Practical Research 1: Lesson 8 Writing the Thesis Statement.pptx
Help wanted, apply within: seeking DLHE graduate employability data and other exciting opportunities (Professor Craig Mahoney)
1. Help wanted, apply within: seeking DLHE
graduate employability data and other
exciting opportunities
Professor Craig Mahoney 9th May 2013
2. National population 63 million
HE population 2.5 million
International Students 430,000
TNE on UK programmes 500,000
Population under 30 in HE 43%
Academic staff in UK HE 180,000
Staff qualified to teach 38,000
UG = 1.9 million, PG = 600,000
Some numbers to get you
started!
2
3. 3
Fee Structure Across the UK
Domicile of
student
Location of institution
England Scotland Wales NI
England Up to £9k Up to £9k Up to £9k Up to £9k
Scotland Up to £9k No fee Up to £9k Up to £9k
Wales Up to £3,465* Up to £3,465* Up to £3,465* Up to £3,465*
NI Up to £9k Up to £9k Up to £9k Up to £3,465
* balance met by Welsh Government through a non-means tested tuition fee grant, of up to £5,535,
4. • Higher education in UK, most turbulent
times for decades/centuries
• High performance, less money, less time,
less flexibility, more regulation
• Significant funding cuts, change in student
population, increase in expectations
• Students at the heart, their needs
heightened, their awareness raised and
their voices heard
• Student numbers & tight number controls
• Future impact unclear & possibility of
fragile business models 4
Challenges – the short list!
5. • Blokes want data. Blokes like;
• Stephen Farry
• Leighton Andrews
• Mike Russell
• David Willetts
5
Who wants data?
6. • Return on investment
• Policy drivers
• Responsible government
• HEI Performance Indicators
• Employer responsiveness and sensitivity to changing
careers
• Monitor student demand
6
What purpose data to
government?
7. • HEI awarding the degree
• Classification of the degree
• Academic discipline studied
• Transcript of modules studied
• HEAR, transferable skills and graduate attributes
• Employment rates by broad subject
7
What sits behind the data?
10. • Not just a survey of unemployment or jobs that
graduates do.
covers the courses they study, how much they get paid
(if at all)
where they are working and even how they found their
job
useful for careers, for university administration and for
policy
Not Just a Survey
11. • DLHE is one of the world’s best examinations of the
employment of graduates
extremely comprehensive (80% coverage for early
DLHE)
covers graduates at all qualification levels
only the Australians really have a comparable national
survey
the early survey has been going for 50 years, so a rich
time series
it’s followed up with a sample after 3.5 years
World's Best?
12. • HECSU use it to;
help careers advisors understand what graduates
actually do when they graduate
produce publications on career options for university
applicants
examine local jobs markets
investigate postgraduate study and the outcomes of
that study
look into demand for specific subjects and occupations
track how graduates look for jobs and how that
changes over time
How DLHE data is used
13. 1. Commercial awareness (or
business acumen)
2. Communication
3. Teamwork
4. Negotiation and persuasion
5. Problem solving
6. Leadership
7. Organisation
8. Perseverance and motivation
9. Ability to work under
pressure
10. Confidence
Graduate Employment Skills
15. CBI forecast predicts GDP growth to hit 0.6%
for 2012 rising to 2% in 2013 (May 2012)
HEA’s Postgraduate Research Experience
Survey (PRES) 2011:
50% agreed "I am encouraged to reflect on my
professional development needs" (compared to
43% in 2009)
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/e
mployability/pedagogy_for_employability_updat
e_2012
15
Employability
16. 16
Changing world
Responding to a changing world. Preparing students for a ‘globalised’ workplace
and for the tough jobs market.
PRES also found that no more than half of PGR students surveyed in 2011 agreed
they had had their career and professional development needs met:
Professional Development and Career questions, % agree (Q7)
43.90%
50.10% 47.20%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
7a) I am encouraged to
think about the range of
career opportunities that
are available to me.
