Recent shifts in education and labour market policy have resulted in universities being placed under increasing pressure to produce employable graduates. However, contention exists regarding exactly what constitutes employability and which graduate attributes are required to foster employability in tertiary students. This paper argues that in the context of a rapidly changing information- and knowledge-intensive economy, employability involves far more than possession of the generic skills listed by graduate employers as attractive. Rather, for optimal economic and social outcomes, graduates must be able to proactively navigate the world of work and self-manage the career building process. A model of desirable graduate attributes that acknowledges the importance of self-management and career building skills to lifelong career management and enhanced employability is presented. Some important considerations for the implementation of effective university career management programs are then outlined.

The graduate attributes we've overlooked : enhancing graduate employability through career management skills

s were reviewed and coded. The following codes drawn from the framework (HEA 2013, p. 2) were used: i. Confidence, resilience and adaptability ii. Experience and networks iii. Attributes and capabilities iv. Specialist technical and transferable skills v. Knowledge and application vi. Behaviours, qualities and values vii. Enterprise and entrepreneurship viii. Career guidance and management ix. Self, social and cultural awareness x. Reflection and articulation. 143 (following the removal of duplicates and items that appeared not to meet the objectives of the review). Three additional codes were also defined at this stage as: xi. Concepts and models xii. Policy-related xiii. Internationalisation In depth review of the documents by category by the research team was undertaken. During this phase some papers were rejected and others added to the coding frame based on searches of the grey literature and the researchers' own knowledge. 213 Following review the paper was written including all relevant materials NB: some papers included in the list of references below were out with the time-frame of the review and are therefore not included in this total. 187 The final database is available as a separate download https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resource/employability-review-literature-2012-2016. Figure 1 sets out how the identified papers break down by year and suggests that interest in employability is continuing to rise. 2 Library Plus is a meta search engine which searches over a hundred databases including the British Education Index, British Library EThOS, Business Source Premier, Education Resource Information Centre, Australian Education, PsychINFO, etc.

Employability: A review of the literature 2012-2016

International education is a key priority for Australian universities, government and employer groups. For students, an international professional experience is uniquely placed in providing opportunities for developing intercultural learning, intercultural competence and global citizenship. Employers see graduates with international experiences as interculturally competent, viewing them as proficient in analysing and responding appropriately to culturally significant values and perceptions. This research seeks to understand how students are prepared for international experiences and how intercultural learning is integrated into course programmes. Academic staff responsible for international experiences were interviewed in one-on-one qualitative interviews about their practices and perceptions of preparing students for these experiences. Although all international programmes were procedurally well planned, we found that most participants did not include intercultural pedagogies into their programmes, nor d...

Developing Intercultural Competence and Global Citizenship through International Experiences: Academics' Perceptions.

A literature review identified 12 strategies that have been empirically linked to improvements in graduate employability. A survey methodology was used to investigate self-reported use and/or perspectives on these strategies among four stakeholder groups. The following questions were asked: to students – What strategies are you using to improve your graduate employability; to graduates – What strategies did you use to improve your employability?; to higher education career development professionals and educators – Which of the following employability strategies do you provide for students?; and to employers – Which of the following strategies undertaken by students does your organisation value when recruiting graduates? Across the four stakeholder groups, 705 responses were received and analysed. The key findings were discrepancies between the strategies reported in the literature and those indicated in the surveys, as well as discrepancies between stakeholder groups in regard to which strategies were indicated.

Discrepant stakeholder perspectives on graduate employability strategies

While the employability of doctoral candidates has been a topic of much discussion, the views of key institutional stakeholders on it are little understood. In order to address this gap, this study explores the perceptions of doctoral candidates, supervisors and researcher developers through semi-structured interviews. This small scale exploratory study adopted Activity Theory as an analytical lens in order to explore the key components of the employability development process and the tensions that might arise as a result of their interaction. Tensions identified relate to mismatches between the perceptions of key stakeholders and external requirements, drawbacks of employability development support as well as engagement of community members and low awareness of the rules that underpin the employability development process. The paper argues that in order for the employability agenda to be successful it needs to become an integral part of doctoral learning process.

Employability development in the context of doctoral studies: systemic tensions and the views of key stakeholders

Career opportunities for Australian research graduates have expanded in recent years into areas outside academia. However, the employment market is highly competitive, and Australian universities have recognised the need to produce graduates with transferable skills across all sectors, not just academia. The need to provide an infrastructure to support the career and skill development of research students has become essential, with funding from the Australian government hinging on institutions providing explicit graduate outcomes. This paper presents a research student peer-to-peer support programme as a model that contributes to the development of graduate career planning and employability skills.

A peer-to-peer support model for developing graduate students’ career and employability skills

Zoos are increasingly implementing formalized animal welfare assessment programs to allow monitoring of welfare over time, as well as to aid in resource prioritization. These programs tend to rely on assessment tools that incorporate resource-based and observational animal-focused measures. A narrative review of the literature was conducted to bring together recent studies examining welfare assessment methods in zoo animals. A summary of these methods is provided, with advantages and limitations of the approaches presented. We then highlight practical considerations with respect to implementation of these tools into practice, for example scoring schemes, weighting of criteria, and innate animal factors for consideration. It is concluded that there would be value in standardizing guidelines for development of welfare assessment tools since zoo accreditation bodies rarely prescribe these. There is also a need to develop taxon or species-specific assessment tools to complement more generic processes and more directly inform welfare management. 

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Welfare Assessment Tools in Zoos: From Theory to Practice

This paper reports on implementing learning plans at an Australian university and their perceived use in supporting doctoral candidates’ professional and academic development. The implementation of individualised learning plans for doctoral candidates was the outcome of university-wide discussions regarding coursework in the PhD. Based on a review of the literature and evaluative comments from candidates and staff, the need for a learning plan for doctoral candidates was identified. Driven by institute-specific learning outcomes for doctoral candidates, we developed an online learning plan, referred to as MyPLAN. Preliminary findings suggest that areas for consideration when introducing a plan include supervisor and candidate involvement in the development and use of the plans, a user-friendly platform for implementing a learning plan, as well as the coordination of learning opportunities throughout the institution to support the specific aspects of the learning plan.

Narelle Jones

Papers

A peer-to-peer support model for developing graduate students’ career and employability skills

Welfare Assessment Tools in Zoos: From Theory to Practice

Using learning plans to support doctoral candidates