Assessing Employability within the Curriculum
Part 1: Regional Employers’ Attitudes to Graduate Employability
1. Background and Research Method
This report, commissioned as part of the University of Leeds USEF project ‘Assessing Employability within the Curriculum’, examines the key competencies and behaviours that regional employers expect from graduates. It also investigates their perception of University of Leeds graduates in particular, and the role they see the academic curriculum playing in nurturing graduate attributes and professional readiness.
The decision to undertake a series of interviews with local and national employers emerged as part of the project’s objective to compare definitions of employability from different perspectives (e.g. university, student and employer) so that we represent different sectors of interest and engage in a critical debate about what constitutes ‘student employability’ for different stakeholders.
More crucially, perhaps, the survey follows from the urgent need to balance the University’s institutional definitions of graduate employability (defined prominently in the Employability Strategy, Careers Service literature and Leeds for Life skills typologies) with the current and evolving definitions of those people who actually host, live and define ‘employability’ in practice: the employers themselves. A key objective of our project is to set institutional and professional ideas about employability in a more rigorous and dynamic dialogue, allowing for our policies on student employability to be nuanced by varied input, and for our provision of employability opportunities to respond to a changing external environment.
An understanding of diverse employer perspectives on what actually constitutes ‘graduate employability’ allows us to deepen our consultation with employers as we engage in delivering employability skills and opportunities as part of the curriculum. It also sets the platform for potential collaboration with regional employers in questions of programme, module and assessment design and delivery, subjects analysed more closely in part 2 of this report.
Our provisional portrait of employer expectations and attitudes in relation to ‘graduate employability’ emerges from the basis of evidence from eight detailed interviews with regional employers and from a selection of completed electronic questionnaires.[1] This evidence base will be extended in Phase 2 of this USEF project to cover a greater range of employers, paying particular attention to University of Leeds alumni employers who will have a perspective on both University and professional spheres, and be able to comment on the transition from one context to the next.
2. Research Findings
2.1. Perceptions of University of Leeds Graduates
When asked as to whether University of Leeds graduates were more or less skilled when compared with other UK university graduates, employers’ responses were generally positive. The University of Leeds is rated highly for being part of the Russell Universities Group (See Interview 8.9, Questionnaire 1.1.4). In comparison to other universities within this group, Leeds’ graduates are seen as at least equally qualified and when compared across all UK universities, employers tend to rate Leeds applicants as being above average. University of Leeds has an excellent reputation for developing employable graduates and employers trust this reputation when hiring (Interviews 2.8; 5.7, Questionnaire 1.2.1). Key advantages of University of Leeds graduates over other HE graduates include their ability to demonstrate good employability skills such as team-working and independence. As a generally defined cohort, graduates from Leeds are considered favorably and many employers would provisionally prioritise Leeds graduates for future employment opportunities.
Employers note both passion and pride in University of Leeds graduates and this positive attitude about the education and experience they receive reflects well in both interviews and employment. Simon Horniblow, Managing Director of Campus Life, argued that Leeds’s graduates are, in this respect, “in a completely different class then students from any other university. My colleague and I both agreed that they are completely different. We’ve had four or five students from Leeds and they are very proud of their education” (Interview 4.6).
Employers have been keen to express the need for their applicants to have a university degree. While applicants without a degree level qualification are often considered, university graduates are typically preferred. Jilly Langley, a Creative Group Head at MediaCom has noted that graduates tend to “push themselves harder because they have worked hard to get a job. They are ready and willing to work really hard while others are just continuing along their career“(Interview, 5.9). The surveyed employers tended to ask specifically for graduates even at entry-level positions. Some employers however attributed this to an academic oversaturation, which has led to the job market becoming increasingly competitive (Interviews 2.1, 5.8 and 5.9)
When questioned further about the importance of a university degree, employers tend towards asking specifically for graduates at all levels of their organizations but for more senior positions they would not discriminate against the person without a degree, regarding varied work and career experience as invaluable. For junior positions, employers comment that graduates are willing to learn and typically have a well-rounded background nurtured by their academic studies, including knowledge of, and reflection about, the theory behind their subject (Interview 2.13). However, employers do comment that, compared to someone who has done an apprentice, or worked in industry after GCSE or A-Level qualifications, university graduates do not have comparable office and administration skills. While this is a consideration, employers generally agree that these skills can however be learned relatively quickly through ‘on the job training’ (Interviews 2.2, 3.5, 8.5, 8.9, Questionnaire 1.1.9, 2.1.11).
