The relative importance of work experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability
The relative importance of work experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability
Declining graduate labour markets, perceived devaluing of degree qualifications, and intense focus on graduate employment metrics have increased pressure on universities to enhance their students’ employability. Formal curricula developments have been accompanied by co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings intended to enhance students’ career readiness and emerging graduate profiles. Using survey data from undergraduate and postgraduate students in an Australian and UK university (N = 352), multivariate techniques examined participation in employability-related activities and students’ perceptions of their importance for their employability. Data revealed differential participation based on student profile characteristics and the type of activity undertaken. Overall, these were valued for boosting a range of employability-related facets, including networks, learning about future career and profile attractiveness to employers. The more aligned these activities were to intended career outcomes, the more importance they were ascribed. The implications of these findings for enhancing employability-related offerings in universities are discussed.
co-curricular, Employability, extra-curricular, work experience, work-integrated learning
1119-1135
Jackson, Denise
804498bf-3359-4f61-a0f2-bb2377308cd4
Tomlinson, Michael
9dd1cbf0-d3b0-421e-8ded-b3949ebcee18
2022
Jackson, Denise
804498bf-3359-4f61-a0f2-bb2377308cd4
Tomlinson, Michael
9dd1cbf0-d3b0-421e-8ded-b3949ebcee18
Jackson, Denise and Tomlinson, Michael
(2022)
The relative importance of work experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability.
Higher Education Research and Development, 41 (4), .
(doi:10.1080/07294360.2021.1901663).
Abstract
Declining graduate labour markets, perceived devaluing of degree qualifications, and intense focus on graduate employment metrics have increased pressure on universities to enhance their students’ employability. Formal curricula developments have been accompanied by co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings intended to enhance students’ career readiness and emerging graduate profiles. Using survey data from undergraduate and postgraduate students in an Australian and UK university (N = 352), multivariate techniques examined participation in employability-related activities and students’ perceptions of their importance for their employability. Data revealed differential participation based on student profile characteristics and the type of activity undertaken. Overall, these were valued for boosting a range of employability-related facets, including networks, learning about future career and profile attractiveness to employers. The more aligned these activities were to intended career outcomes, the more importance they were ascribed. The implications of these findings for enhancing employability-related offerings in universities are discussed.
Text
Relative value of activities file for review final (3)
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 7 February 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 March 2021
Published date: 2022
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 HERDSA.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
co-curricular, Employability, extra-curricular, work experience, work-integrated learning
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 448681
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/448681
ISSN: 0729-4360
PURE UUID: 65bdc685-7fc3-4874-9416-11b408b75c1a
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Date deposited: 29 Apr 2021 16:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:29
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Author:
Denise Jackson
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