Tag: employability

  • Podcast: Public attitudes, housing, employability

    Podcast: Public attitudes, housing, employability

    This week on the podcast we discuss fresh polling on public attitudes to UK universities, which shows how a widening graduate/non-graduate divide and sharper political splits are fuelling worries about degree quality and whether universities are focused on the country’s interests.

    Plus we discuss the housing crunch – the new Renters’ Rights Act, warnings on missed housebuilding targets, and what a forthcoming statement of expectations on student accommodation could require of providers working with local authorities. And we explore employability insights from new research – the language gap between university “attributes” and real job adverts, and how to recognise skills students gain beyond the curriculum.

    With Ben Ward, CEO at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, Johnny Rich, Chief Executive at the Engineering Professors’ Council and Push, Livia Scott, Associate Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.

    Student accommodation – a tale of two cities, and 2point4 students

    The Renters’ Rights Act is out of the oven, but the student housing market is still cooked

    Shared Institutions: The public’s view on the role of universities in national and local life / More in Common and UCL Policy Lab

    AGCAS: Uncovering Skills

    Employability: degrees of value / Johnny Rich

    Research Plus

    You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Deezer, RadioPublic, Podchaser, Castbox, Player FM, Stitcher, TuneIn, Luminary or via your favourite app with the RSS feed.

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  • Skills and employability: embedding to uncovering

    Skills and employability: embedding to uncovering

    Author:
    Claire Toogood

    Published:

    • The blog below was kindly authored for HEPI by Claire Toogood, Research and Strategic Projects Manager at AGCAS.
    • Elsewhere, Nick Hillman, HEPI’s Director, has responded to the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper in a piece for Times Higher Education.

    In recent years, UK higher education has made significant strides in embedding employability into the curriculum. From frameworks and toolkits to strategic initiatives, the sector has embraced the idea that employability is not an add-on, but a core element and outcome of any academic course. Yet, as the new Uncovering Skills report reveals, embedding is only part of the story. A future challenge, and significant opportunity for impact, lies in helping students uncover, recognise, and articulate the skills they are already developing.

    This project, led by AGCAS and supported by Symplicity, draws on three national datasets, including focus groups, event survey data, and applications to the inaugural Academic Employability Awards. It builds on foundational work such as Kate Daubney’s concept of “Extracted Employability” which reframed employability as something inherent in academic learning, not externally imposed. Alongside sector-wide efforts like the AGCAS Integrating Employability Toolkit and Advance HE’s embedding employability framework, and institutional contributions like Surfacing Skills and Curriculum Redefined at the University of Leeds, Daubney’s work lays the groundwork for a more inclusive and intentional approach to employability.

    The latest findings from the Uncovering Skills project suggest that visibility, confidence, and perceived relevance remain major barriers. Students often struggle to recognise the value of their informal experiences (such as part-time work, caring responsibilities, and volunteering) and they can lack the language to describe these in employer-relevant terms. As one focus group participant noted, ‘Students often think if it’s not linked to their degree then it is not relevant.’ Another added, ‘They disregard skills gained from everyday life – like being a parent or managing during Covid.’. To resolve this, reflection is critical, but it is inconsistently supported across higher education. Time-poor students tend to engage only when prompted by immediate needs, such as job applications. ‘Reflection from the student perspective doesn’t become a need until they’ve got an interview,’ said one participant. Others highlighted that ‘self-reflection and deeper knowledge of skills is where students fall down… poor preparation in earlier education is a factor.’.

    The report also highlights that some student cohorts face compounded challenges. International students, disabled students, and those from widening participation backgrounds require tailored and targeted support to uncover and express their strengths. Institutional collaboration with career development experts is essential, yet reflections from careers professionals involved in the project show that they are not always included in curriculum design, and staff who champion employability often lack recognition, no matter where they are employed within their institution.

    Technology, including AI, offers new possibilities, but also risks encouraging superficial engagement if not used intentionally. ‘Rather than learning what these skills are and having to articulate them, they just abdicate that responsibility to AI,’ warned one contributor. Another observed that students are ‘superficially surfing through university – not as connected to skills development’. The Uncovering Skills report includes a series of case studies that explain how careers professionals and academic staff at ACGAS member institutions are tackling these multiple challenges.

