Angela Maher
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, United Kingdom
amaher@brookes.ac.uk
and
Sarah Graves
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, United Kingdom
sgraves@brookes.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
In a highly competitive and volatile graduate employment market it is vital that students develop greater ownership of their employability skills to maximise the potential for a successful career. Although there is consensus amongst key stakeholders on the importance of addressing employability within higher education (HE), there remains some debate on how best this can be achieved. This paper explores how universities have responded to increasing external pressures to produce ‘employable’ graduates and presents some actual examples of pedagogical case studies designed to more effectively embed employability into courses in hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism in the UK.
Key Words: Employability, employment, graduate, skills, Bologna, Leitch
INTRODUCTION
In a highly competitive and volatile graduate employment market it is vital that students develop greater ownership of their employability skills to maximise the potential for a successful career. Whilst there connection between higher education (HE) and the economy is longstanding there is considerable evidence that HE is increasingly expected to contribute to the labour market and national wealth by equipping students with skills for employment (Little, 2004). In the UK, the recently published Leitch Review reinforces this point stating, “there is a direct correlation between skills, productivity and employment. Unless the UK can build on reforms to schools, colleges and universities and make its skills base one of its strengths, UK business will find it increasingly difficult to compete” (Leitch Review of Skills, 2006:3). At a European level, a key goal of the Bologna Process is to “create a European space for higher education in order to enhance the employability and mobility of citizens” (CRE, 2005:4). With Bologna impacting upon the development of HE well beyond European boundaries and as far afield as Australia, the USA and South America, the link between education and employment would appear stronger than ever before.
Although there is consensus amongst key stakeholders on the importance of addressing employability within higher education (HE), there remains some debate on how best this can be achieved, and indeed the extent to which HE can influence this aspect of student development. In an extensive review of HE provision Little (2004: 4) concludes that while there is “international concern that higher education should enhance graduate employability, there is little evidence of systematic thinking about how best to do it, let alone any model that can be badged as ‘best practice’ and adopted wholesale”. Within the context of hospitality and tourism, employability has particular relevance because of the diversity of industries and the volatility of employment within the sector which means students face particular challenges in gaining graduate jobs. Hospitality, like many other industries, is experiencing increasing levels of complexity and competition which impacts directly on the skills needed by managers working in the industry and Raybould and Wilkins (2005:214) conclude “universities must change their focus from producing graduates to fill existing jobs to producing graduates who can create new jobs in a dynamic growth sector of the economy”.
This paper firstly presents an overview of some of the key issues facing HE in relation to the employability agenda and explores how universities have responded to increasing external pressures to produce ‘employable’ graduates. The paper then focuses on some actual examples of pedagogical case studies designed to more effectively embed employability into courses in hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism in a range of HE institutions. The case studies are part of a national ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project funded by the HEFCE (see http://www.enhancingemployability.org.uk) and provide practical examples of the innovative and varied ways in which employability skills development can be embedded into the curriculum.
THE CONCEPT OF EMPLOYABILITY
Defining employability is not as straightforward a task as might first appear. According to Lees (2002) employability is a multi-faceted concept open to a range of interpretations and definitions. Many authors observe that a distinction must firstly be drawn between employment and employability (see for example Yorke and Knight, 2007). Employment it can be argued is synonymous with ‘having a job’, whereas employability is associated with ‘possessing qualities that facilitate and enhance employment opportunities’. Harvey (2004:3) defines employability in its core sense “as the acquisition of attributes (knowledge, skills and abilities) that make graduates more likely to be successful in their chosen occupations (whether paid employment or not)”. Employability is viewed as being beyond solely getting a job with emphasis placed on learning and ability (Harvey, 2004). A widely accepted definition of employability is that derived from research conducted by the Enhancing Student Employability Coordination Team (Yorke, 2004). Based on several years of research with key stakeholders ESECT have produced the following definition; “a set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations”.
Figure 1 depicts the many facets of employability development and demonstrates that employability is clearly a process rather than a product of education (Harvey and Morey, 2002; Lees 2002; LTSN 2002). Harvey and Morey (2002) explicate further on the concept of employability and state that “employability is about how individuals engage with opportunities, and reflect and articulate their skills and experiences”. The diagram also emphasises that employability should equate to lifelong learning, a more widely held perspective in recent years and a move away from the view that sees graduation as the end point of a developmental pathway (Atkins, 1999).