7b) I am encouraged to
reflect on my professional
development needs
7c) I am encouraged to
reflect on my career
development needs
%agree
17. • Disparity between students’ perceptions of employability and
those of employers
• Employers and students’ value work experience but barriers
exist in provision and access
• Students lack awareness of SMEs in terms of requirements and
opportunities
• Employers are confused by the range of employability awards
and how to assess their value
• Many students are not engaged with employability or with
enterprise education
• Assessing the impact of employability support is a challenge
and needs to be addressed
17
Perspectives – employer v
student
18. Press Release Strictly embargoed until 00.01hrs
Monday 14th January 2013
New research shows the graduate job market
stalled in 2012 but vacancies at Britain’s leading
employers are set to increase again in 2013
18
High Fliers
High Fliers Research Limited
King’s Gate, 1 Bravingtons Walk, London N19AE
Telephone 020 7428 9000 Fax 020 7428 9111 Email
surveys@highfliers.co.uk
19. Institutional data: a potentially
rich source of untapped
information useful for planning
and decision-making that is
underexploited by institutions.
Yorke et al, 2005
Universities need to extract
from the data around them
intelligence needed to make
sound decisions if they are to
succeed in these challenging
times.
Bekhradnia, 2005; 2007
19
Gold in them there hills?
20. Reports that say that something hasn't happened are
always interesting to me, because as we know,
there are known knowns;
there are things we know we know.
We also know there are known unknowns; that is to
say we know there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones
we don't know we don't know.
Donald H. Rumsfeld, 2002
20
Tackling the knowns and
unknowns
24. Curriculum Relevance
Must develop a curricula robustly
informed by a broader world view –
not too British-centric or Euro-
centric
• Individual institutional mission
• Enterprise & IT supported
• Broader knowledge
• Graduate and transferable skills
24
On-going Development
Commercial awareness (or business acumen): This is about knowing how a business or industry works and what makes a company tick. Showing that you have an understanding of what the organisation wants to achieve through its products and services, and how it competes in its marketplace. How to show employers your commercial awareness2. Communication: This covers verbal and written communication, and listening. It's about being clear, concise and focused; being able to tailor your message for the audience and listening to the views of others. How to impress graduate recruiters with your communication skills3. Teamwork: You'll need to prove that you're a team player but also have the ability to manage and delegate to others and take on responsibility. It's about building positive working relationships that help everyone to achieve positive goals and business objectives. How to use your teamwork skills to get a graduate job4. Negotiation and persuasion: This is about being able to put forward your way, but also being able to understand where the other person is coming from so that you can both get what you want or need and feel positive about it.5. Problem solving: You need to display an ability to take a logical and analytical approach to solving problems and resolving issues. It's also good to show that you can approach problems from different angles. How to show employers your problem solving skills6. Leadership: You may not be a manager straight away, but graduates need to show potential to motivate teams and other colleagues that may work for them. It's about assigning and delegating tasks well, setting deadlines and leading by good example. How to show your leadership potential in job applications7. Organisation: This is about showing that you can prioritise, work efficiently and productively, and manage your time well. It's also good to be able to show employers how you decide what is important to focus on and get done, and how you go about meeting deadlines.8. Perseverance and motivation: Employers want people to have a bit of get-up-and-go. Working life presents many challenges and you need to show employers that you're the kind of person who will find a way through, even when the going gets tough... and stay cheerful-ish.9. Ability to work under pressure: This is about keeping calm in a crisis and not becoming too overwhelmed or stressed.10. Confidence: In the workplace you need to strike the balance of being confident in yourself but not arrogant, but also have confidence in your colleagues and the company you work for.
In a recent report by the CBI suggest growth will return to the UK economy in the second half of 2012and pick up pace next year. The latest CBI forecast predicts GDP growth to hit 0.6% for 2012 rising to 2% in 2013.The predictions, which follow data showing the UK economy contracted again in the first quarter, are broadly in line with those from the Office for Budget Responsibility which expects UK growth to hit 0.8% in 2012 and 2% next year.We know from student experience surveys that students are concerned that their university experience equips them with skills and attributes for the workplace and maintains a focus on employability.PRES 201144% agreed with the statement "I am encouraged to think about the range of career opportunities that are available to me" (compared to 37% in 2009);47% agreed with the statement "I am encouraged to reflect on my career development needs" (compared to 40% in 2009.)Not all about just employability – In Guardian on 1st May article about studying a degree and it not just a mean to an end. It is about personal development, confidence in ability, engaging and learning from others – broader purposes.
Reviewing the curriculum - Specific project work with individual institutions such as Southampton, Hertfordshire and DerbyEnterprise - Business Simulation Southampton invited students to work with small businesses in the university during Easter break 2012. IT - More flexible approaches to delivery for changing student population comprised of part-time, international, work based and campus based. OER opportunities for sharing resources.