt, however, that testing the model with staff – asking whether it could improve the sophistication of employability content in the curriculum, or the way that employability was discussed at strategic level — was a more original and compelling research topic. I reasoned that if testing the model with students was necessary to the university, then it didn’t require external funding: the point of funding was to do work that wouldn’t otherwise be done.

My proposal therefore focused on staff.

THE CHALLENGE WAS TO

BALANCE INTERNAL DRIVERS

WITH THE NEED TO MAKE AN Mary Macfarlane, School Careers Consultant at Leeds Beckett University, describes the personal and strategic aims of her ongoing HECSU-funded research project.

Here, she outlines her approach to balancing the core aims of the research with institutional drivers and value to the wider community of practice, and the incentives and disincentives that external funding creates.

E

arly in 2019, our team discussed a number of challenges, which we condensed down to one question: how do we influence conversations about career development that happen when we’re not in the room? As part of the answer, I developed an employability model which we have started to call the 4Cs. In late spring, we discussed how to road-test the model, and a colleague suggested the HECSU research fund.

With exactly three weeks until the application deadline, it was just long enough to develop a project and write a bid.

PROFILE RAISING Taking part in research as a practitioner wasn’t a specific personal goal (although it was certainly something I was interested in), but taking a more active role in the wider community of practice was.

Beyond personal development, I thought about my strategic aims within the institution. There was undoubtedly a need to raise the profile of employability within the institution, and to strive for a degree of consistency in the ways that teaching staff, senior leaders, and students themselves understood and talked about careers and

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION

TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY REFLECTION: TEN MONTHS IN

Surprisingly, the psychological effects of receiving funding have been more significant than receipt of the actual money. Firstly, it created accountability for me. The research timetable and deadlines I set as part of my application provided just enough pressure to prioritise the project. I did not foresee the flipside, however: I haven’t run any focus groups with students. Not including them in my research plan effectively deprioritised them.

Secondly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, being able to state that work undertaken is for an externally-funded research project can be a powerful charm in a university setting. This has given me the confidence and authority to ask academics for their time, and to approach senior leadership teams and members of the university executive. I have networked well outside my usual path and discovered who talks about employability at a strategic level, and with what degree of sophistication. I have found new allies and developed contacts that might help us create a more robust infrastructure for embedding career development learning across the university.

Over the next few weeks, as I gather my transcripts and data, I will find out whether I have succeeded in answering my research question. I can say, however, that I have met many of my personal and strategic aims. My recommendation to anyone considering a research project is that you should clarify all your different aims at the research design stage, and remember that what you propose will become your priorities. /in/marykmac careercurious.wordpress.com

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sending the lift back down – DEVELOPING A SCHOLARSHIP TEAM WITHIN A UNIVERSITY CAREERS SERVICE

Lynne Johnson, Learning and Professional Development Manager at The Open University (OU), describes the journey the service took in developing a scholarship team and shares the lessons learnt, from the challenge of getting practitioners on board to developing protocols for pitching ideas to the management team.

THE BIGGEST BARRIER WAS PSYCHOLOGICAL:

AN INTERNAL VOICE

HOLDING MANY OF US BACK AND TELLING US

WE WEREN’T CLEVER ENOUGH

OR THAT RESEARCH WAS NOT FOR US 18

PHOENIX JUNE 2020

S

tand up if you: consider yourself to be a curious person; have knowledge of students’ career motivations and barriers that academics may not be aware of; often find yourself asking why students think or behave in a certain way and whether things would be better if you did them this way or that. Sit down if you feel that research, for whatever reason, is not for you.

This is how I launched our Scholarship Team at The Open University Careers and Employability Services (CES) conference in May 2019. We saw nearly all the 50+ people in the room launch themselves to their feet, only to sit back down again. I asked those interested in joining a scholarship group in CES to add their name to the flip chart as they left the room. I left with just two names.

NEW BEGINNINGS A year later we have a CES Scholarship Team comprising 12 members, most of whom are currently active in some sort of employability-related scholarship. If you already have an active and thriving scholarship team within your careers service, you may be interested to see if any of the

challenges we faced resonate with you, or whether you approached it in a different way. On the other hand, if your service is not involved in research, you might be interested in why we felt we needed a scholarship team and how we grew it from such tentative beginnings.

WHY DID WE BOTHER? The increased focus on student employability has encouraged academics to undertake research on students’ employability needs, employer engagement and skills development. At the OU, an Employability Scholarship Network was established to encourage this type of exploration. We noticed, however, that the voice of the careers professional was absent, even though our bread and butter work involved speaking to students about exactly this. Our insight was not being sought or shared; we needed to claim our professional expertise and take our place at the scholarship table.

WHAT WAS STOPPING US? As an operational team, our focus is on delivery and there is no time allocation or budget in our roles for research. There was no protocol of how to move to a more research-focused culture – no road map to

/in/lynne-johnsoncareersprofessional Lynne.johnson@open.ac.uk

WE NEEDED TO CLAIM OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE AND TAKE OUR PLACE AT THE SCHOLARSHIP TABLE get from A to B. The biggest barrier, though, was psychological: an internal voice holding many of us back and telling us we weren’t clever enough or that research was not for us.