Figure 1. A model of graduate employability development
THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYABILITY
Graduate employability is not a new issue for HE, however the publication of the Dearing report in 1997 clearly placed it at the centre of the HE agenda. According to McNair (2003), graduate employability has become a more important issue for institutions “because of the changing nature of the graduate labour market, mass participation in HE, pressures on student finance, competition to recruit students and expectations of students, employers, parents and government (expressed in quality audit and league tables)”. On a broader level, it has been noted that higher education, through the generation and dissemination of knowledge, directly impacts economic competitiveness on a national and international level (Brown et al 2003; CIHE 2003).
The changing nature of the graduate labour market
Dearing (1997) stated that “learning should be increasingly responsive to employment needs and include the development of general skills, widely valued in employment”, however labour market requirements for those with HE qualifications are changing dramatically. Atkins (1999) reiterates this noting the same set of employability skills may not be required in the evolving graduate employment market. Most significantly employers are seeking flexible recruits who can work effectively in the “de-layered, down-sized, information-technology driven and innovative” organisations in existence today (Harvey et al 1997: 1). Employers are seeking more than people who can just respond to change, they need those who can lead change. McNair (2003) comments on the speed of industrial change and notes that a higher percentage of the workforce is employed in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a trend also reflected in graduate employment statistics, and whilst this may offer opportunities to gain early responsibility in less structured and hierarchical work environments, graduates need to have the skills to create rewarding graduate roles role in what Purcell and Elias (2004) refer to as ‘niche graduate occupations’. Niche graduate occupations are those “where the majority of incumbents are not graduates, but within which there are stable or growing specialist niches that require higher education skills and knowledge” (Purcell and Elias, 2003:5). Students therefore need to be equipped with skills that enable them to ‘grow’ jobs to graduate level.
Dearing (1997) also emphasises the importance of developing subject specific as well as generic skills. Irrespective of the type of skills required to maximise employability, it is important to note that employability has arguably replaced the concept of job security (Byrne, 2004). Further still, the nature of businesses has changed assuming a flatter, leaner structure in which the market consequently drives the employment relationship (Brown et al, 2003).
The changing nature of the higher education market
Beyond pressures facing graduates within the labour market, universities are facing increasing demands to account for what they do and prospective students and parents are become discerning ‘customers’ when shopping for the most suitable HEI (McNair, 2003). Given the importance of employability in the equation, institutions cannot overlook the significance of developing this aspect of provision. Allison et al (2002) allude to the pressures facing higher education institutions as evidenced by publication by the HEFCE of employment performance indicators and benchmarks for HEIs, the publication and implementation of the QAA Code of Practice for Careers Education, Information and Guidance as well as the recommendations of the Harris Review of Careers Services.
A further government policy, widening participation, aims to increase HE participation among 18-30 year olds to 50% by 2010. This will no doubt have a significant impact on the supply of graduates in the labour market. A report by the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE, 2003) targeting potential HE students suggests that graduates will remain in great demand. In stark contrast, a report produced by the Higher Education Institute warns of a “glut of graduates” by 2010. Despite much controversy about the impact of increasing student numbers, it is indisputable that graduates are facing a changing, more competitive labour market and they need to be prepared accordingly.
The changing expectations of HE stakeholders
Whilst there appears to be some consensus amongst key stakeholders on the importance of addressing employability within HE there remains some debate on how best this can be achieved, and indeed the extent to which HE can influence this aspect of student development. Brown et al (2003) propose that employability varies according to economic conditions, outlining the duality of the concept in terms of absolute and relative dimensions. The absolute dimension is associated with the skills and attributes possessed by an individual while the relative dimension mandates a reliance on the supply of jobs within the labour market. While higher education seemingly has a responsibility to develop the absolute dimension within each individual student, the impact of the relative dimension on resultant student employability cannot be overlooked.
The next section of this paper discusses different models for embedding employability within HE curricula and outlines how some institutions are currently tackling this aspect of student development.