Importantly, our findings show that employers do not typically differentiate between degree subject and discipline types as long as graduates show good employability potential. Employers believe this is potential is demonstrated through a combination of academic achievement, work experience and the ability to articulate their achievements (Interview 1.5, 2.4, 5.11). For more specific, high skilled jobs (such as web design or product design), employers prefer degrees in the applicable field but do not consider subject-specific skills as dominant over personal attributes (Interview 5.11, 6.3). It was generally considered by employers that degree scholarship and level of achievement were matched in importance by co-curricular activities and work experience. Generally graduates who explained and evidenced a balance of the two, and who also showed strong interpersonal skills, were preferred above others in recruitment.
2.2. Graduate Attributes & Behaviours
Employers were asked to discuss the most significant ‘graduate attributes’ that they look for when recruiting at graduate level. Their responses were not guided by predefined lists of skills or competencies, but interviewees were encouraged to think about ‘behaviours’ as well as skills, so that we might understand better what employers value in graduates as they adapt to workplace cultures and etiquette.
i) Communication Skills
Employers consistently emphasise the success of graduates who are confident communicators and who are able to present themselves well in one-to-one and group scenarios. Since many of the tasks required in graduate careers are client facing, our employers believed it imperative that graduate employees are able to communicate well with others (Interview 1.1, 4.11, 5.2, 6.2, 7.2, 8.2). These communication skills are discussed further in the sections on team working (d) and presentation (e) skills where they are more specifically understood.
One of the implications of this emphasis on flexible communication skills is that the ‘lone scholar’ culture of scholarship and research, still maintained in many areas of the university curriculum, and especially in arts and humanities subjects, looks increasingly out of step with the expectations of employers. The extent to which the University of Leeds curriculum is adapting to produce graduates with multi-faceted communication skills is investigated in part 2, section 7.1.
ii) Commercial Awareness
Commercial awareness is highly valued by employers and they especially like to see this demonstrated in graduate CVs and subsequently in interviews. This awareness is typically described as a ‘personality trait’ as much as a developed ‘skill’ and has been linked by employers to a graduate’s curiosity, passion and enthusiasm. Commercial awareness is demonstrated as an interest in particular professional sectors and an understanding of the wider environment in which the organization operates (Interviews 1.5, 2.12, 3.5, 5.6, 6.2, Questionnaire 1.1.5, 1.1.7, 1.1.12). Commercial awareness is also defined as careful research into your company and sector, analyzing its practices, history, culture and language. Such definitions would suggest that the scholarly and critical skills developed through an Arts degree are very useful for developing a nuanced, reflective form of commercial awareness, but it is not presently clear that employers, module tutors or students pinpoint that link between academic research and commercial understanding. This issue is explored further in Part 2, section 7.2.
A graduate’s ability to demonstrate commercial awareness can be nurtured by extra-curricular activities. It is thought by employers that these are crucial to exhibit a student’s interests and abilities outside of subject-specific scholarship. Employers believe that this kind of commercial engagement can be achieved through creative activities such as writing a blog / article about a particular career or organisation, and by more traditional methods such as obtaining a work shadowing position (Interviews 1.1, 1.4, 2.11, 3.2, 4.12, 5.3, and 6.3).
Due to a sense of academic inflation, employers expect applicants with more internship and placement experience (Interviews 2.1, 5.9). Students must be better prepared for this requirement and it is typically graduates with well-rounded CV’s, detailing curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, that are chosen for interview.
iii) Team Working Skills
Team working skills were important to each employer we interviewed, and there are evident concerns that this is not being fully developed at University. Although students are seen to be participating in an increasing number of group work activities and presentations, the employer perception is that these academic scenarios still do relatively little to anticipate a working environment. Team working is regarded as a key behavioural skill for graduates, as most jobs require regular interaction and negotiation with others, including managers, co-workers and clients. Jilly Langley described this as the “balancing act of dealing with a lot of different people all at the same time” (Interview 5.2).