REFLECTIONS We recently held a Scholarship Team meeting and reflected on the difference the group has made. One practitioner described how seeing and hearing others within the group going out and getting involved in different research projects gave her the confidence to take the first steps into active research. It’s a bit like the French phrase faire descender l’ascenseur’, she said – send the lift back down. When people have gone up, broken the glass ceiling and benefitted, it is important to send the lift back down so others can follow We are a small but growing group, finding our place at the research table and sending the lift back down for those who want to join us.

For those of you considering embarking on the same journey, here are our top tips: Expect it to take several attempts to encourage people before they come forward. We hosted an academic talking about the institutional approach to scholarship; looked at examples of scholarship; and heard other careers practitioners’ stories as they moved into research. We followed up with those who attended these events and asked them what was stopping them joining. We flew the scholarship flag and we kept it flying high.

Don’t wait until you have all the answers in place and a written protocol of how you will do it and what it will look like. Work it out as you go along. We set up a Scholarship Team in Microsoft Teams and started by sharing why research interested us and what we felt might get in the way, such as lack of time. A slow start, but a start none the less.

Hold regular meetings with your growing group to create momentum and share ideas, knowledge and experience. Keep minutes, identify actions and follow them up.

You have to work hard to create momentum when the ball is not yet rolling.

Link up with other parts of the university who are already involved in research.

We joined training sessions for research staff on research methodology, found mentors and joined academic research teams who welcomed our insight.

Identify the strategic priorities of your service and link any research ideas to them. We developed a pitch form linking an idea to a CES strategic priority to get buy-in from the management team. It made a difference to be clear about the costs in terms of time and money and how these can be weighed against the strategic aims.

PHOENIX PHOENIX OCTOBER JUNE 2020 2019

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enhancing the student experience LINKING DISSERTATIONS TO ATTRIBUTE DEVELOPMENT Dr Vanessa Armstrong, Academic Lead for Employability in the School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sports Sciences at Newcastle University, discusses a study to investigate whether students can identify, understand and articulate the skills developed through their dissertation. The research also highlights the importance and potential impact of working with students as partners in employability research.

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N

ewcastle University’s Graduate Framework was established in 2006 and re-launched in 2019 following a substantive review. The framework is based around 10 core attributes and behaviours: curious, collaborative, engaged, socially responsible, resilient, critical thinkers, confident, creative, innovative and enterprising, and digitally capable. Employers report graduate skills gaps in many of these areas, particularly resilience, problem solving and communication, as highlighted in The Global Skills Gap report (2019).

The dissertation is widely recognised as a key academic component of a degree where students develop many skills and attributes. Here at Newcastle, experiences of academic staff supervising dissertation students indicated that whilst they could see students’ development in many areas of the framework, students themselves were often unaware of this, or unable to articulate it.

RESEARCH APPROACH Following ethical approval, we conducted two final year student surveys, with two different cohorts: one in May (post dissertation) and another in October 2019 (pre-dissertation). We used OMBEA for anonymous data collection during lectures, with approximately 100 students taking part in each survey (around one third of the total cohort). Our aim was to determine students’ expectations for, and reported benefits of, the dissertation project for employability and future plans.

PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFIED THAT THE DISSERTATION HAD HELPED THEM

DEVELOP SEVERAL ATTRIBUTES

INCLUDING CRITICAL THINKING, CONFIDENCE AND COLLABORATION

Pre-dissertation findings (October 2019) • 96.6% of participants expected the dissertation to further their knowledge and understanding of their subject area • Critical thinking was the most cited skill participants expected to develop, with digital capability and social responsibility least cited • Only 62% believed the dissertation would impact on their employability.

Post-dissertation findings (May 2019) • 71% of participants enjoyed their dissertation experience • 69% believed the dissertation enhanced their employability • Participants identified that the dissertation had helped them develop several attributes, including critical thinking, confidence and collaboration.

The internship has allowed me to develop my teamwork skills by working in partnership with another intern and I have been given experiences I would not have had the opportunity to partake in, such as running a focus group, which aided my confidence in leadership and public speaking.

Emily, Student intern, MA Law

Additionally, when working independently, I had the opportunity to develop information retrieval skills as well as analysing data from the surveys conducted. I also enjoyed the aspect of organising and conducting the focus group, as having never done this before, I learned a lot from the process and the feedback given.

Ramandeep, Student intern, BSc Biomedical Sciences which will emphasise where skills can be developed. We are also piloting an Open Badge to recognise student engagement with career development activities. Some of the survey comments suggested students were experiencing isolation and loneliness during their final year of study, so an event promoting the support and opportunities available to students will take place each semester to address this.

Finally, we plan to continue to repeat the two surveys each year to ensure the link between attributes and the dissertation is reinforced.

We have an additional survey (post dissertation) planned for May 2020. Whilst the second focus group and student interviews can no longer take place on a face-to-face basis, we are also exploring options for running some remote focus groups.

