Wider community / employer engagement
Wider community/employer engagement
Approaches taken to engaging employers as well as other individuals and organisation in the external community are multi-dimensional. The growth of work-related learning is requiring significantly more employer/external organisation engagement with HE, our emphasis has been on, wherever possible, extending our work with existing partners rather than always seeking new ones. Through staff sabbaticals and an emphasis on evidence-informed practice we have also encouraged staff to spend time with employers/external organisations actively researching their requirements, this in turn is leading to curriculum development. A third dimension to employer engagement is the extension of the academic team to include staff practitioners, whose role is to bridge the gap between theory and practice are the staff practitioners. With current professional experience they are able to input to students’ professional skills development as well as support employers/external organisations in seeing how their activities may be enhanced by engagement with HE.
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Exploring specific employer requirements of graduates |
References to generic skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership often obscure the occupation/employer-specific interpretation of that skill. What it means, for example, to demonstrate empathic communication as a nurse is likely to be very different from that required as an elite football coach. Using various approaches, from focus groups/questionnaires through to immersive experience, academic staff gained insights into the specific requirements of employers principally recruiting students from particular subject areas. |
Curriculum development for employability, leadership and enterprise |
Presentation based on the results of the sabbatical to external stakeholders |
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Models of employer engagement |
Employer engagement is becoming an increasingly important feature of Higher Education. Employer involvement in the design and delivery of programmes in addition to the provision of placements is gaining greater prominence. Rather than seeking to develop increasing numbers of links with new and different employers/wider organisations the CETL subject areas have been seeking ways to extend the relationships they already have.
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| The Everton Foundation Case Study | David Richardson | Everton Foundation Case Study |
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Exploring perceptions of alumni |
Alumni have a unique, but often under-represented, viewpoint to offer on curriculum content and delivery particularly in terms of their role in preparing students for life after graduation. This research project sought to investigate the perceptions of alumni who were now also placement providers for current undergraduates. |
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Paper presented at the SRHE Conference, Liverpool, | |
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Evaluation of the impact of CETL Support Officers on the employability focused curriculum |
CETL funding enabled the expansion of the traditional academic team to include ‘staff practitioners’. These are individuals with professional experience who are able to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Their roles have been important in supporting students’ professional skill development but also in strengthening links with employers/external organisations. |
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