www.le.ac.uk

Employability

Elliot NewsteadStudent Recruitment OfficerSchool and College ServicesUniversity of Leicester

Who gets paid the most?

Secondary school teacher Mechanical engineer Plumber

Hairdresser/barber Medical practitioner Chief executive

£85,223

£71,279

£40,031

£36,789

£27,866

£12,138

Most likely a degree

Degree

Degree/Apprenticeship

Degree

Apprenticeship/FE qualification

Apprenticeship/FE qualification

* Median gross annual pay, ROGERS, S. 2012. What do you get paid? The 2012 UK salary survey results Guardian [online]. 22 November [Accessed 16 /4/2013]. Available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/nov/22/pay-salaries-survey-ashe-ons

Chief executive

Medical practitioner

Mechanical engineer

Secondary school teacher

Plumber

Hairdresser/barber

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Employability

• What is employability?

• Identify ways to improve your employability

• Create your personal action plan

Why is employability so important?

Why is employability so important for graduates?

Now

Degree = employment

Degree + extracurricular = employment

UCAS tariff + 2:1 degree + right university + extracurricular + work experience = employmentHigher UCAS tariff + 2:1 degree + right university + extracurricular + work experience of measurable value + own personal brand = employment

Graduate Labour Market 2014

2013 recruitment is still well below pre-recession levels – the number of vacancies on offer this year remains more than 10% lower than in 2007 (HF)

85 is the average number of applications per vacancy (AGR)

More than a quarter of jobs are only available to graduates (IE)

Over half top graduate recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes (HF)

20% of new graduates start their career in London – this is confined to a small area of London: Camden, Tower Hamlets and Westminster boroughs (CB)

Approximately 60% of graduate jobs do not require a specific degree – good ‘all-rounders’ are preferred (CB)

8560%50%25%20%10%

What is employability?

• Employment – having a job (being employed!!)– Full time– Part time– Voluntary

Employability is remaining employable throughout your career

What is employability?

Whole-life employability is determined by 6 main areas:

1. What you know (knowledge)

2. What you can do (skills)

3. What you have achieved (results)

4. What you have learned and how you have applied it (experience)

5. What you believe (values)

6. How you are perceived (behaviour)

How can I improve my

employability?

1. Knowledge

2. Skills 3. Results

4. Experience

5. Values6. Behaviour

Further educati

onHigher educati

on

Apprenticeships

Work experienc

e

Work experienc

e

Extra curricula

rCurricular

Volunteering

Academic results

Work achievemen

tsExtra-

curricular achievemen

ts

Work experienc

eVolunteerin

g

Research and

examples

Research and

examples

Academic experienc

e

How can I improve my employability?• Knowledge – through learning, whether formal or on-the-job

• Results – by working harder and working smarter

• Experience – by trying new things and being critical

• Values – realising what your values are, realising others wont share them, and learning to communicate this effectively

• Behaviour – how you think you are perceived, how you are REALLY perceived, and how you would like to be perceived

How can I improve my employability?

SKILLS

According to the Higher Education Careers Service Unit……the top skills that employers are looking for are:

• Communication skills

• Teamwork skills

• Analytical skills

• Numeracy skills

• Creativity

• Flexibility

• A positive attitude

Identify which skills you need for the following activities:

Writing an assignment on the computer

Participating in a sports game

Preparing a group presentation

Writing revision notes

Performing an experiment

Answering a maths question

Mentoring other students

Balancing study, work and family commitments

Team workin

gLeadershi

p

Written communication

Computer literacy

Problem solving

Time management

Oral communicatio

n

Adaptability

Action plan – what can I do now?

How can I improve my employabili

ty right NOW?

1. Knowledge

2. Skills

3. Results

4. Experience

5. Values6. Behaviour

Employability in summary

• Employability is a full-time job

• Employability is crucial in the current employment market

• Try to identify what employers want

• Take active steps to improve your employability NOW

Thank you for listening!