Employability

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Display evidence of critically examining how wider social and economic changes impact on education systems and education policy relating to skills, professional and economic development.
• Develop an enhanced reflection and practical awareness in relation to the management of your own employability and early career planning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the complex political and socio-economic surrounding individuals' transitions to, and integration, into the contemporary.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the issues and factors that shape individuals' employment progression and outcomes and how employability is socially and personally constructed.

• The meanings and definitions of employability;
• Theoretical approaches to understanding employability;
• Resources relevant to employment, including skills and capitals;
• The relationship between employability and equality, including class, gender and disability;
• The changing relationship between higher education and the job market;
• The perspectives of employers and the recruitment process;
• Practical tools in relation to employability, including CV management, job search and interviews

Teaching and learning methods

The module will use a combination of lectures and interactive learning approaches, the latter largely based on prior reading before each session. You should expect to do a significant amount of research and reading outside of class contact time - some reading or activities will be directed by those who are teaching on this module, however, you should also expect to undertake research and exploration of the topics yourself. You will also have a 1:1 tutorial towards the end of the module to discuss your topic with the module tutor and plan ahead for the coursework.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Review of Vocational Education - The Wolf Report. Report to the Department of Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. London: HMSO.

Journal Articles

Wilton, N. (2012). The impact of work placements on the skills development and career outcomes of business. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), pp. 603-620.

Howieson, C. and Semple, S (2013). The Impact of Career Websites: what's the evidence?. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 41(3), pp. 287-301.

McGowan, T (2015). Should Universities Promote Employability. Theory and Research in Education, pp. 1-19.

Studies in Higher Education.

Education and Training.

Journal of Education and Work. Journal of Education and Work.

British Educational Research Journal.

British Journal of Sociology of Education.

Holmes, L. (2013). Competing Perspectives on Graduate Employability: possession, position or process?. Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), pp. 538-554.

Higher Education Research and Development.

Tomlinson, M (2012). Graduate Employability: a review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), pp. 407-431.

Fugate, M (2004). Employability: a psycho-social construct, its dimension and application. Journal Vocational Behavior, 65(1), pp. 14-38.

Textbooks

The Global Auction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Education, Work and Identity. London: Bloomsbury.

The mismanagement of talent: employability and jobs in the knowledge economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External