This paper analyzes the challenges faced by second-year computing students at Leeds Beckett University in securing work placements, amidst criticism that university curricula do not adequately prepare graduates for employment. Findings from a quiz reveal that while many students desire placements, only a fraction secure them, with issues such as fear and lack of direction identified as barriers. The study emphasizes the need for further research to understand and support students in their career aspirations and experiences in the computing industry.

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Computing students and their journey towards becoming a graduate ‘fit for employment’.
Jackie Campbell, j.campbell@leedsbeckett.ac.uk, Leeds Beckett University
Abstract
The Computing industry has criticized the University curriculum as not producing graduates ‘fit for the job’ (Department for Education, 2013). As a vocational course it seems reasonable that students would wish to enter the Computing Industry, yet graduates with Computer Science degrees currently have the highest level of unemployment (at 14%) (HESA, 2012).
Second year (level 5) computing students at Leeds Beckett University are offered a series of lectures designed to encourage, promote, motivate and support them in finding a year’s work experience placement to undertake between their second and third year of study. In order to encourage engagement and ensure students have given their career and the opportunity to take a placement some consideration, they are required to complete an online quiz which involves answering questions regarding the work experience they have to date and their aspirations. This paper analyses and presents the initial findings of the ‘quiz’ data using a comparative analysis and interpretative analysis on in the format of short ‘vignettes’ provided by the students. The findings show that 75% of the students have generic work experience and out of those a third have spent time in IT related roles. The vignettes provide evidence of themes such as ‘fearfulness’ in approaching work experience and ‘delusion’ in their perception of the industry.
The intention of this initial analysis is to give direction to further research in order to support the students in finding a placement and course related work experience. Areas of particular interest arising from related literature include the role of situated learning in the form of work experience, experiential learning and legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Grenfell, 2008).
Keywords: Computing, students, employability, situated learning, experiential learning, legitimate peripheral learning.
Introduction
What Leeds Beckett do …
We offer:
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Lectures designed to encourage, promote, motivate and support them in finding a yearlong work experience placement.
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support sessions cover the role of work experience, volunteering, social contacts, aspirations, future planning and ‘making things happen’ as well as more practical support on the roles available, where and how to find jobs, CV’s, interviews, assessment centres and psychometric testing.
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Provide self-study workbooks, which they are able to work through individually as required. These booklets provide numerous examples, self-awareness quizzes and information to help with career planning.
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Have a University career office (offering mentoring schemes, job shop and careers office and more).
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All this can be a bit over whelming so students are encouraged to make appointments with their personal tutors or myself to discuss individually the next steps for them.
Quantitative Data: Work experience students have and want
Qualitative Data: Analysis of the textual responses
Analysis
Conclusion and Further work
OPTIONAL LOGO HERE
There were 137 responses.
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65% said they would like to take a placement year
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81% would be interested in a part time IT role
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25% went on to secure a placement at the time Although the numbers are increasing yearly, the number who gain a placement is vastly under the number who said they wanted a placement year.
The analysis of the textual responses intends to build on and investigate further some of the themes raised in the empirical analysis. I have chosen a few responses to consider in detail and have looked to the other responses for further indication of recurrent themes.
The Computing industry has recently criticized the University curriculum as not producing graduates ‘fit for the job’ (Department of Education, 2013). As a vocational course it seems reasonable that students would wish to enter the Industry, yet graduates with Computer Science degrees currently have the highest level of unemployment (at 14%) (HESA, 2012). As the tutor responsible for supporting Computing students with finding a work experience Placement year between their second and third year of study, I find that many students who initially show an interest in taking a placement year do not go on to take one. I am interested in ‘what students do’ to find work experience in the computing Industry. This paper describes the support we currently provide for L5 students in order to promote and encourage them to take a placement year and analyses the responses to a short quiz students were asked to complete at the end of the first Semester. The intention of the analyses is to identify themes to further explore in order to gain a better understanding of the student’s experience of finding Industry related work and so be able to support them better.The data included in the Quiz was first coded and analysed empirically with the intention of highlighting patterns and trends in the students. The ‘free text’ responses were then analysed in order to further explore the patterns and themes that had been identified as a result of the empirical analysis.
