Building the
Bridge
to a Successful
Employability:
Building abilities to
Meeting Employers’
Needs
Prof Abraham Althonayan
Director of International Business
Development and Senior Lecturer in Strategic
Management, BRUNEL Business School
Prof Bella Gazdiyeva
Head of International Office
Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau State
University and Visiting Researcher At Brunel
Business School
Dr Maged Ali
Lecturer in Digital Marketing and Business
Analytics
Prof. Ashley Braganza
Head of Department of Economics and
Finance
What is Business Life?
Building your abilities for a better future
A programme of skills based activities which present students with
the opportunity to develop essential graduate attributes by:
 working,
 thinking,
 and learning together…
 …to meet the challenges of the future
What is Business Life? Employability?
What is Employability?
“A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that
all labour market participants should possess
to ensure they have the capability of being
effective in the workplace - to the benefit of
themselves, their employer and the wider
economy” CBI, 2011
Foreword
“The effects of globalisation on economic prosperity are here to stay.
The past five years have shown that no country or company is
immune from competition. As the world begins to move from recession
to growth, the foundations of that growth have to be strong …..
However, graduates are unable to communicate clearly, work in teams
effectively and conduct themselves in a professional manner. ….. I
firmly believe that is by providing graduates with employability skills
that companies and institutions, in all sectors, will be able to drive
innovation, agility and entrepreneurship.…..”
Mark Stoddart
Head of Talent Acquisition
SAS UK and Ireland
Employability Skills and Attitude
Diplomacy / Office Politics
Understanding Others / Culture
Formal Etiquette
Team-working
Self-Awareness
Proactivity
Self-Promotion
Networking
Planning Action
Basic skills (Literacy & Numeracy)
Communication Skills
Team-working/Interpersonal Skills
Key Skills Development
Creativity/Innovation
Presentation Skills
Reasoning/Comprehension
Problem-solving/Analytical Thinking
Commercial Awareness (Company tours)
Interpersonal Skills
Attendance Record
Self-Confidence
Time Keeping
Workplace &
Flexibility
Personal Attributes
Motivation
Respect for Authority
Ease with which Fit into Culture
Loyalty
Performance/Productivity
Self-Reliance Skills
People Skills
Problem-Solving
Flexibility
Business Acumen
IT/Computer Literacy
Numeracy
Commitment
Team-Working
Interpersonal Skills
Oral Communication
Leadership
Customer Orientation
Foreign Language
General Skills
Specialist Skills
Specific Occupational Skills
Technical Skills – SAGE Accounting, SAP, SAS
How do We Deliver Business Life
Market Analysis
Job Market (Work Placement Employers)
Professional and Public Institutes
Identification of Graduate Attribute (Skills)
Applied
Interpersonal
Mapping of the Graduate Attributes to Training Workshops and
Academic Programme
Implementation of Training Workshops
Internal Certification
External Certification
Employability Reality: What Employers Want?
Applying Employability Skills into our Modules
Direction
Obtaining External Certification and Accreditation
(ECDL, SAGE, SAS, PMI, PRINCE II)
Participating in Business Tours to leading Companies
Career Coaching
Making Success Happen - Industry guest motivational talks
Understanding the world of Business through Industry guest lectures
Developing Entrepreneurial Skills by engaging with Experts
Participating in Industry-University Business Challenge Competitions
The Business Life Journey
Recognition
Internal
External
EMPLOYABILITY ATTRIBUTES
Team Working, Problem Solving, Organisation, Planning and Time Management, Commercial Awareness, Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship, Digital Literacy and ICT Skills, Language and Communication, Data Analysis and Numeracy Skills,
Personal Resilience and Initiative.
How the Business Life Programme Relates to Degree Pathways (UG)
Strongly Recommended Skills
Introduction to
Networking
Business Master
classes
SPSS
ECDL
Extra
Understanding Business Cultures & Etiquette
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Big Data
Skills
SAS Software Training
Sage 50 Payroll
SAS Software Training
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Sage 50 Payroll
SAS Software Training
Sage 50 Accounts
Understanding Business
Cultures & Etiquette
Making Success Happen
Series
Making Success Happen
Series
Making Success Happen
Series
Making Success Happen
Series
Business Tours
Business Tours
Business Tours
Business Tours
General
Marketing
Accounting
International
Business
Sage 50 Payroll
CIPD Interview & Recruitment
Training
Communication &
Influence
Team work
Organizing & chairing a meeting
Customer Service
Skills
Brunel University London
Leadership
Dealing with difficult
people
Presenting to a
Boardroom
Project Management – Prince 2 Practitioner
Working Environment – Adapting to those around you
Desirable Professional & Administrative Skills
Creative problem
solving
12
The
Employability
Transcript
Job Ready Graduate with a portfolio of
In-Demand Skills
ECDL Certification: BCS The Chartered
Institute of IT
PMI/PRINCE 2 Certification: In Project
Management
SAGE Certification: SAGE Accounting
and Payroll
TAX: Self Assessment and VAT
CIPD Recruitment skills for
Professionals
Business Life Ambassadors
Experience
& Events
Exposure
Why I should be a
Business Life
Ambassador and
contribute to the BL
Programme
References
Mentoring
Profiles
Skills
Volunteering, Placements and Internships
 Support for placements:




CV writing
Overseas placements
Assessment Centre Preparation
Placement reflection (on the experience)
 Better final year results (often half a degree classification higher)
 Higher starting salary for graduate positions (having done a
placement)
 Improve confidence and industry awareness (work ethic)
 Development of networking skills, contacts and references
 Job and sector experience for your CV
 A chance to put theory into practice
Our Professional and Industry Collaborations
Employers of BBS Students
Professional and Industry Collaborations
Strategy: Moving Forward
 Skills and Competency Assessment System;
 Credit system for workshops (perhaps assessment?);
 Strengthen accreditation with professional bodies;
 Closer collaboration with industry (steering; committee
/ round table discussions);
 Mapping Business Life with Academic Programmes;
 Extending BL University wide;
 Developing programme of professional skills;
 Development across all pathways;
 Growing the team.
Recommendation for Kazakh
Universities
 Universities and Colleges should integrate
employability skills into their academic
programmes;
 Ensure students gain work experience during
their period of study, exemplified by
internships, voluntary work, placements etc:
 Universities need to ensure a clear structure
for placements and employability activities
Braganza and Ali 2015
Recommendation for Kazakh
Universities (Continue)
 Implement support mechanisms for students
who are unemployed after completing their
programme of study;
 Universities need to ensure a clear structure
for placements and employability activities;
 Spread employability activities across the
years of study based on support and
involvement from staff and employers;
Braganza and Ali 2015
 Building a BL culture.
Student Mobility & (Employ) ability
 Maximise chance of successful employment outcome after a degree
 Employability Skills and Attitude
 Volunteering, Placements and Internships
 Programme to promote employability attributes by working, thinking and
learning together…(disciplines working together)
Q&A