EMPLOYABILITY AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM
There is currently an expectation that institutional learning and teaching strategies address employability through curricula (Pedagogy for Employability Group, 2004). However, McNair (2003) points out that while effective higher education teaching encourages the development of employable graduates, the relevance is often missed by the student if not made explicit in the curriculum. Consequently in addressing employability both directly and less directly through the HE curriculum, the link with employability must always be made overt to maximise student benefit (Yorke and Knight, 2004). However, the provision of an ‘experience’, whether within or outside of an HE context, is insufficient in itself to generate enhanced employability skills. Employability stems from the learning the student takes away and (as outlined in Figure 1) this requires the student to effectively engage with the curriculum. A necessary first step for HE providers in addressing employability is to establish what it is that makes students employable and how this can be developed, and then to audit their curricula to evaluate how this can be achieved.
A key tool underpinning much of the current work on employability in higher education is the USEM model, presented in Figure 2 (Yorke and Knight, 2004). This model, consisting of Understanding; Skills or skilful practice; Efficacy beliefs, and Meta-cognition, provides a useful overview of the influences on employability and aims to increase the ‘scientific’ aspect of employability thinking within higher education (Knight and Yorke, 2004:37). Although the model is a useful starting point for identifying what is important in enhancing student employability, it does not easily facilitate specific curriculum auditing.
Figure 2. The USEM account of employability
Based on extensive research within the HE community Knight and Yorke (2004) have compiled a list of 39 attributes deemed important for employability for use by colleagues as a prompt to analyse their programmes and facilitate auditing. These attributes are categorised under the headings of personal qualities, core skills and process skills and a detailed list can be found at Appendix 1. Beyond curriculum auditing, Yorke and Knight (2004) outline four main strategies currently in use within higher education for embedding employability in the curriculum. These include;
• embedding employability through the whole curriculum;
• embedding employability in the core curriculum;
• incorporating employability-related modules within the curriculum; and
• work-based or work-related learning within or in parallel with the curriculum.
EMBEDDING EMPLOYABILITY THROUGH THE WHOLE CURRICULUM
Employability through the whole curriculum is perhaps the most ambitious strategy in which a set of ‘transferable’ skills or competencies are integrated through an entire programme (Yorke and Knight, 2004). Possibly one of the best known and ‘purest’ examples of this approach is in operation at Alverno College in the USA where students are required to demonstrate evidence of achievement in eight broad ‘abilities’ including communication, analysis, problem solving, decision-making and social interaction. Tutor feedback is provided on level of achievement but students’ work is not formally graded. In the UK parallels can be drawn between the Alverno ‘model’ and the numerous examples of university-wide approaches to embedding of transferable skills in the curriculum (although the UK examples tend to steer away from explicit reference to ‘effective citizenship’ and ‘aesthetic responsiveness’ used at Alverno). More recently, the development of Personal Development Planning (PDP) that is being introduced throughout HE institutions in England and Wales may also offer the opportunity to integrate generic competencies across and within programmes, although the extent to which this is true depends very much on the individual approach adopted by a particular institution. The University of Luton is one example of an institution in the UK that has undertaken a university-wide initiative to embedding a set of skills across all undergraduate courses. Although longitudinal evaluative data regarding the impact of the Luton skills initiative is not available, less formal evidence suggests a correlation between the initiative and a positive effect on student performance (Fallows and Steven, 2000).
Within the context of our ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project, one case study in particular focuses explicitly on the relationship between PDP and employability (although other case studies also touch on this). Students studying sport at the University of Ulster are being asked to use the university’s PDP system to help them audit and assess their employability skills and to identify ‘gaps’ in their skills base. This information will then be used by students, in discussion with course tutors, to help them action plan for how they might enhance and develop their skills during an (optional) placement year or in their final year of study.
EMBEDDING EMPLOYABILITY IN THE CORE CURRICULUM
Embedding employability through the core curriculum involves the identification of a finite number of modules in which the development of a set of ‘transferable’ skills is addressed. This approach is arguably easier to implement than employability through the whole curriculum, particularly within large, diverse institutions and those that offer flexible modular programmes (Yorke and Knight, 2004). There are several case studies within the ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project that are exploring this approach. For example, the University of Bolton study seeks to embed employability development within specific core modules at Levels one, two and three. This approach is being driven in part by the need to implement the University’s standard PDP framework but recognises the need for contextualising learning for undergraduate programmes in Sport, Leisure and Tourism Management. The research at Bolton is also exploring the effectiveness of this approach on student perceptions and attitudes of their employability using questionnaires, and will also focus on helping students articulate/evidence their skills using written learning records.