As many students spend most of their curricular time working on their own for personal scholarly goals, it a can be a very hard adjustment to trust other people and work hard together to complete a task (Interview 1.4, 2.9). Simon Shaw from Brass Insight highlighted graduate difficulties in working on multiple projects with multiple team members, and feels that graduates need to trust other members on their team (Interview 2.9). Jilly Langley highlighted a weakness in “contributing in team meetings and brainstorming… When it comes to an open forum, recent graduates are less likely to contribute.” This contribution is especially important as employers want participation from new graduates as it is “their new, fresh ideas that are most valuable” (Interview 5.3).
Employers thought that it was necessary to consider how graduates might be better prepared when they are introduced to the collaborative culture of the workplace. Flexible team working skills are a necessity for all employers and it is important to contemplate whether Faculty of Arts (and University of Leeds) students have the opportunity to acquire these skills by their graduation. This question is explored further in Part 2, section 7.3.
iv) Independence
Independence is an important behaviour according to employers, and something commonly associated with graduate rather than non-graduate applicants. Academic study at Leeds gives students excellent research skills, developed within the university curriculum, which provides for independent learning outside of lectures and tutorials (Interviews 5.2). Adam Robinson, Managing Director of Disruptive Group believes that Arts graduates “normally have the ability to self manage and work independently and they have a good range of research and reporting skills outside their core skill sets” (Interview 7.3).
It is reassuring in this sense that a core academic skill, nurtured by research-based learning and independent study, is closely related to graduate competence by many employers. This is also a conclusion evidenced by Treherne and Rowson’s 2011 University of Leeds UTF report on Student Research and Employability,[2] and should be emphasised to counterbalance some of the perceived drawbacks of the ‘lone scholar’ research culture that predominates in certain parts of the curriculum.
v) Presentation Skills
According to employers, good presentations skills are imperative to a graduate’s skill set. Presentations are used to communicate with colleagues as well as clients and form a vital part of day-to-day employment. While employers are aware that the university is currently including presentations in the curriculum, they would like a further emphasis on their use. They would like for students to learn to accept feedback, as well as the ability and confidence to defend every aspect of their work, to imitate a client or manager in the work environment (See Interviews 3.11, 4.11, 5.4, 7.3, 8.3, 8.11; Questionnaire 2.1.9)
Employers do think it is the responsibility of the University to ensure that graduates have team working skills, as it can be taught in the curriculum through group presentations and projects. Although individual learning is very important, graduates need to focus on their work as process, and not as a competition. In the workforce an employee is expected to be able to present and adapt to varying audiences and it does present the question as these scenarios are anticipated at all by the presentation skills developed in the curriculum. Students should be able to present to their fellow students and accept feedback from them, just as they would eventually present to their work colleagues (Interviews 1.4, 2.12, 4.11, 6.11, and 8.11). Feedback from your peers is an important aspect of presentations at the workplace and students do not receive this peer review with their modules. Feedback is generally given by a sole tutor and takes place as a written assessment where there is not always an opportunity for an in depth discussion. Employers require graduates who are able to not only accept but act on feedback, with the additional skill of defending their work combined with a willingness to change (Interviews 1.4, 2.12, 4.11, 6.11, 8.11).
vi) Critical and Analytical skills
Critical and analytical skills are highly regarded by employers and necessary in every field of work. When describing history graduates, Simon Horniblow felt that they were “very analytical and research-based”. He did find that this led to some difficulties in actually implementing their work: “They could write them the best document in the world but if you asked them to implement it they suddenly seemed unsure as to how to do that.” (Interviews 4.5, 6.2) This raises the question as to whether the university currently allows students to apply their knowledge and ideas in working scenarios or contexts beyond the ‘abstract’ space of the essay. This concern can also be directly linked back to a requirement for improved commercial awareness as discussed in section (b), above. This concern is investigated further in part 2, sections 7.5 and 7.6, where we look at the ability to adapt academic skills and ideas to the workplace.