Employer Engaged and Enterprising
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The University Strategy and Vision 2020-2030 states that the Suffolk learning experience will be Employer engaged and enterprising: Approaches designed to enhance graduate level employability will be embedded into curricula. This will be facilitated in part by a collaborative approach to curriculum development that will engage student, alumni, employers and practitioners to ensure that both the curriculum content and the assessment methods are well-aligned with the needs of employers and equip graduates to be independent, flexible and able to identify opportunities. We will also develop out students to become enterprising, ready with the right core skills and entrepreneurial mind set to create value and to develop their ideas and businesses as entrepreneurs. |
The development of employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship knowledge, skills and confidence in our students through a range of activities should begin as they join their programme of study and be woven through modules, assessment as as well as signposted extra and co-curricular activities.
The concepts presented here are developed further in the Content section, and Skills and Knowledge section.
Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the curriculum
The complexity of Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship mens that there can be no single, defined approach to embedding it into the curriculum. This has to be done acknowledging the context of the curricular, any PSRB requirements, and with reference to sector based and institutional ambitions.
The University has targets in the Access and Participation Plan in relation to the progression of our students, both in terms of progression into further higher degree or graduate level employment. related to the progression of our students. This is measured through the annual Graduate Outcomes HESA Survey.
Employability
There are a variety of models for conceptualising employability in the curriculum,
Yorke and Knight (2006) stresses the relationship between employability and good learning, resulting from a balanced achievement in four broad, but interconnected areas: Understanding, Skilful practice, Efficacy and Metacognition. Metacognition brings together self awareness, self-efficacy and the ability to apply learning and problem solving strategies to personal ongoing lifelong learning.
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Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007) developed this further, emphasising the needs for the attainment of confidence and self esteem through reflection of Career, Experience, Degree, Generic Skills and Emotional Intelligence.
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
Enterprise can be understood as "the generation and application of idea, which are set within practical situations a during project or undertaking ... It combines creativity, originality, initiative, idea generation, design thinking, adaptability, and reflexivity with problem solving, innovation expression, communication and practical action (QAA, 2018, p. 7)
Entrepreneurship education can be defined as "the application of enterprise behaviours, attributes and competencies into the creation of cultural, social or economic value. This can, but does not exclusively, lead to venture creation" (QAA. 2018, p. 7)
AdvanceHE have published an Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education Framework which presents the following model for the development and provision of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship education
Considerations:
- When designing your curriculum ensure you reflect the upon how employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship are embedded into each of your modules, enabling the progressive development of the range of skills, behaviours and attributes.
- Speak to employers. They are critical stakeholders and are often invested in helping our University to succeed and develop the graduates they need for their own success.
- Look to subject benchmarks, apprenticeship standards and the requirements of any PSRB.
- Make the learning and development of skills, behaviours and attributes explicit to students and apprentice learners, testing not only their level of ability, but their understanding of what this means for them in relation to the degree subject or their own personal aspirations.
- Provide opportunities for authentic work related learning and work placements.
- Consider how these conversations can fit into Personal Academic Coaching session, at group or individual level, or Learning Hubs as a part of your block design.
- Reach out to the Careers, Employability and Enterprise team for advice, guidance or in course delivery.