The staff of UNE Employability & Careers (E&C) are committed to providing meaningful programs across the suite of UNE courses, both under and post-graduate, assisting each and every student to be employable by their course completion. But, we cannot do it alone!
UNE E&C have evolved from only providing the traditional one-on-one consultations negotiating resume and application techniques to also embedding employability skills firmly into the curriculum. Through this evolution we work together with School staff to ensure all students have equitable access to the latest graduate employment requirements, and therefore we share the employability responsibility across the UNE community.
So what is employability?
Employability is defined as:
‘a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.’
Ref: Employability in higher education: what it is – what it is not, The Higher Education Academy 2006
And how is it everyone’s responsibility?
The Higher Education Academy has developed a graphic that shows that employability skills are already being developed by academics in units. While, this has been the case for many years, it is now time to clarify and reward our students by ensuring that they are aware that they are employable. It is important for UNE students to identify their skills and abilities and how they can demonstrate these to future employer and use them in their desired career journey. This is where UNE E&C can assist you and your students.
How we can work together?
UNE E&C staff have a number of programs that are currently available and are experienced in facilitating workshops for all aspects of employability, job search and application. The accredited UNE E&C staff can work with the academic/school staff to develop and recognise embedded transferable employability skills into courses of study. Graduate employers are looking for the traditional soft skills, however, to enhance our students’ employability, they will need to work towards developing future proofing skills. These are: Critical Thinking; Creativity; Emotional Intelligence; Interdisciplinary; Cross-cultural Competence; and Technical Aptitude.
Employability is a whole of UNE community responsibility and the UNE E&C staff are available to ensure the resources needed by academic staff for their student cohorts are up to date and available. The UNE E&C staff can provide the support to the academic community, without taking the teaching responsibility away from the Schools.
When to start?
Introduction of employability to the new student cohort is vital to ensure UNE provides each student with the correct pathways for where a student may see themselves in the future. UNE’s students are traditionally non-school leaver, however, many of our students are disadvantaged in the knowledge of the requirements of future/digital employment. Examples are as follows:
Mature age student who is career transitioning – this student has worked in the one industry/profession for many years, is very skilled but cannot articulate how they have the skills, they do not know how to transfer those skills to a new career path, and often they have never had to apply for a position.
Mature age student who has been at home with no/little employment history – this student is often in a carer role, possibly been involved in community work, may have some study completed, and has not worked for many years.
Student who requires a qualification to keep their career on track – this student is often not prepared for the requirements of a role and the application it takes to apply for their future, is unaware of employability skills and how they relate to the workplace.
First in Family – this student can be of any age, they often do not realise the opportunities of graduate employment outcomes and have no education in what may be available to them for their future.
School Leaver – it is often a misconception that a school leaver comes to university knowing what study they are embarking on and the career they will enter at the end of the study period. In actual fact, these students are often the ones with little or no career trajectory before them, questioning skills and abilities and not making the most of transferable employability opportunities before them.
Through working with Schools in the initial units of a study program, UNE E&C can assist Schools in ensuring that their students are on the way to graduate success.
What other resources are available to assist you with employability?
UNE E&C now have the UNE Careers Toolkit available to both students and yourself. Schools are welcome to provide content to be included. As you can see from the graphic below, the Toolkit is now displayed in the School areas that students are familiar with.
Through including relevant information to their area of study and the career pathways that are available to them, students will have the most up-to-date and dynamic career information. UNE E&C staff do not have all the answers, and working together with School staff, we are able to provide the best possible service to our students, giving them opportunities that other universities cannot – we are known for the personalised service.
WORK units
UNE E&C currently have 3 units – WORK100, WORK300 and WORK500 – designed to further enhance students’ employability.
WORK100 is designed to prepare students to move into their chosen career or prepare for further study. The unit aims to build student creative, critical and analytical skills, and prepare them for the world of work focusing on adaptability, and active decision making.
WORK300 and WORK500 are units for students that are more than half way through their program of study. It is based on job-search techniques and has a 120 hours work placement.
Over the coming weeks, we will be providing more information about these units to you for a better understanding of how they will benefit your students and assist with their employability.
Traditional career services
It is essential for some traditional careers services to be maintained and career counselling to occur when needed, and UNE E&C staff continue to provide one-on-one consultations for those students who need dedicated careers advice – especially those who need the extra support in decision making. Many of these consultations are the result of direct referral from other support services, academics and school staff – once again proving that employability is everyone’s responsibility. We are but one piece of the employability puzzle, it takes a comprehensive team to ensure that students are provided the best possible advice and empowerment to embark on their future career path.
How to contact us:
If you would like to discuss working together or what we can assist with, please email: careers@une.edu.au
Julia Perryman
Career Counselling Co-ordinator
UNE Employability & Careers
Education Enterprises