Chart to show level of experience Computing/IT students have at the start of L5
None
Few days non-IT/Computing
Few weeks non IT/Computing
Few weeks non IT/Computing and few days IT
Few weeks IT/Computing
Few years non-IT/Computing
Over 75% of the students have worked ‘a job’ for at least a few weeks, giving them valuable generic work experience and the potential to develop ‘transferable’ skills.
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Chart to show numbers of students who wanted a placement year whether they secured a
placement year and their level of work experience.
The data indicates that the level of work experience was not a significant factor in gaining a placement, except in the case of students with a few years work experience. Below: job roles students would like. (Y – went on placement, N-didn’t go on placement)
Student responses
“I have only got work experience within a retail environment, however within the Company I am trusted with managerial duties, however I am currently looking for voluntary work based in the IT industry”.
Fearfullness? Not knowing?
Lack of direction/understanding?
Negative language low confidence
Very broad
Confusion
“I would like to work in an internet or software based company so I can broaden my knowledge of computing in a business environment”.
The internet is software
“I would like to get a better job about my degree in ‘computing’ in any role.” “I would like a computing role or I wouldn’t mind working in an office” “I would like a management job related to my field” “I’ve never worked in an office environment, I am curious about what it would be like” “I have no experience in the role I would like to go into, I would like a computer role” “I have roughly 12 months of work experience. I have worked in an office and on a warehouse shop floor managing IT systems in three different companies. My first job was a voluntary IT job where I shadowed and worked with colleagues in an IT support role. The next 'work experience' role I'd like is a full-time paid job as an IT Consultant or Business Analyst. I am aware that these types of jobs are very hard to secure as a second year undergraduate student, but I am confident in my abilities.”
Situated Learning, social capital
Work experiences
"I would be interested in any role in Microsoft as they are one of the most successful Companies in the world and to work there would be an honour”. “Companies such as Apple and Microsoft would be my ideal job as I can work my way up and progress to be assistant manager of a department”.
Delusion, confusion, lack of assimilation
Statistically unlikely
Bourdieu has suggested that a person’s ‘worth’ or ‘value’ or ‘status’ could be considered in terms of their ‘capital’: economic, cultural and social capital - the groups people are part of - the networks and contacts they have and human capital being a person’s skills and know- how (Grenfell, 2009; Farrel, 2007). A person’s social capital can provide a ‘capital’ for them to spend in order to move into certain groups. This may explain the students difficulty in moving into the Computing Industry. Formal education is not a prerequisite to enter the world as evidenced by high profile IT Companies set up by non- traditional people, such as Bill Gates (Microsoft ) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook ).The students at Leeds Beckett have worked, they have had the skill and social capital to ‘enter the workplace’ their difficulty appears to be moving into professional and/or IT/Computing roles. It could be that they are unable to assimilate their skills in order to make the move or that they simply don’t have the required technical skills or (and I suggest most likely) they have not developed the social capital, in terms of their perceptions and understanding of the computing Industry in order to make the move. An individual’s level of cultural and social capital and their ability to convert these into labour market advantage has been recognised as being an increasingly important determinant of future career success by the Cabinet Office (Tomlinson, 2010; Cabinet Office, 2011) and a finding possibly evidenced within this data. Social capital has recently been considered as a ‘missing link’ in development particularly in educational research to explore why students ‘don’t achieve’ (Serra, 2011; Hill, 2011; Hill, 2009; Martin et al, 2013; Mikaela et al, 2013). Over the last few years it is being applied to ‘employability’ in the western world to explore why students are not securing ‘graduate level’ employment on completion (Hill, 2011; Archer and Davidson, 2008; Blasko et al, 2002).
This initial analysis, the limited findings and the emerging questions supports the intention to research further and focus on the students’ experience of looking for placement/ work, and in
particular the way they strategise an approach to their future employment, and the resources (capital) they bring to the problem. If we, as tutors, can better understand students’ rationalisation
of their situations, we can better support them.
References: see over.