    So, what needs to change?

    The report makes six recommendations:

    1. Make skills visible and recognisable: Use discipline-relevant language and real-world examples to help students connect academic learning to transferable skills.
    2. Support students to uncover skills across contexts: Validate informal and non-traditional experiences as legitimate sources of skill development. Embed reflection opportunities throughout.
    3. Equip staff to facilitate skills recognition: Provide training, shared frameworks, and recognition for staff supporting students in uncovering and articulating their skills.
    4. Use technology to enhance, not replace, reflection: Promote ethical, intentional use of AI and digital tools to support self-awareness and skill articulation.
    5. Tailor support to diverse student needs: Design inclusive, flexible support that reflects the lived experiences and barriers faced by different student cohorts.
    6. Foster a culture of skill recognition across the institution: Embed uncovering skills into institutional strategy, quality processes, and cross-functional collaboration.

    The report includes a call to action, stressing that it is time to build on excellent work to embed and integrate employability by fully supporting students to uncover and articulate their skills. This includes ensuring that all students can equitably access the tools, language, and support they need to succeed. It must include the creation of environments where students feel confident recognising and expressing their skills, whether from academic settings, extra-curricular spaces, or lived experiences; championing equity by validating all forms of learning. It also means investing in staff development and cross-functional collaboration.

    Uncovering skills is a shared responsibility, and a powerful opportunity, to transform how students understand themselves, their experiences and learning, and their future.

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  • International Graduates and the New Employability Challenge

    International Graduates and the New Employability Challenge

    • By Louise Nicol, Founder of Asia Careers Group.

    As global economies come under increasing strain from technological disruption, demographic change and tightening labour markets, one long-held assumption is starting to fray: that an overseas degree guarantees stronger employment outcomes for international graduates returning home. For many years, particularly across Asia, this belief underpinned the value proposition of international education. But new data suggests that this premium is beginning to erode – not because domestic education is closing the gap, but because international graduates are being left to navigate the final step of their journey alone.

    Recent analysis from the Asia Careers Group (ACG), drawing on the outcomes of over 20,000 international graduates from UK and Australian universities who returned to China, India, Malaysia, and Singapore since 2015, offers critical insights. The headline message is that while international graduates continue to outperform their domestically educated peers in many cases, the margin is narrowing. The problem is not the quality of education delivered overseas, but the lack of structured support that enables these students to transition into meaningful employment in their home markets. For families across Asia making significant financial sacrifices to send their children abroad, the return on investment increasingly hinges not just on the degree earned, but on the job secured afterwards. For universities in the UK and other major host countries, international graduate outcomes are no longer just a reputational concern – they are becoming central to the long-term sustainability of international recruitment strategies.

    China’s story illustrates the shifting terrain. For decades, foreign-educated Chinese graduates enjoyed a clear employment advantage in China’s urban job markets. Overseas qualifications, English fluency and global experience were seen as major assets. But just before the pandemic, as outbound numbers surged and China’s youth unemployment crisis deepened, that edge started to dull. The term ‘Sea Turtles’ (or haigui) came to represent the growing number of returnees entering an already saturated labour market, combined with employer preference for local experience, meant that the haigui label no longer guaranteed success.

    By 2020, full-time employment among returnees had dropped below 30% – lower than the domestic graduate average for the first time. And yet, recovery has followed. In 2023-24, nearly 50% of internationally educated Chinese graduates secured full-time employment within six months of graduation, while only 30% of their domestically educated peers did the same. Despite mounting geopolitical pressure and a sluggish economy, UK and Australian degrees remain a lever of upward mobility, so long as students are able to connect their education to employment.

    India reveals the outsized influence of immigration policy on international graduate outcomes. Following the withdrawal of post-study work rights by the UK government in 2012, Indian students returning home with UK degrees struggled to compete in the domestic job market. The lack of international work experience meant they were often indistinguishable from their peers who had remained in India. When post-study work rights were reinstated in 2019, a marked improvement followed. By 2022, nearly 65% of Indian returnees were in full-time employment within six months, well ahead of the national average. However, this improvement has not held.