STUDENTS AS PARTNERS We also carried out a focus group (seven participants) in October 2019 to explore students’ understanding of the Graduate Framework and the relationship between this and their expectations of the dissertation. The focus group revealed a lack of understanding about the meaning and applicability of some attributes included in the newly-launched framework. Participants also suggested a wider range of available projects could help allow the development of more of these attributes.

We recruited two student interns to work with academic and careers staff on the project, who were crucial to the project’s success. They assisted with survey design, running the focus group, which included innovative activities to engage participants, creating presentations and reports on our findings, and suggested actions to address key themes emerging from these. Through working alongside academic staff on a live research project, they too have developed their confidence and skills in many ways.

RESPONDING TO THE FINDINGS The findings have led to planned sessions and new projects to further enhance students’ experiences of undertaking their dissertation.

We have developed a session to introduce the Graduate Framework,

Acknowledgements: Emily Jeffreys and Ramandeep Dhanoa, our student interns.

Dr Jessica Jung, for her enthusiasm and input, and module leaders Dr Simon Wilkinson and Dr Catherine Méplan.

We also very grateful that we received a University Education Fund Development Grant in order to carry out this project.

/in/vanessa-armstrong vanessa.armstrong@ncl.ac.uk @DrVanArm

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how do the benefits of peer-to-peer support TRANSLATE INTO AN EMPLOYABILITY CONTEXT?

Paul Gratrick, Employability Business Partner at the University of Liverpool, outlines a HECSU-funded project to research the use of peer-topeer models in an employability space and key stakeholders’ perceptions of this design and delivery method. n 2018, the University of Liverpool holistically redesigned its service to achieve scale in employability delivery and to increase student engagement, with one element being the introduction of the UK’s first student-led frontline service. A roster of 20 current students operate our Career Studio.

There are known benefits to peer-led models. In a context where there is increasing need for wellbeing support, peer-led scenarios can lead to lower anxiety in students (Roger & Tremblay, 2003). Peer-topeer interactions also contribute to students making new social connections (Glaser et al, 2006) and students who engage in peer-models have higher levels of university integration (Collings, 2014). Amongst these

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benefits, strong clarity is required on the role of each participant in a peer-to-peer scenario (Colvin & Ashman, 2010). It has also been noted that there are significant benefits to the peer-leader/mentor in such models (Dennison, 2010).

RESEARCH DESIGN To ensure our Careers Studio model was operating effectively, we sought HECSU funding to explore two research questions: 1. How do the known benefits of peerto-peer support translate into an employability context for the purposes of enabling a service to effectively scale its offer to stakeholders?

2. What components are needed to successfully implement a service-wide change process for the benefit of key stakeholders?

THE LEVELS OF POST-VISIT ACTIVITY ARE

EXACTLY WHAT WE AIM TO ENCOURAGE

AS PART OF OUR NUDGE THEORY APPROACH

We began surveying students from September 2019, ending in March 2020 due to Covid-19 campus closure. To examine best practice in service redesign, a series of focus groups with key stakeholders were due to take place in Spring 2020, but these were postponed. However, we have been able to

gather enough data before the unexpected disruption.

All student interactions were recorded.

In the week following their Career Studio visit, students were emailed a digital survey to complete. The survey was sent to unique visitors in each semester, with the incentive of a monthly prize draw to encourage completion. During the survey timeframe we received 267 viable responses from 2,590 unique visitors. This gives us a confidence level of 90% and margin of error of 5% in our findings, leaving them statistically significant.

KEY FINDINGS We asked students about their interactions with Career Coaches. The Career Studio needs to be a welcoming space and we know that it’s important that people understand their roles in peer situations (Colvin & Ashman, 2010). Students agreed that coaches were friendly (99%), knowledgeable (89%), trustworthy (93%), and that they had outlined how they can help (91%).

Glaser et al (2006) and Collings (2014) established how peer models help make new connections and aid integration. Asking students about this, we saw that: • 79% strongly agreed/agreed that the Career Coaches related to their personal situation • 77% were very positive/positive about discussing their query with another student • Only 5% were unaware that the Career Coaches are current students

/in/paulgratrick paul.gratrick@liverpool.ac.uk @paulgratrick

Actions taken as a result of visiting the Career Studio

Career planning (2%) LinkedIn update (7%) Interview prep (3%) Job searching (16%) Researching (5%) Go to event (24%) Updated CV (20%) Take on a new role (7%) Applications (16%)

agreed/agreed that the opening hours suited their needs and that the drop-in element gave them control. 22% would have preferred a booked time and 15% were less likely to attend given the drop-in system. Whilst low, there is a need to understand if this 22% have some shared characteristics. Finally, with a net promoter score of 43% (55% rating 9-10, 12% rating 1-6 on a 0-10 scale) we feel confident that students value this new space and will inform their peers of its effectiveness.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS • 81% strongly agreed/agreed that employing students to work with other students creates a vibrant, inclusive university community • 77% were very likely/likely to engage with other areas of the university having visited the Career Studio Whilst visiting the Career Studio enables wider university integration, only 36% of respondents felt that they had made a connection with someone who can ‘help you with your future career and grow your network’, with 31% unsure if this had occurred. This indicates we could perhaps do more to articulate the role of the Career Coach, but students are appreciative of the role they do.