The Department of Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Gloucestershire is also exploring the impact of embedding employability in the core curriculum. Having identified the skills of reflection and reflective writing as being important in the context of employability and personal development, the Department has embedded activities into their core level one, two and three modules to progressively foster student development. Of particular note is the use of the technique of storytelling (Danto, 1985; McDury and Alterio, 2003) at level three to encourage deep reflection and to help students make sense of complex forms of experience that occur during their work placement. Other activities include the completion of a personal skills audit, authoring of a reflective portfolio in addition to the use of critical narrative post-placement.
EMPLOYABILITY-RELATED MODULES WITHIN THE CURRRICULUM
A further approach to embedding employability involves the development of specific employability related modules such as personal skills development and career planning. This again may represent a more practical approach to embedding employability skills development and is a popular method within the HE sector. While some approaches such as that at Alverno outlined earlier are clearly more ambitious, research by Yorke and Knight (2004) indicates that much is to be gained by small scale ‘tweaking’ of the curriculum. As long as the ‘tweaking’ process is managed effectively this approach has great potential to impact students’ claims to be employable and is possibly much more attractive to educators who may eschew a more fundamental reworking of the curriculum.
The research case study being undertaken as part of this ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project at Sheffield Hallam University involves the piloting of a module entitled ‘Developing Your Management Skills’. This module is aimed at postgraduate hospitality and tourism students and designed to help them develop career management skills, drawing explicitly on students’ part time work experiences which the researchers have identified as an increasingly common aspect of studying at the University. An interesting aspect of this case study will be the focus on postgraduate students who are mostly international in origin. At Oxford Brookes University employability is being embedded via a compulsory first year module in which skills are evaluated and assessed using, amongst other techniques, a cardsort exercise (Butcher, 2004) that focuses attention what employers want and what makes employees successful at work.
WORK-BASED OR WORK-RELATED MODULES WITHIN/PARALLEL WITH THE CURRICULUM
Work-based learning (WBL) and work-related learning (WRL) are strategies most commonly associated with enhancing employability. WBL is defined by Boud and Solomon (2003: p 4) as “the term being used to describe a class of university programmes that bring together universities and work organisations to create new learning opportunities in work places”. Engagement with WBL is widely reported to positively impact student employability and a period of work experience aligned closely with the possession of many skills essential for success at work (Little and Harvey, 2006). WRL is in turn about “making graduates ready and able to make the transition from education to the workplace”, defined specifically as “learning outcomes achieved through activities which are based in, or derive from, the context of work or the workplace” (Hills et al, 2003). Examples of WRL include field trips, ‘live’ case studies, consultancy type assignments and projects, and employer involvement in teaching and assessment. Littlejohn and Watson (2004) reiterate that in developing graduate managers for hospitality and tourism it is important to embrace both work-based and work-related learning aspects but stress also that there is no one best way to facilitate the development of highly employable graduates.
Again, there are several case studies taking place under the umbrella of the ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project that focus on WBL or WRL. The research being conducted at Liverpool John Moores University is aiming to set up a WBL forum made up of employers, lecturers and students that draw together the views of these key stakeholders ‘to produce a curriculum structure that transfers students’ employability potential into reality’. The partnership aspect of this case study is critical to developing a curriculum that is effective in developing ‘highly employable graduates’. City College Norwich and Westminster Kingsway College case studies also research aspects of employer engagement and mentoring as a means of enhancing students employability, whereas case studies being undertaken at Leeds Metropolitan and University College Worcester focus on work placement and entrepreneurship respectively.
