This document discusses employability in higher education. It defines employability as the skills, understandings and attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment. These include business/customer awareness, problem solving, communication, numeracy, IT skills, attitude and entrepreneurship. Research shows sociology students are less aware of the skills employers want and question how employable their degree makes them. The document suggests universities enhance careers support, require work experience and record students' skill development to improve employability and address its challenges across variability in programs and student engagement.

1. Employability,students
perceptions and the
curriculum
Dr Karen Bullock

2. Definition of employability
• ‘A set of achievements – skills,
understandings and personal attributes –
that make graduates more likely to gain
employment and be successful in their
chosen occupations, which benefits
themselves, the workforce, the community
and the economy’ (HEA, 2012)

3. Features of employability
• Business and customer awareness
• Problem solving
• Communication and literacy
• Application of numeracy
• Application of information technology
• A positive attitude
• Entrepreneurship/enterprise

4. Current context
• ‘Embedding employability into the core of
higher education will continue to be a key
priority of Government, universities and
colleges, and employers. This will bring
both significant private and public benefit,
demonstrating higher education’s broader
role in contributing to economic growth as
well as its vital role in social and cultural
development’ (HEFCE 2011, p5)

5. Student understanding
• Comparative lack of research
• Large numbers of students are unaware of
the skills that employers want
• Particular problem for sociology?

6. ‘Employability’

7. Careers advice

8. Work experience

9. I get the feeling that
sociology is seen as a soft
subject by most people and
they won't give me a second
look or any opportunity to
prove I'm just as good
I do sociology, I did it
because I enjoy it, I do
joke that it's not a proper
degree and I share a
house with a drama
student, and we do
nickname ourselves the
'fake degree house'
It's a 'soft' academic subject
(a lot of sub-standard Uni's
offer it) and essentially an
off-shoot of sociology. It
does have it's merits though
I think sociology is a great
subject but I am not going to
lie, from what we were told at
my uni I am sceptical how
strong it is at gaining
employment

10. ‘When I chose to study criminology my main
interest was getting into a well-respected
university doing something I'd enjoy and find
interesting. I'm kind of afraid my degree
doesn't qualify me for anything except police
work which you don't even need a degree for
and I have no interest in working as one
either’

11. Career aspirations and
sociology
• A clear view at the point of selecting the
degree was rare
• ‘Interest’ overwhelming motivator
• Students did not tend to feel that it led
naturally to a specific set of careers
• Getting into a ‘well respected’ university
was viewed as especially important

12. Understanding of
employability
Less likely
• Business and customer
awareness
• Entrepreneurship
• A positive attitude
• Problem solving
More likely
• Communication and
literacy
• Numeracy
• Information technology

13. Responses
• Enhanced or revised central support
• Embedded attribute development
• Work experience
• Recording of experience, development
and achievement alongside academic
progress

14. Problems (1)
• Variability
• Continuing debate about the purpose of
higher education
• Access to work experience
• Many students do not engage with
opportunities

15. Problems (2)
• Assessment
• Uneven outcomes

16. Challenges
• How to enhance the employment of
students, acknowledging that economic
forces will influence success
• How to integrate employability into course
design and delivery
• How to engage with all students
• How to engender cultural change