The Career Studio is there to help students to feel less anxious about their career. Before visiting, 40% of students were anxious/ very anxious about their career and only

WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT

STUDENTS VALUE THIS NEW SPACE AND WILL INFORM THEIR PEERS OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS

28% were very positive/positive. After visiting, this changed significantly, with 9% feeling anxious/very anxious and 68% very positive/positive. Such a shift in anxiety levels is very heartening.

91% of students either completed the actions they had agreed with the Coach, or took additional career actions. The levels of activity post-Career Studio visits are exactly what we aim to encourage as part of our nudge theory approach. Following a thematic analysis of free text responses, the majority of students went to careers events, updated their CV or began to search for jobs.

90% indicated that they are likely to return in the future for further help. 95% strongly

Areas to develop further include how we can ensure students come out of their Career Studio experience feeling that they made useful connections. We will also explore why a minority would have preferred a booked time slot. Overall, the Career Studio is enabling increased engagement: visits have increased 76% this academic year, despite the early physical closure. Scalability has been achieved with faculty teams now focusing on curriculum work and not frontline delivery.

The benefits of peer models are coming through in this context, with lower anxiety levels after visits, and students understanding the role of Career Coaches, taking actions and integrating more with the university.

With contributions from: Elissa Day, Emma Moore, Alexis Nolan-Webster and Iwan Williams.

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reflection, reflection, reflection: UNCOVERING THE VALUE OF WORK EXPERIENCE

Rebecca Valentine, Careers Consultant at the University of Edinburgh, discusses findings from a HECSU-funded project investigating the value of work experience for students and graduates.

Work experience is a broad term and the findings from this project highlight the value of reflection in supporting students to gain maximum benefit, whatever their experience, and in the development of a graduate identity.

E

ver since the publication of the Dearing Report in 1997, there has been widespread recognition that a degree alone is not enough to secure employment after graduation. In the 20 years since its publication, higher education institutions have responded with a wide range of initiatives to support students with developing their employability. One means has been to support students to obtain and make the most of work experience whilst at university. This comes with the assumption that this is valuable for both students and employers.

The aim of this research project, Experience Works? Exploring the Value of Work Experience, was to look at the value of work experience for students, graduates and employers and to examine the benefits of different types of experiences to develop a more nuanced understanding. The concept of work experience is very broad and experiences such as paid part-time work and extracurricular activities have been largely ignored in the work experience literature. Yet, such experiences are crucial for many students who rely on paid part-time work and for those entering sectors where structured experiences, such as internships, are in short supply.

DATA COLLECTION We used a mixed methods approach for data collection.

We conducted interviews with 15 employers recruiting from the university, a survey of students participating in the Edinburgh Award: Work Experience (60 respondents), and semi-structured interviews with seven graduates who were between one and three years into their careers. Alongside this we conducted a review of the work experience literature encompassing all forms of experience, including internships, placements, volunteering, paid part-time work and extracurricular activities.

WHICH SKILLS? Employers identified their key skill requirements as creativity, problem solving, critical and systems thinking. Employers also cited the importance of other psychological factors, including selfmanagement, flexibility and resilience. Work experience was seen as an opportunity to develop these skills in a pressurised environment, but employers were open to a range of different types of experience.

To them it wasn't important where the students had got the experience, but that they could articulate and evidence the skills they’d gained.

Students reported a wide range of skills developed through their part-time work, with communication and working under pressure the top skills developed. The concept of a ‘hierarchy’ of experience is also partially supported by the survey data: 37 students reported that they perceived employers to regard directly relevant work experience as the most important type of experience.

Graduates similarly reported a wide range of skills developed through their work experience, including problem solving, communication, organisation, confidence and time management.

They also identified that their experiences supported them to develop skills that might feature less prominently in the academic domain, including teamwork and presentation skills. Several of the graduates had reflected deeply on the value of their experience in supporting them to become more rounded and motivated individuals. This supports the findings from some of the work experience literature on the role of work experience and reflection in supporting the development of a graduate identity (Holmes, 2015; Jackson, 2017).

There is also a wealth of evidence in the literature which points to the value of reflection before, during and after experience in supporting students to derive maximum benefit from it (Artess, Mellors-Bourne and Hooley, 2017).

IT TAKES ALL TYPES There was clear evidence from students, graduates and employers that all types of work experience have value and the key lies in students being able to reflect on those experiences, identify skills gained and articulate this. This finding has particular relevance now, at a time when students may be undertaking virtual work experience or paid work in key sectors of the economy unrelated to their career aspirations in order to support the nation through the Covid-19 pandemic.