CONCLUSION
Employability is a concept that interacts with a range of discourses in today’s higher education environment (Yorke and Knight, 2003). Despite much debate surrounding the definition of the concept and the duality of it in terms of an absolute and relative dimension (Brown et al, 2003), its importance for today’s higher education institutions cannot be overlooked. Government policy mandates that employability be addressed, while increasing competition within the labour and education markets necessitates its inclusion on institutional agendas for learning and teaching. A key challenge facing students and educationalists alike is managing the transition from higher education to work (Knight and Yorke, 2004:11). There is a need to develop curriculum interventions that enable students to make clear connections between their education and work, and help them recognise the relevance/value of their studies. Harvey et al (1997: 1) observe that organisations want people to “help them transform their organisations” and to “use higher level-skills, such as analysis, critique, synthesis, and multi-layered communication to facilitate innovative teamwork”. Higher education curricula (and assessment tasks in particular) must therefore aim to foster the development of these abilities.
An awareness of the changing labour market and the needs of employers cited above must permeate higher education (Harvey et al, 1997). While work experience has proven valid at enhancing student employability (Dearing 1997; DfEE, 1998; Little and Harvey, 2006), it is fundamental that educationalists think beyond solely work-based learning interventions and embrace different strategies. Other innovative ways to embed employability skills development within the curricula are being tried across the HE sector, from simple employability card sorts to complex PDP portfolios that demonstrate student development across a range of activities and over the entire period of their studies. The development of employability attributes is of particular relevance for subject areas of hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism (HLST) given the type of roles graduates are likely to pursue. Whilst many higher education institutions are incorporating the development of employability skills into their curricula via a number of strategies presented in this paper, research conducted as part of the ‘Enhancing Graduate Employability’ project indicates that there is scope for further development. It is hoped that the case studies and other resources produced as part of this current project will help encourage that development by providing evidence-based examples of curriculum interventions that work and by providing access to teaching and learning resources that enable students to develop competencies for employment.
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APPENDIX 1 Aspects of Employability (Yorke and Knight, 2004: 22)
A. PERSONAL QUALITIES
1. Malleable self theory: belief that attributes (e.g. intelligence) are not fixed and can be developed
2. Self-awareness: awareness of own strengths and weaknesses, aims and values
3. Self-confidence: confidence in dealing with the challenges in employment and life
4. Independence: ability to work without supervision
5. Emotional intelligence: sensitivity to others’ emotions and the effects they can have
6. Adaptability: ability to respond positively to changing circumstances and new challenges
7. Stress tolerance: ability to retain effectiveness under pressure
8. Initiative: ability to take action unprompted
9. Willingness to learn: commitment to ongoing learning to meet the needs of employment and life
10. Reflectiveness: the disposition to reflect evaluatively on the performance of oneself and others
B. CORE SKILLS
11. Reading effectiveness: the recognition and retention of key points
12. Numeracy: ability to use numbers at an appropriate level of accuracy
13. Information retrieval: ability to access different information sources
14. Language skills: possession of more than a single language
15. Self-management: ability to work in an efficient and structured manner
16. Critical analysis: ability to ‘deconstruct’ a problem or situation
17. Creativity: ability to be original or inventive and to apply lateral thinking
18. Listening: focused attention in which key points are recognized
19. Written communication: clear reports, letters, etc., written specifically for the reader
20. Oral presentations: clear and confident presentation of information to a group
21. Explaining: orally and in writing
22. Global awareness: in terms of both cultures and economics
C. PROCESS SKILLS
23. Computer literacy: ability to use a range of software
24. Commercial awareness: understanding of business issues and priorities
25. Political sensitivity: appreciates how organisations actually work and acts accordingly
26. Ability to work cross-culturally: both within and beyond UK
27. Ethical sensitivity: appreciates ethical aspects of employment and acts accordingly
28. Prioritizing: ability to rank tasks according to importance
29. Planning: setting of achievable goals and structuring action
30. Applying subject understanding: use of disciplinary understanding from HE programme (e.g. marketing, finance, human resource mgmt. etc)
31. Acting morally: has a moral code and acts accordingly
32. Coping with ambiguity and complexity: ability to handle ambiguous and complex situations
33. Problem-solving: selection and use of appropriate methods to find solutions
34. Influencing: convincing others of the validity of one’s point of view
35. Arguing for and/or justifying a point of view or a course of action
36. Resolving conflict: both intra-personally and in relationships with others
37. Decision making: choice of the best option from a range of alternatives
38. Negotiating: discussion to achieve mutually satisfactory resolution of contentious issues
39. Teamwork: can work constructively with others on a common task
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