ESCALATE Conference
2nd June 2009
A Model of Graduate
Employability
& An Employability Impact
Measure
Peter Sewell
Futures
In this presentation I will…
 Introduce you to the new model of graduate employability
 Explain how the model can be used in a practical way
 Introduce a measure of Employability impact
What is employability?
For some, it is simply about ‘getting a job’.
Graduate first destinations statistics.
Increasingly being used interchangeably with ‘enterprise’
which in turn is confused with ‘entrepreneurship’.
Models of employability
Yorke & Knight’s (2004) USEM model
Understanding
Skills (or Skillful practices)
Efficacy beliefs
Metacognition
Employability – a definition
“Employability is having a set of skills, knowledge,
understanding and personal attributes that make a
person more likely to choose and secure occupations in
which they can be satisfied and successful.”
(Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007)
The essential components
of graduate employability
Model Components
Reflection and Evaluation
Providing students with the opportunities to gain the
necessary skills, knowledge, understanding and
attributes is obviously important, but so too is providing
opportunities for reflection on and evaluation of the
learning experiences that have taken place.
Personal Development Planning.
CareerEDGE a new model of
graduate employability
Employability
Career
Development
Learning
Experience
(Work & Life)
Reflection and Evaluation
Degree
Emotional
Career
Self-Esteem
Skills
Self-Confidence
Generic
Self-Efficacy
Subject
Knowledge,
Understanding
& Skills
Intelligence
Development Learning
Experience (Work & Life)
Degree Subject Knowledge, Understanding & Skills
Generic Skills
Emotional Intelligence
CareerEDGE - The Key to Employability
(Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007)
Future developments…
Being used as the model to inform the new ‘Futures’
programme at UCLan
The framework for our contribution to the UCLan-SIFT project
Contributing framework for the Pan-European EU funded FSBiotech Employability Project
The development of an employability measurement tool
The Employability Development Profile
Allows the student and their counsellor to:
 Identify development needs
 Track progress
 Allows tutors and managers to assess the impact of employability
development activities within a course or module
 This in turn can help to compare the effectiveness of particular
programmes
The Employability Development Profile
Designed for:
Ease of use
Brevity
Clarity
Employability Development Profile
References & further reading
Bennett, N; Dunne, E & Carré , C (1999). Patterns of core and generic skills provision in higher education, Higher
Education, Vol 37, pp 71-93.
Dacre Pool, L & Sewell, P (2007). The Key to Employability. Developing a practical model of graduate
employability. Education + Training, Vol 49, No 4, pp 277-289.
Goleman, D (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. Bloomsbury, London.
Hillage, J & Pollard, E (1998). Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis. Research Brief No 85.
London, Department for Education and Employment.
Knight, P & Yorke, M (2004). Learning, Curriculum and Employability in Higher Education, RoutledgeFalmer,
London.
Mayer, J D, Salovey, P & Caruso, D R (2004). Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Findings and Implications.
Psychological Inquiry, Vol 15, No 3, pp 197-215.
Pascale, R (1995). In search of the new employment contract, Human Resources, November/December, pp 21-6.
Cited in RothIll, A & Arnold, J (2007), Self-perceived employability: development and validation of a scale.
Personnel Review, Vol 36, No1, pp 23-41.
Rajan, A; Van Eupen, P; Chapple, K & Lane, D (2000). Employability: Bridging the Gap Between Rhetoric and
Reality, First Report: Employer’s Perspective, Create Consultancy/Professional Development Foundation, London.
Cited in RothIll, A & Arnold, J (2007), Self-perceived employability: development and validation of a scale.
Personnel Review, Vol 36, No1, pp 23-41.
The Pedagogy for Employability Group (2004). “Pedagogy for Employability”.