/in/rebeccavalentine rebecca.valentine@ed.ac.uk @BeaValentine

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THE RESEARCH ISSUE

measuring the impact of CAREER LEARNING IN A DISCIPLINARY CONTEXT

B

Tony Taylor, Careers Adviser at the University of Hull, outlines a research study evaluating the impact of curriculum-based career management skills (CMS) on the career readiness of final year students.

uilding upon my earlier research evaluating career management skills, this study sought to gain an understanding of students’ perceptions of their career readiness for making the transition from undergraduate study into either work or further study. I was particularly interested in the perceptions of finalists in order to be able to better support this group of students at a time when the future of graduate jobs is uncertain, and graduate underemployment is likely to rise over the coming decade.

COMPLEMENTING TEACHING The participants in my study, Biomedical Science and Human Biology undergraduate students, have all taken a compulsory Level 5 module. The rationale for the module is to increase student employability through a focus on personal and career development, and research skills in biological disciplines that will complement teaching in the Biomedical Sciences portfolio of programmes. One of the aims of this module is to enable students to reflect on their career development and identify transferable skills gained during their degree programme.

Although the current module evaluation questionnaire poses the question “I feel that

what I learnt was useful and relevant for my current or future career”, I wanted to investigate the career readiness of students who have taken a module with career management skills (CMS) embedded within it. In addition, the School wanted to know whether the syllabus covered by the module was useful in enhancing the employability skills of their finalists.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS Data was collected by online questionnaire.

The questions focused on students’ perceptions of the impact of embedded CMS upon their career readiness. The questionnaire had a 20% response rate which, although low, is an adequate response rate for a class size of under 150 (Nulty, 2008). I found 69% of participants made a positive self-assessment about their career readiness compared to 15% of participants

THIS STUDY SUGGESTS THAT THERE

IS SUBSTANTIAL VALUE IN CAREERS SERVICE INPUT

TO ACADEMIC MODULES

who did not. It is clear from these results that there is a relationship between participation in the module and positive perception of career readiness. Though a correlation does not necessarily signal a cause, this study does suggest that there is substantial value in careers service input to academic modules.

This study provides evidence to suggest that a module with embedded CMS is an effective strategy to enhance the career readiness of students. It encourages students to develop a plan of action towards their future career, carry out relevant research into career options and take a targeted approach to applications. The study suggests that when career learning is situated within students’ disciplinary context, there are considerable employability benefits. This research is replicable in other academic disciplines to enable an evidence-based review of employability support that might have a positive impact on the transition process.

/in/tony-taylor a.r.taylor@hull.ac.uk PHOENIX JUNE 2020

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The I Poem: A TOOL TO AID REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Dr Elizabeth Dinse, Careers and Graduate Employability Adviser at the University of Central Lancashire, provides an insight into her PhD which explored assumptions and professionalism in IAG practice. Here, she shares her findings into the nature of reflective practice and discusses a tool to aid to reflective journaling.

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n 2006, I applied for a PhD studentship. I had been exploring my own doubts in my outreach practice as an Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) practitioner and my enquiry developed out of critical insights on my own ‘whiteness’ and my taken-forgranted assumptions. This resulted in me discovering my own reflexive voice, which was captured in my journal.

REFLECTING ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE As my research progressed, in my thesis – Taken-forGranted Assumptions and Professionalism in IAG practice – I questioned both myself and our practice as careers professionals. I engaged with practitioners across our sector, including those working in roles in HE, FE, schools and colleges, on the topic of reflective practice. I also presented at several professional conferences and workshops during the early research and data collection phase.

My research unearthed numerous findings: • Although practitioners described themselves as reflective and used self-reflection, this was insufficient to unearth their takenfor-granted assumptions.

• Reflective practice had itself become taken-for-granted and did not achieve what it advocated.

• Time pressures in the workplace had an impact on practitioners’ capacity and/or opportunity to reflect.

• Practitioners did not appear to use tools or processes to assist their reflective practice.

SEARCHING FOR TOOLS While doing my research I was mindful that I was also searching for a tool that would help other practitioners with their reflective practice, especially when it came to writing a reflective journal.

When I was analysing some of my research I used a voice-centred method of data analysis, known as the Listening Guide Methodology (Gilligan et al, 2003) and I realised that this helped the first-person voice to emerge and appear powerful. As I progressed and used the tool more, I realised that this could be the aid to reflective practice that I was looking for.

My research concluded that the I Poem aspect of the Listening Guide Methodology: • Draws attention to practitioners’ self-statements.

• Enables practitioners to see the wood for the trees and to identify what might otherwise have been overlooked or seen as ‘innocent’ and ‘irrelevant’ emotions and negative language (Bolton, 2010).

• Can also help to foreground implicit, taken-for-granted elements of practitioners’ world views that were previously hidden within their writing.

Therefore, I concluded that the I Poem can be used to aid reflective journaling and helps the writer return to his/her journal and unearth their first-person voice to add a further layer to their reflective practice.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE Since the completion of my PhD, my findings and knowledge have been used to develop several resources. Through the support of a writing group at The University of Central Lancashire, I have started sharing my findings with a wider audience. I also decided to self-publish from my thesis via Amazon. My first publication, Reflective Practice Made Easier: A new concept in reflective journaling, is a handy diary/journal with a bit of a difference. It has a short section discussing reflective practice and also offers different concepts for exploration. The second is A reflective journal...to self discovery, a lined journal which includes space to write. Both share new ideas to help gain a deeper insight into journal entries.