    Since 2023, the data shows another downward trend. While the Graduate Route remains technically available, it has not been accompanied by sufficient careers guidance, reintegration support, or India-facing employer engagement. As a result, many students—even those who stay on to work in the UK for a period—struggle to reconnect with Indian employers when they return. Without a deliberate, structured transition, the employability premium fades.

    Malaysia presents a more complex picture. ACG data from 2010 to 2021 show that full-time employment for returnees dropped from nearly 80% to just over 30%. By contrast, Ministry of Education and Khazanah Research Institute data suggest that domestic graduate outcomes have remained relatively flat, hovering around 45–50%. On the surface, this looks like a convergence, but not for the right reasons. Employment outcomes for returnees have worsened, rather than improved, for domestic graduates. And yet when salary data is introduced, the story changes. International graduates continue to command significantly higher incomes, particularly those with UK and Australian degrees. ACG’s analysis and national labour statistics both show a clear premium: returnees are more likely to earn over RM6,000, while 65% of domestic graduates earn under RM2,000. This suggests that international education still opens doors to higher-level and better-paid roles—but only once graduates overcome the initial hurdle of securing employment. Without local support networks and targeted CIAG, many returnees remain stranded at the starting line.

    Singapore’s system is notable for its transparency, with robust graduate employment data published annually. Even so, ACG’s data shows that internationally educated Singaporean returnees are now significantly less likely to secure full-time roles than their locally educated peers. Between 2013 and 2023, employment for returnees fell from over 80% to just above 40%, while domestic graduate outcomes stayed consistently above 75%. But this is less a judgement on the quality of international education than a reflection of systems misalignment. Many Singaporeans now study abroad at the postgraduate level in destinations or fields that don’t map neatly onto Singapore’s structured graduate pathways, especially in the public sector. Some never return. Others miss out on local graduate schemes or lack the mentoring and guidance necessary to re-enter the domestic market. These are not less capable graduates – they are structurally unsupported.

    The implications for UK higher education institutions and policymakers are profound. Graduate outcomes for international students returning home have long been neglected in favour of compliance metrics, application numbers, and league table performance. But if we are to retain our position as a leading destination for international students, we must confront a simple truth: it is no longer enough to bring students in, deliver a quality education, and send them on their way. We must know what happens next. That means tracking international graduate outcomes systematically, forging deep partnerships with employers in key source countries, and embedding culturally tailored careers support into the student journey – not as an add-on, but as core infrastructure. This also means preparing students for re-entry from the moment they arrive, rather than reacting after they leave.

    Governments in destination countries must play their part too. That includes aligning visa and migration policy with long-term employability outcomes, ensuring post-study work routes remain stable and transparent, and avoiding knee-jerk compliance changes that disrupt student confidence. The UK, in particular, must make good on the promise of the Graduate Route by working with universities to ensure that work experience gained in the UK translates into lasting employability abroad. We should also consider incentivising institutions to track and support international graduate success, just as we are increasingly focused on domestic outcomes.

    And finally, for students and families, the message is clear: an international degree can still unlock opportunity, but it is not a guarantee. The most successful graduates are those who receive support tailored to their return journey—those with access to informed advice, strong alumni networks, and employer connections in their home country. Without these, the international education premium – once considered automatic – is slipping.

    References

    1. Asia Careers Group (ACG). Proprietary international graduate outcomes tracking data, 2015–2024.
    2. India Skills Report (ISR). Confederation of Indian Industry, Wheebox, and Taggd, various years.
    3. Ministry of Education, Malaysia & Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). Graduate Tracer Study and labour market reports, 2010–2021.
    4. Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). Monthly and graduate salary distribution reports.
    5. Ministry of Education, Singapore. Graduate Employment Survey (GES), 2013–2023.
    6. UK Home Office & Migration Advisory Committee. Graduate Route Policy Review, 2024.
    7. Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) and independent think tank analysis of returnee graduate outcomes (Haigui commentary), various sources.

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  • Building Bridges: Enhancing employability through practically-based higher education

    Building Bridges: Enhancing employability through practically-based higher education

    In the last few weeks we have heard the worrying news that the number of young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the UK is close to one million. This is almost 300,000 higher than the same period in 2021 when the UK was contending with the scarred job market after Covid-19.

    The reasons for this trend are multi-faceted, including factors such as mental health issues and insecure and poor employment opportunities. However, in the face of a difficult and competitive job market, universities have their role to play in bridging this divide between higher education and the workplace.

