The Institutional Approach to Employability

The ‘Planning for Successful Student Futures’ section of the Education & Students Sub-strategy sets out 9 priorities focused on embedding employability to enhance the curriculum and wider student experience.

Key to this is the integration of the University’s graduate attributes into academic governance processes that support new programme development and academic renewal and revalidation. The expectation is that delivery of the priority areas will have a positive impact on graduate outcomes.

Definitions of Employability, clearly stating what is meant by ‘embedded’, and using Graduate Attributes as the narrative will surface relevant activities already in the curriculum, identify enhancements to learning and teaching, and provide a means by which students can understand, reflect on and articulate the skills and attributes they have developed. Graduate Attributes Maps developed with schools will be an important Informer.

Partnership working with academic colleagues is key. Each school has a dedicated Employability Lead that works with their Student Futures Business Partner to review and enhance employability provision and awareness. They mutually create and review an annual School Action Plan, which maps out key employability metrics and priority areas for development. Additionally, there is an institutional Employability Network that enables academics and professional services colleagues to discuss employability-related matters and share practice.

Student Futures is a member of the Programme Approval and Revalidation Sub-Committee (PARSC), typically represented by the Student Futures Business Partners. Institutional expectations for programme approval requires schools to evidence how employability education and the graduate attributes are embedded and surfaced within their learning and teaching. As such, Student Futures support schools to review and enhance their employability provision and map the graduate attributes to their programmes. Student Futures also work in partnership with the Education Development Service, part of the Cardiff Learning and Teaching Academy, and other professional services departments to ensure schools are well supported throughout the approval process.

A suite of practical resources including learning materials, assessment templates and case studies, is currently being developed to support academics with embedding employability and the graduate attributes into their programme design. Student Futures will work in partnership with schools, either supporting colleagues to deliver or by teaching in the curriculum. As well as learning and teaching resources, this support may include bringing in employers and alumni to teach or inform programme development or helping schools to establish or enhance placement activity and international mobility.