This document presents a framework developed at Sheffield Hallam University to support student employability. It combines 21 existing employability frameworks into a single framework with three categories: developing expertise to link course content to employability; personal profile to support understanding the recruitment process; and placement preparation skills. The framework was developed through a methodology including defining elements, describing standards, and applying it to courses. It aims to help students better articulate and express their skills to support their job applications and interviews.

1. Examples
of
Employability
Frameworks
at
Sheffield
Hallam
SHU
graduate
a<ributes
2011
SBS
Employability
Skills
Hallam
Awards
SHU
careers Venture
Matrix ACESPlacement
Applica'on
of
knowledge Time
Management Analy'cal
skills
Communica'on Teamwork Self
management
and
development
Integrity
and
professionalism Wri>en
Communica'on Business
and
customer
awareness
Teamwork Risk
management Working
with
and
rela'ng
to
others
Research
and
Enquiry Oral
Communica'on Cultural
Awareness Leadership Nego'a'on
and
influencing Communica'on
skills
Mo'va'on
and
engagement Visual Communica'on
skills Commercial
awareness
Effec've
communica'on Managing
tasks
Professional
Confidence Problem
Solving Cri'cal
Thinking
Problem
solving Crea'vity
and
innova'on Problem
solving
Communica'on Planning
and
priori'sing Enterprise
skills Intercultural
awareness Posi've
/
can
do
aNtude Applying
numeracy
Crea'vity
and
Cri'cal
Thinking
Team
working Global
Awareness
skills Numeracy
and
IT Ini'a've Applying
technology
Digital
Literacy IT Innova'on Time
management Organising
and
planning Applying
design
and
crea'vity
Numeracy Interpersonal
skills Planning
and
organisa'on Decision
making
Professional
awareness
Crea'vity
Informa'on
Technology Analy'cal
skills Problem
solving Organisa'onal
awareness
Problem
solving
skills Iden'fying
opportuni'es
Resilience Leadership
Risk
management Thinking
'on
the
spot'
Teamwork Networking
Flexibility
/
adaptability
Sources
of
Employability
Frameworks
Southampton
Solent
'Cap'al
Compass'
Made
in
Sheffield
IBM
Precision
Consultancy
SHU
graduate
a>ributes
2011
SBS
Employability
Skills
Hallam
Awards
HEA
2014
scien'fic
competencies
SHU
careers
Prospects
Open
university
Venture
matrix
Employability
what?
Uni
of
Sheffield
ACESPlacement
The
Pedegogy
for
employability
2004
CVCP,
1998
CBI
future
fit
2009
Brilliant
employability
skills,
2012
Hawkin,
1999
Dr Andy Hirst
Teaching Fellow in Work Based Learning
Developing an Employability Success Framework
Work in Progress
Example
Sources
of
Employability
Skills
DescripIons
and
DefiniIons
Newlove,
A.
(2014)
Employability
what?
The
Cloister
House
Press.
UK
Yates,
J.
(2014).
The
career
coaching
handbook.
Routledge.
London.
Trought,
F.
(2012).
Brilliant
employability
skills.
Pearson.
London
Co>rell,
S.
(2010).
Skills
for
success:
Personal
development
and
employability.
Palgrave
Macmillan.
London.
Graves,
A.
(2010).
Delivering
employability
skills
in
the
lifelong
learning
sector.
Learning
Ma>ers.
Exeter.
Kirton,
B.
(2012).
Brilliant
workplace
skills
for
students
and
graduates.
1st
Ed.
Pearson.
London.
Roderick
C.
and
S.
Lucks
(2010).
Your
hired!
Interview
answers
Trotman
Publishing.
London.
Methodology
Step 1 - Gathered frameworks
21 employability frameworks were found from accessible resources
Step 2 - Combined into one framework
With the support of Business and Enterprise Group staff and students
the frameworks were combined into one general framework.
Step 3 - Added course specific components
Created a 2nd category of employability aimed at supporting an
understanding of course content and its relevance to employability.
This category was named developing expertise.
Created a 3rd category of employability aimed at supporting an
understanding of the recruitment game. This included an online
profile and job application component. The category was named
Personal Profile.
Step 4 - Developed definitions
A combination of business education, employability and internet
resources were used to support the creation of clear definitions for
each element of the framework.
Step 5 - Described expected standards
Guidance notes was created for each element of the framework.
These were broken into two categories; expectations up to the
placement year (Level 4 and 5) and the ‘gold’ standard for career
progression.
Step 6 - Applied to courses
Worked with module leaders to identify interesting and unique
employability elements for each module.
Step 6 - Tested
On going work is being conducted with 2nd and Final year students to
create final version and determine the impact on recruitment practice
Step 7 - Embed
Review course practice and develop support for teaching and
learning
Placement
Preparation skills Online Profile
Opportunities
- Helps students express a full range of
employability skills in interviews or
applications
- Supports job selection by enabling all
stakeholders to understand the nature
of a course’s employability profile
- Enables staff to develop a better
understanding of employability and
identify gaps within the course offer
- Provides a framework for students to
develop their reflective practice
throughout any work based learning
opportunity
Rational
1 in 3 students who take a placement or internship gain a full time
role with the same organisation. Therefore, students that gain a
placement experience will have a direct benefit to SHU's
employability goals and its subsequent standing in University league
tables.
However, to gain an undergraduate training placement, ACES
students on average apply for over 20 jobs. Students are expected
to submit graduate standard applications and compete nationally
with other university students. To secure lucrative or prestigious
placements with global organisations, our students are expected to
fund their own travel costs to attend interviews. They must forego the
valuable teaching and learning experiences provided in their courses
to undertake assessment centres and interviews. The process of
gaining a placement is complex and costly and warrants our close
attention. By supporting students through this process we can all
benefit.
Personal experience working with undergraduates has revealed that
students can often underplay their abilities or fail to articulate these
adequately during the job application process. This is not surprising,
as an examination of 21 readily accessible employability frameworks
revealed that employability was portrayed as a short list of keywords,
without elaboration. As a set of generic skills which fail to recognise
the contribution of specialist knowledge and skills; and they pay little
attention to the process of recruitment and how we 'sell' our skills in
the modern job market. This poster presents a framework,
developed for the Business and Enterprise Group, within the
Department of Computing, that embraces all three issues.
The initial motivation to develop this framework was to enhance the
support to level 5 students seeking placements. However, there is
potential for this framework to support other work based learning
activities; marketing; staff development; and embedding
employability within curriculum.
Supports HEA (2015)
Embedding Employability
Framework:
Reflection and Articulation