There has been a wide range of interest in my research and I have started to share it further with academics at my own university, via lectures for our BA and MA students who are studying Reflective Practice modules, and with our Partnership Colleges that deliver PGCEs as an aid for NQTs. My resources have also been shared at a recent iCeGS and CDI research conference, by academics who deliver careers guidance courses to students, and an academic colleague at the University of Cumbria is also interested in using the resources for a nursing module, to gain insight into lived experiences of new nurses.

AS A PROFESSION, WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES OF THE IMPORTANCE OF

QUESTIONING OURSELVES

AND OUR PRACTICE SAFE SPACE

My research concluded that reflection itself has become takenfor-granted and, as a profession, we need to remind ourselves of the importance of questioning ourselves and our practice. If we don’t, what will the impact be for our clients? The I Poem tool and the supporting resources I have developed provide a structured and safe space to reflect, offering professionals a way of hearing their first-person voice which they may have missed or not even heard in the past. At a time when many of us have more time and flexibility, why not embrace reflective practice to enhance your practice and our profession? /in/drlizdinse edinse@uclan.ac.uk

PHOENIX JUNE 2020

27

THE RESEARCH ISSUE

closing the gaps: ADDRESSING THE EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES OF CHINESE GRADUATES Xuan Feng, Director of Personal and Career Development & Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour, and Martin Lockett, Dean & Professor in Strategic Management, are based at Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) China. Here, they share findings from ongoing research, which has unearthed discrepancies in students’ perceptions of employability skills and attributes and what employers value in practice.

A

decade or two ago, foreign graduates from mainland China were rare and highly sought after by domestic and international firms; good jobs were easy to find and a foreign degree had a distinct advantage.

Today, with the rise in the number of overseas returnees and the increased global competitiveness of domestic university graduates, holding a foreign degree no longer guarantees Chinese graduates brighter employment prospects once they return home from overseas study. Moreover, despite sustained economic growth, China is facing a relative economic slowdown as well as local and global challenges from Covid-19. All of these factors make it more challenging for Chinese international graduates seeking work in China, or in overseas subsidiaries of Chinese multinational companies, to land a satisfactory job.

Logistical reasons can explain some of the employment challenges, such as the time gap between overseas students’ graduation season and the job-seeking season in China.

Students and universities’ unfamiliarity with the domestic job market are another factor.

However, we have found a deeper cause: gaps in understanding between employers and students, notably discrepancies between the skills and attributes employers look for and those which graduates focus on developing.

RESEARCH PLAN Starting in late 2018, we launched an extensive research project to compare student and employer perceptions of the most important employability skills and

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PHOENIX JUNE 2020

attributes, as well as to identify new areas of student career development for the university. We held focus group discussions with students from Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) China and selected Chinese employers in east China to understand their perspectives.

With their input and a thorough literature review, we developed two comprehensive surveys for Chinese employers and students from NUBS China respectively. The two surveys of 137 students and 38 employers used the same 23 employability-related factors, covering degree and disciplinary knowledge, employability skills, personal and professional attributes, work attitudes and experience.

PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE The research unearthed discrepancies in students’ perceptions and what employers value in practice. Students prioritised discipline knowledge, grades and internship experience above soft skills and personal career planning. Employers emphasised qualities such as learning agility, proactivity and sense of responsibility, plus the ability to work with people and in teams. Most notable was employers’ strong emphasis on ‘learning agility’ – a person's ability and willingness to learn from experience and apply this to improve future performance.

Given the accessibility of online information and pace of change of specific knowledge in many fields, Chinese employers expect young graduates to keep pace with realworld changes through learning, and to be ready to take on and succeed in unfamiliar tasks. When making hiring decisions, today’s employers give more weight to graduates’ abilities to learn from past experience, proactively initiate action and apply ongoing learning; they focus less on students’ current knowledge and previous accomplishments,

HOLISTIC STUDENT EMPLOYABILITY FRAMEWORK Personal Qualities • Learning agility • Proactivity and personal responsibility • Resilience and learning from failure • Adaptability • Innovative and entrepreneurial mindset

Domain Understanding • Scanning the environment • Specific domain understanding for the industry • Ability to match certain strengths and competencies with employer

Self-awareness • Clear career interests • Personal passions and goals • Core personal and work values • Know own potential

Working With People • Compassionate and mindful • Collaborative • Ability to work with global teams • Integrity

HOLDING A FOREIGN DEGREE NO LONGER GUARANTEES CHINESE GRADUATES BRIGHTER

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS ONCE

THEY RETURN HOME FROM OVERSEAS STUDY such as successful completion of internships.

Furthermore, employers identified gaps in students’ knowledge of themselves, their personal strengths and self-awareness, such as career goals and areas for development, as well as of careers and industries.

Prioritising discipline knowledge and grades above soft skills and personal career planning meant that students fall short of expectations in getting their first job as well as advancing their future careers.

