Saturday, April 8, 2023 1ALT-C 2012

ePortfolios for Employability: Promoting Career Learning through Business Engagement

Kirstie CoolinCentre for International ePortfolio Development, (CIePD) Research and Learning Resources

www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio @ciepd

3 JISC funded projects 2011 - 2013

ESCAPES 2011-2012

Relationship Management ‘blueprinting the Placement Experience

Improving placement processes for better student experience

www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/escapes

SHED 2011-2012

Learning and Teaching Innovation

‘student/employer matching’ - Unlocking institutional data for knowledge

exchange

www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/shed

Ingenuity KnowledgeHub 2012-2013

Business and Community Engagement

Improving access to HE resources for SMEs, social enterprise and microbusiness

www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio/knowledgehub

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Lets start with a video…

The Academy of Irving, Texas

Challenge space

“The relationship between universities and colleges, students and employers is crucial to ensuring that students experience the higher education they want while studying and leave their course equipped to embark on a rewarding career”(HE White Paper, Students at the Heart of the System, BIS, 2011, p45).

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Relationship

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The University of

Nottingham’s student

newspaper ‘The Gongster’:-

“the Graduate Employment

Survey revealed 13% and

3% of Nottingham University

graduates were unemployed

three and six months,

respectively, after

graduating.”

http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscripts/2012/08/22/what-are-your-chances-of-a-job/

year 1 9 4 9

Supporting students

• Access to placements, internships, work experience

• Part of a course, not part of a course?• Formal and informal recognition of skills?• Access to employers? Milk round? SMEs,

microbusinesses, social enterprises, 3rd sector?

“More than half of graduates are interested in jobs that will 'make a difference', despite increasing difficulty in finding work” Article in the Guardian 22nd August 2012http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/aug/22/graduates-principles-tough-jobs-market?newsfeed=true

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What do employers want?What do students want?

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How can these be reconciled with mutual benefit

to improve employability learning for students?

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“We come to University and

assume that employability is

getting the degree but are starting

to learn that it’s the degree plus

other stuff” (student participant in

SHED project workshop)

“Students would be motivated

to use their e-Portfolio if they

could have it when they leave

to help them find a job”

(Student, Nottingham)

“(ePortfolios) a tool for marketing to

differentiate ourselves to employers”

(Construction students at Derby

College)

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Central place to find placements

Access to employer lists, tagged and searchable by

sector and organisational information

Previous placements information

Careers fairs with wider range of employers

Up to date links to the company application procedures.

Up to date links to the company application procedures.

Information about company project opportunities

Students Employers

Filtered based on interest

A ‘front door’ to the University

Access to research and innovation headlines,

University events

Find student skills for projects

More university engagement with social media for

easier personal networking and identifying key contacts

Knowledge transfer and research partnerships

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Happisburgh 2012 Kirstie Coolin

How can learners be motivated?

“Employability can be enhanced through personal development planning, but success will depend upon the extent to which students see a ‘pay-off’ for the effort that they put in.” (Embedding employability into the curriculum, HEA)

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/employability/id460_embedding_employability_into_the_curriculum_338.pdf

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Course and career learning as well as the practicalities of finding

placements, internships and work do not exist in isolation.

Using ePortfolio processes to support:-• Personal Development Planning (PDP) alongside

practical employability concerns for students.• ‘marketing’ for students to match their skills to

employer interest• Communication and networking for career

learning.

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A U D I T

Courses

Research

Student searches employer profiles

Student opts-in, ‘releasing’ contact information and showcase

d

i

s

c

o

v

e

r

y

Institutional

Resource

Student

Events

Equipment

Expertise

Placements

Evidence,

skills, showcase

CRM

ePortfolio

Employers

Employer profile

student profile

Details, sector,

projects

Institution employer network

Employer searches student profiles

Professional Learning:

• About employment market

• Employment sectors

• What employers are interested in

• How to organise and present their skills

• Finding placement or work opportunities

• Learning to network (and integrate other

social tools)

Business engagement:

• More reasons to engage

• Easier to find University

resources

• Access to students for work

experience

• Wider range of employers (e.g.

3rd

sector, social enterprise,

SME)

Kirstie Coolin, CIePD, University of Nottingham September 2012

Personal

Administration

Careers and work

Learning + teaching

Some final questions...• How can students and employers be motivated to

use new tools for employability?• Where do student, employer and institutional

requirements meet, and what would this look like in terms of processes and tools?

• How can existing institutional learning technology be used to promote student-led employability learning?

• How can institutions open their doors for employers in new ways to present opportunities for students to interact directly?

• Can employer engagement be widened and streamlined?04/08/2023 Event Name and Venue 14

Thank you

Kirstie.Coolin @ nottingham.ac.uk@kirstie_c

University of Nottingham

www.nottingham.ac.uk/eportfolio

Designed by Gideon Coolin