Employability deconstructed: perceptions of Bologna stakeholders

Sin, Cristina; Neave, Guy

doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.977859

Cited by 150 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…It is both complex and contested (UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 2009;Hinchliffe & Jolly, 2011;Sin & Neave, 2014;Smith, Fern, & Russell, 2014). Some describe it as a blend of understanding, skilful practices, efficacy beliefs (or legitimate self-confidence) and reflectiveness (or metacognition) (Little, 2006).…”

Section: In Disrupted Economies What Is Graduate Employability?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining graduate employability and work-integrated learning: Proposals for effective higher education in disrupted economies

Oliver

2015

JTLGE

157

117

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Employability features more prominently on the agenda of higher education institutions when the economy falters or changes: the majority of students, and their families, expect a degree to deliver a career pathway as well as an education. This paper explores some of the trends and predictions in the rapidly changing world of work and proposes a re-worked definition of employability (based on Yorke's widely-accepted definition from 2006): that employability means that students and graduates can discern, acquire, adapt and continually enhance the skills, understandings and personal attributes that make them more likely to find and create meaningful paid and unpaid work that benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. Likewise, work-integrated learning requires sharper definition than an 'umbrella term'. This paper proposes that work-integrated learning includes a range of learning tasks that either resemble those expected of working graduates in their early careers, or are proximal to the workplaces or spaces, physical or digital, where professional work occurs. Determining the appropriate spread of tasks across a degree is best done by mapping assessments, ensuring there are more high level tasks in the latter years so that students are prompted to focus on the skills, understandings and personal attributes that make them more likely to find and create meaningful paid and unpaid work that benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.

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Section: In Disrupted Economies What Is Graduate Employability?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining graduate employability and work-integrated learning: Proposals for effective higher education in disrupted economies

Oliver

2015

JTLGE

157

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is clear that employability can be interpreted and understood in a number of ways. Sin and Neave's (2016) claim that employability is a floating signifier that commands various contended meanings certainly holds true in the light of the findings. The participants' own perceptions were shaped largely by their own engagement with both pedagogic and work related practices.…”

Section: Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Full Issue 6(3)

Editors

2017

QRE

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To cite this article: Paterson, R. (2017). 'Because sometimes your failures can also teach you certain skills': Lecturer and student perceptions of employability skills at a transnational university. Qualitative Research in Education, 6(3), 241-275. doi:10.17583/qre.2017.2583 To link this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/qre.2017.2583 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLEThe terms and conditions of use are related to the Open Journal System and to Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY).Qualitative Research in Education Vol.6 No.3 October 2017 pp. 241-275 (Received: 22 February 2017; Accepted: 19 September 2017; Published: 28 October 2017) AbstractThis exploratory study investigates lecturers' and students' understanding of the concepts and language underpinning higher education strategies of developing employability skills. While a solid grounding in discipline-specific knowledge and skills is what most graduate degrees aim at providing, employability skills are increasingly becoming an important factor when evaluating prospective employees. Embedding the acquisition of employability skills into higher education courses has emerged as a response to industry demands for work-ready graduates. The forces of internationalisation and globalisation mean that employers the world over are looking for graduates with additional soft skills, abilities and achievements. The context for this study is Westminster International University, Tashkent (WIUT), a transnational university in Uzbekistan. By means of a qualitative case study, the views of lecturers and students were investigated and common themes and perspectives identified. The main findings indicate that although students and lecturers share similar perspectives on the importance of employability skills, the purpose of employability focused pedagogy is not easily communicated to students. Furthermore, students feel that a more systematic approach to recognising and demonstrating employability skills would help them in their transition from education to work.Keywords: global higher education, employability skills, transnational education, employability pedagogy Qualitative Research in Education Vol.6 No.3 October 2017 pp. 241-275 ResumenEste estudio exploratorio investiga la percepción de los profesores y estudiantes de los conceptos y el lenguaje que se utilizan en las estrategias de educación superior para desarrollar las habilidades de empleabilidad. Mientras que los conocimientos disciplinarios son el objetivo de la mayoría de los posgrados, las habilidades de empleabilidad son cada vez un factor más importante al evaluar a los posibles empleados. La adquisición de habilidades de empleabilidad en la educación ha surgido como una respuesta a las demandas de la industria de graduados preparados para el mundo laboral. La internacionalización y globalización hacen que los empleadores busquen graduados con habilidades blandas, destrezas y logros adicionales. El contexto es Westminster International University, Tashkent (WIUT), una universidad trans...

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“…Lack of engagement has been observed elsewhere (for example, Sin & Neave 2016;Tymon 2013). Students have been found to avoid events where they believe there is a poor cultural fit (Clark & Zukas 2013), i.e.…”

Section: Applying For Work Experiencementioning

confidence: 94%

Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”

Smith

Taylor‐Smith

Bacon

et al. 2019

British Journal of Sociology of Education

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A recent UK Government commissioned study found concerning levels of unemployment among computing students from disadvantaged, black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The study highlighted that work experience was a factor in increased levels of graduate employment. As such, it is vital that students have equal access to such work experience. This study considers the availability of work experience to 140 computing students at two city centre UK universities. Data analysis considered socioeconomic background and ethnicity to determine if these influenced attitudes to work experience. While students' socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicity had little influence on their interest in work experience, patterns of success in gaining work experience reflected worrying graduate (un)employment patterns, with those from disadvantaged, black or minority ethnic backgrounds less able to secure work experience. These findings have serious implications for university and government policies promoting work experience and highlight the need for national interventions.

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Employability deconstructed: perceptions of Bologna stakeholders

Cited by 150 publications

References 25 publications

Redefining graduate employability and work-integrated learning: Proposals for effective higher education in disrupted economies

Redefining graduate employability and work-integrated learning: Proposals for effective higher education in disrupted economies

Full Issue 6(3)

Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”

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