FRAMEWORK, STRATEGIES, PRACTICES Our research identified development areas for employer and student engagement, such as providing students with opportunities to work on non-internship projects (for example, company sponsored dissertations). More

WE NEED TO GUIDE CHINESE STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING BOTH GREATER SELF-AWARENESS AND A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIES

meaningful interactions with employers could be created through guest lectures and company visit learning experiences as part of courses, as well as employer-driven skills training and mentoring inside and outside the curriculum.

Based on the empirical results, we propose a holistic student employability development framework that meets Chinese employers’ expectations and bridges curricular and extracurricular activities.

For western universities dependent on Chinese international students, it is essential to understand the causes of any employment challenges and to continue to develop relevant career development strategies and practices in order to enhance Chinese graduates’ competitiveness.

Our research has highlighted that universities and business schools need to play a stronger role to guide Chinese students in developing both greater self-awareness and a deeper understanding of employment and industries. To this end, collaborative activity between careers services and academic faculties to integrate work experience and the application of knowledge into programmes remains crucial.

/in/xuanfeng xuan.feng@nottingham.edu.cn /in/mlockett martin.lockett@nottingham.edu.cn nottingham.edu.cn/en/business

PHOENIX JUNE 2020

29

RESEARCHER’S DIGEST

Dr Julia Yates, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at City, University of London, shares her latest digest of careers-related research.

01

GENDERED PERCEPTIONS OF OCCUPATIONS

Hancock, A. J., Clarke, H. M., & Arnold, K. A. (2020), Sexual orientation occupational stereotypes, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103427.

We all know that stereotypes of jobs exist and that, despite our best efforts, they influence career choices, often limiting individuals’ horizons and reinforcing social inequalities. However, although they are widespread and invidious, they aren’t really very well understood.

The authors of this study (based in Canada) examined occupational stereotypes linked to sexual orientation, asking participants to say whether they would assume someone doing a particular job would be likely to be homosexual or heterosexual. They identified six ‘gay jobs’ (by which they mean that most participants said that they would assume that a man working in one of the roles would be gay): hairdresser, make-up artist, fashion designer, dancer, dressmaker and interior decorator. In contrast, they found no occupations which they could similarly categorise as ‘lesbian jobs’. The lack of ‘lesbian jobs’, they suggest, could be linked to the invisibility of lesbian sexuality in the workplace – the failure of others to recognise the significance of lesbian sexuality. The study also found (unsurprisingly, but disheartening nonetheless) that male jobs tend to have higher prestige than female jobs, and gay jobs have lower prestige than heterosexual jobs. On a slightly more optimistic note, they also found that gendered perceptions of occupations are lessening over time.

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PHOENIX JUNE 2020

02

MEDICAL SPECIALISM AND GENERAL PRACTICE

Harris, M., Wainwright, D., & Wainwright, E. (2020), What influences young doctors in their decision-making about general practice as a possible career? A qualitative study, Education for Primary Care, 31(1), 15-23.

I thought this one might be of particular interest to those of you working with medics, helping them to choose their specialisms. There is a significant shortage of GPs in the country, and the authors of this study spoke to medical students to try and shed some light on why general practice is not as popular as other medical specialisms. They found that GPs were often the butt of jokes amongst the medical students, but that this kind of banter did not seem to actually influence medics’ choices. The students saw plenty of positives within general practice, seeing that GPs have interesting and varied jobs. However, it seems that they are put off by the isolation and loneliness that they associated with the specialism. This is an interesting finding and one that the medical profession might be wise to address. Students’ views were influenced by their experiences on placement, so that might be a useful place to start.

03

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF CAREER MODULES

Osborn, D. S., Sides, R. D., & Brown, C. A. (2020), Comparing Career Development Outcomes Among Undergraduate Students in Cognitive Information Processing Theory–Based Versus Human Relations Courses, The Career Development Quarterly, 68(1), 32-47.

I’m always on the lookout for articles that offer some evidence of the benefits of career interventions, so I was pleased to find this study exploring the impact of a university careers module. The 50-hour employability module was based on the Cognitive Information Processing Theory of Jim Sampson and colleagues (if you haven’t come across this before, do look it up – it’s definitely worth a read) and focused on self-knowledge, knowledge of options and decision making. The study compared 150 undergraduate students on the careers module with 50 similar students enrolled on a human resources module at the same time. Their results were encouraging, finding that compared to the control group, the students on the careers module made small but significant gains in career decision state, cognitive information processing skills, career decision‐making stage, knowledge of next steps, and anxiety about current career concern, although no significant improvement on their decision making. It’s definitely good to see some evidence that career modules have a positive impact on students’ career skills, but I did find it a bit disheartening to note that the improvements, although significant, were small. This seems a disappointing return on 50 hours of input.

04

EXPLORING CAREER INACTION

Verbruggen, M., & De Vos, A. (2020), When people don’t realize their career desires: toward a theory of career inaction, Academy of Management Review, 45(2), 376-394.

