Sheffield Hallam University Conference on Transitions, 11 Sept 2014

From Student To WorkplaceDavid Shindler, 11 September 2014

“We have just employed 2 more people. During the interview process, I met with 3 grads with business degrees from ‘decent’ universities. All absolutely useless, no impact, dreadful interviews and worst of all, no appreciation of a commercial or work environment.”

What employers say…

Personality and experience matter!

“You can teach a bubbly person to repair shoes but you can’t put the personality into a grumpy cobbler”

John Timpson, Chairman of Timpson’s Shoes

47% of 200 employers surveyed by REC in 2014 considered attitude to be the most important factor when hiring a young person

Only 4% said that specific academic results, such as achieving a 2:1 degree classification, was most important to them

UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2013: 38% of employers rejected young applicants because they lacked a professional hard-working attitude

“Character and resilience are the crucial ingredients for success in the workplace. Businesses want more rounded and grounded young people”

John Cridland, Director General, CBI, 2014

“The whole system of education – schools, colleges and universities – needs to be more responsive to employers. One side effect to the rise in tuition fees is that students are more demanding in terms of what they want to get out of university. The role, for instance, of enterprise in university is expanding.”

Matthew Hancock, Minister for Skills & Enterprise, 2014

What politicians say…

“Expectations were not as high as I expected. Tutors were saying a 2.2 was fine – I would like people to back me.”

“Everything you do during your time at university now has implications on your ability to be employable”

What students say…

76% of students go to universityto improve their job prospects

Employability is for life

“Because there is so little certainty about what the jobs of the future will involve, universities must train graduates with the right “attitudes and attributes” to keep learning for life. Universities should focus on this when trying to improve employability rather than on “preparation for a specific job”.

What others say…

Sir Michael Barber, Pearson

Learning to leap

Riding the waves of change

SHU Vision 2015

“The outcome of the Sheffield Hallam student experience will be highly employable graduates equipped with the skills and knowledge to prepare them for a professional life, socially responsible and able to live and work effectively in the 21st century.”

The ‘Holistic Student’

• Business, commercial & customer awareness

• Numeracy

Knowledge application

•Self-awareness•Self-management•Positive attitude

Motivation & Engagement

• Global & Inter-cultural awareness

Social Responsibility

• Solving problemsCreative & Critical

Thinking

• ProfessionalIntegrity & Professionali

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•Solving problems•Communicating•Self-management

Research & Enquiry

• Digital literacyDigital Literacy

• Communicating• Working collaboratively • Teamworking

Communication

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SHU 8 Graduate Attributes mapped with CBI/UKCES 12 Employability capabilities

Whose responsibility?

They’re wrong!

35% of students think that the main responsibility for preparing them for working life lies with their university

Transition curve

Top 5 tips for transition to the workplace

1. Finding out the rules of the game

2. Preparing well – job hunting is a job

3. Managing expectations

4. Creating a 6 months positioning plan

5. Tapping into Alumni and mentoring

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