    The need for innovative approaches to bridge this divide by enhancing graduate employability and addressing employer demands for work-ready graduates has never been more pressing. Recent research by the Edge Foundation, in collaboration with UCL’s Institute of Education, sheds light on the transformative potential of practically-based higher education models.

    The research took a case study approach using qualitative methods, looking at two post-92 higher education institutions in England, which included collecting empirical data using semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders from the two universities, including members of the senior leadership teams, teaching staff, other professionals and students. In this blog, I will go on to discuss some of the key findings from this research, including some of the challenges and opportunities for universities.

    Supporting employability through collaboration

    The creation of new staff roles has been pivotal in driving the employability agenda. These roles focus on developing opportunities such as placements, mentorships, and employer engagement, while traditional academic roles are evolving to integrate practical, work-focused elements. This holistic approach ensures that curricula are not only theoretical but also aligned with real-world applications.

    Industry partnerships play a crucial role in this effort. By involving industry advisors in curriculum design and creating spaces for students to engage directly with professionals through projects and networking, universities are building a meaningful ecosystem that bridges theory and practice. These collaborations enhance students’ employability and foster sustainable partnerships between education and industry.

    Creating effective learning spaces

    Diversifying learning spaces, both formal and informal, is important to ensure that students are not only taught subject-specific expertise but also equipped with the skills to effectively apply such knowledge in real-world contexts. From practical lab work and virtual simulations to client-facing projects and digital tools, these approaches provide students with hands-on, career-relevant skills. Broader assessment methods – like portfolio work, project-based evaluations, and even film development – align better with employer expectations, allowing students to showcase critical thinking, creativity and applied knowledge.

    Students highlighted how these methods built their confidence – often cited as a key attribute for career success. Exposure to professionals through guest lectures, career fairs and mentorship programmes was particularly impactful in empowering students to navigate the complexities of their future careers.

    In the case study universities, confidence building and the development of transferable skills were further integrated into the curriculum through interpreting and tailoring practice to the sector that is relevant to individual students. Therefore, all courses were developed and updated in line with students’ ‘pathway to professionalism’.

    Yet this is manifested differently for different disciplines to ensure it is relevant and closely links the theory to practice. For example, in the business school at one of the case study universities, students establish a LinkedIn profile and begin to form professional networks through it whilst at university.

    By contrast, the professional landscape exists very differently in arts and media, with professional networks being established in different ways. Students in arts are taught the skill of networking in person and conversational skills. Activities in this discipline have included practice dinner parties with the aim to collect others’ business cards. The activities in these two examples are vastly different, but both help build the social capital of the student, which has the most currency for their industry.

    The challenges and opportunities ahead

    While we witnessed in our case study universities a promising shift towards a practical and collaborative model, challenges remain. Employer engagement, for example, can be fragmented when universities rely on individual academic links without coordinated efforts. Listening to employers as equal partners and ensuring mutual benefit is critical for sustained collaboration.

    Universities must also balance top-down initiatives with bottom-up innovation, ensuring that work placements and experiences are meaningful and adaptable. Structured dialogue and collaboration between all stakeholders—students, educators and industry partners—are vital to refining these opportunities.

    A vision for the future

    As the job market evolves, the traditional academic model must adapt to meet the demands of employers and the aspirations of students. Practically-based HE models offer a pathway to achieving this balance, ensuring that graduates are not only knowledgeable but also work-ready. In today’s dynamic and rapidly changing workplace, employability is no longer confined to the domain of careers service teams. Instead, it has become a strategic priority embedded across all disciplines and interwoven into teaching and learning. The findings shed light on how universities are reimagining employability as a broader part of their agenda, through fostering collaborations and creating innovative pathways between academia and the workplace.

    Furthermore, this research explores how universities can integrate theory and practice to better prepare graduates for the workforce. By fostering collaboration between academia and industry, these models not only enhance employability but also empower students with the confidence and skills needed to thrive in a dynamic job market. As students pursue diverse goals through their education, universities are tasked with striking a balance between career-focused preparation and academic enrichment. By embedding employability throughout the curriculum and fostering collaboration across industries, higher education institutions can empower students with the skills, confidence, and connections they need to succeed.

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