This is one of the most interesting articles I’ve read for some time, as it goes some way to explaining a phenomenon I have observed through the years (possibly even experienced myself). Career inaction is the term used to describe a client who knows what they want and knows what they need to do, but still does nothing. The authors offer a theory to account for it, suggesting it is stimulated by two common human tendencies – delaying decision making and avoiding action.

Building on an area of research called the psychology of doing nothing, they highlight three reasons for inaction: 1) fear and anxiety, which are often associated with uncertain outcomes; 2) short term thinking, which leads to people prioritising their short term comforts over long term ambitions; and 3) cognitive overload. These three are all commonly associated with career decisions, as career choices almost always have uncertain outcomes, often require some short term sacrifice for long term gains, and can be hugely complex, requiring a lot of cognitive power. Career inaction eventually leads to counterfactual thoughts – mulling over what might have been, which can lead to self-blame, regret, low self-esteem, low job satisfaction and even poor health. Career guidance can help by encouraging people to try to make sense of their decision, to see it within the context of a whole career story, and to forgive themselves.

If you would like further details about any of the research featured in this issue’s round-up, please email julia.yates.1@city.ac.uk

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

THE RESEARCH ISSUE

JOINING JISC – NEW CONVERSATIONS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Nearly 50 years after CSU was first set up by Universities UK (then CVCP), HECSU Prospects joined with fellow sector agency Jisc on 1 May this year to form its student services directorate.

HECSU Prospects’ charitable mission to support the work of careers services is now embedded in Jisc’s charitable objectives. Jayne Rowley, Executive Director of student services at Jisc, looks forward to the next 50 years.

W

e could not have imagined that our next chapter would begin in such extraordinary and turbulent times. Our priority has been to answer the call from Universities UK, careers services and recruiters to deliver services to support students and graduates completely online.

RESPONDING TO THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS We recently joined an emergency summit convened by Universities UK that brought together major players in graduate employability, including AGCAS and ISE, to discuss how we ensure that sufficient support is provided to graduates who are entering the labour market during the coronavirus crisis.

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PHOENIX JUNE 2020

As well as exploring what immediate actions are required, we discussed the long-term implications for what we do now.

In response to the pandemic, one of our immediate actions has been to review content throughout prospects.ac.uk to ensure it is relevant to current times. We have also focused on pushing out advice on pertinent topics through our core online channels, such as newsletters and social media.

We have turned to virtual fairs to ensure students and graduates continue to have a forum to meet employers and educators while campuses are closed. Interest in postgraduate study has snowballed over recent weeks. The Prospects Postgraduate Virtual Fair last month was attended by nearly 2,000 students and graduates from all over the world. About 30 universities exhibited and more than 170 representatives managed to talk to almost 1,000 students about their options. Thank you for your support in making the fair a success.

NEW RESEARCH Our latest research project has been to better understand how the coronavirus crisis is affecting student and graduate careers at a time when speculation and commentary in the media is fuelling anxiety and doubt. While we continue to analyse the 5,000 responses, you will find a summary of the key findings on Luminate.

Our analysis of final year student data paints a stark picture. Almost a third (29%) have lost their jobs and 26% have lost their internships, while 28% have had their graduate job offer deferred or rescinded.

As we have seen in previous years, downturns drive students to further study; we found that almost half of final year students are now contemplating a postgraduate course.

Now more than ever people need support with relevant and current careers information, advice and guidance. We will be working with you and with AGCAS on this journey, every step of the way.

Being part of Jisc opens up new conversations and opportunities for the careers community, and we want to work with you to identify your priorities for us going forward.

Over the last few weeks we have embarked on a regional programme of communication. We have got together with groups of careers professionals and teaching and learning experts in universities. We have asked about their concerns and needs for careers information provision, as well as where the gaps are and areas they may want us to explore.

Here’s some of what we have heard so far: • Careers services’ move online has been very successful, however student engagement continues to be challenging.

• Labour market information is required to help students make career decisions. This should be in a user-friendly format with both industry and regional context.

• The lack of work experience is a pressing issue and may be eased with virtual internships. How do we smooth the way for employers?

• Mental health and wellbeing advice and resources are particularly important.

• How do we keep students motivated to continue their career aspirations and not get stuck?

• There’s a need for practical advice for those who are self-employed.

• How will industry change its recruitment and working practices in the ‘new norm’?

• There is a variation in student digital literacy. How can we level the playing field?

This is a tremendous opportunity to build on the excellent careers, advice and guidance for students and graduates already provided by you with the potential for new employability and skills initiatives using Jisc’s digital expertise and reach.

Please share your experiences and ideas with us by emailing marketing@prospects.ac.uk so that we can develop a plan together.

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SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Sea change: investing in international students The global classroom Cross-cultural integration for international student success

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THIS ISSUE INCLUDES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS: Bournemouth University

Royal Holloway, University of London

University of Hull

Leeds Beckett University

The Open University

University of Liverpool

Manchester Metropolitan University

The University of Edinburgh

University of Warwick

Newcastle University

University of Central Lancashire

Nottingham University Business School China

University of Glasgow