Workplace skills

Advice on how to help students develop employability skills for the 21st century workplace, covering real-world experience and authentic learning that aids graduates in the transition to professional careers

Community colleges are at the forefront of work-related study

Community colleges are the front line for workforce innovation

As bachelor’s-granting institutions grow ever more focused on employability, there’s much they can learn from community colleges, say Vicki Karolewics and Bharani Rajakumar

Vicki Karolewics , Bharani Rajakumar

Wallace State Community College, TRANSFR

Universities' conventional, top-down approach fails to recognise that working adults often already possess many critical work skills

Now is the time to design a system in which all learning counts

Our conventional, top-down approach fails to recognise that working adults often already possess many critical work skills, say Lisa McIntyre-Hite and Mackenzie Jackson

Lisa McIntyre-Hite, Mackenzie Jackson

Guild Education

Advice on using digital simulations to prepare students for workplace challenges

How to use digital simulations to prepare students for future careers

How institutions should use digital simulation technology to train students in practical, real-world skills, based on her experience in healthcare courses

Stephanie West

Arden University

Universities and higher education need to do a better job of preparing students for the workplace

How higher education can do better at developing skills for the workplace

Universities must do more to nurture enduring skills that can be transferred across different contexts such as critical thinking, problem-solving and communication, says Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson

Zayed University

Chatbots can be vital tools for university careers services, with one-to-one discussions set to become a thing of the past

How AI and chatbots can deliver personalised career planning

The development of careers chatbots could be considered a threat to guidance practitioners, but the reverse is true, says Caroline Tolond

Caroline Tolond

Arden University

Figure at the top of a ladder illustrating skills for career progression, online learning

Creating opportunities to enhance student employability online

Working online presents opportunities for students to develop their employability in the digital space. Ruth Donnelly lists how remote programmes can prepare them for the changing workplace

Ruth Donnelly

The University of Edinburgh

Agile fox

HE needs to follow tech companies’ lead and go ‘agile’

Universities need shorter cycles of learning and credentialing, such as eight-week academic terms and quick, stackable certificates, says Tom Monahan

Tom Monahan

DeVry University

The importance of a structured mentorship programme for ECRs cannot be overstated

How to ensure your mentorship programme isn’t one of the (many) bad ones

Structured mentorship programmes offer a non-judgemental setting in which to ask those pesky questions whose answers shape careers, says Lia Paola Zambetti

Lia Paola Zambetti

University of Sydney

Displaced workers deserve more than short termism from universities

Displaced workers deserve more than short-termism from universities

Institutions must stop and think before helping reshape the career trajectories of millions of workers, says Gangaram Singh

Gangaram Singh

National University

Advice on how institutions can support professional development among academic researchers

Developing research skills post-pandemic: creating space for reflection and conversation

Three research advisers share advice on how institutions should support researchers to develop their professional skills and confidence post-pandemic

Jennifer Boyle, Rachel Herries, Joanna Royle

University of Glasgow

Advice on working with employers to develop courses that teach the skills needed in the workplace

Teaching the skills wanted by employers in 2021 and beyond

Dilshad Sheikh makes a case for universities to work more closely with employers to shape industry-relevant courses and expose students to more real-world practical training and assessment

Dilshad Sheikh

Arden University

Advice on working with employers and leveraging technology to train students in creative problem solving

Using tech to train students in creative problem-solving 

Alison Watson explains how institutions can guide students in developing creative solutions to real-world problems, better preparing them for the demands of the future workplace

Alison Watson

Arden University

Advice on what to put in place to remotely guide and monitor students in work placements

How to support students in work placements remotely

Duminda Jayaranjan and Maruj Limpawattana explain what institutions need to put in place to remotely guide and monitor students on work placements via digital channels

Duminda Jayaranjan, Maruj Limpawattana

Siam University

Traditional universities have often been too slow on the digital uptake

Choppy digital waters lie ahead for many storied institutions

Traditional universities are too often led by the interests of lecturers rather than the employment needs of students or recruitment needs of businesses, says Dilshad Sheikh

Dilshad Sheikh

Arden University

Collaborating with employers on courses to train work ready graduates

Collaborating with employers to create work-ready graduates

Paula Reilly explains how universities can work with employers and students to shape curricula and courses that better prepare graduates for the future workplace

Paula Reilly

Arden University

Community outreach can be even better when carried out online

Don’t be fooled – community outreach can be even better online

Covid and the move online made audiences even larger for our student-led social media workshops aimed at local businesses, say Dennis Olsen and Kristin Brewe

Dennis Olsen, Kristin Brewe

University of West London

Advice on creating new internship opportunities that benefit students and employers

Creating internship opportunities: showing employers the value in humanities and social sciences

Jonathan Sim describes how he engaged with local employers to open internship opportunities to humanities and social sciences students who would not previously have been considered

Jonathan Sim

National University of Singapore

Advice on designing online postgraduate courses that intersect the academic and professional worlds

Designing postgraduate education as a means of sharing and developing academic and professional knowledge

Gill Aitken and Tim Fawns explain how to design online postgraduate courses that operate at the boundaries of the academic and professional worlds

Gill Aitken, Tim Fawns

The University of Edinburgh

Advice on using design thinking to engage students in developing real world solutions to sustainability challenges

It’s a game changer: using design thinking to find solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals

Rachel Bickerdike explains how using design thinking to find solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals can open up a new world of social entrepreneurship for students

Rachel Bickerdike

Durham University

A Chinese departure hall. The influx of Chinese students is on a downward turn and universities worldwide need to be prepared

After the gold rush: how to respond to the Chinese student downswing

As the country’s outbound study trend cools, student recruitment strategies must evolve – and there is no ‘next China’ to fall back on, says Matt Durnin

Matt Durnin

British Council

Recommendations for how Western institutions can remain attractive to Asian universities and students

Tips for engaging Asian universities and alumni in new modes of collaboration

Western institutions can continue to forge fruitful collaborations with Asian universities and attract students from the region. Here, Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan shares two key recommendations for how to do it

Benjamin Tak Yuen Chan

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Will the shift to hybrid learning signal the end of the sage on the stage?

Moving online could signal the death of pedagogy

Shifting to andragogical learning models is the ideal way to prepare students for independent study, research and the world of work, says Steve Davies

Steve Davies

University of South Wales

Learning Chinese script. The challenges of teaching students a non-Roman language are manifold, especially online, but it's crucial to preserve linguistic heritage

The trials of teaching a ‘new’ script in a virtual world

Teaching non-Roman scripts online throws up great challenges, but we must preserve the world’s linguistic resources, say Rana Raddawi, Jingjing Ji and Ronit Alexander

Rana Raddawi, Jingjing Ji, Ronit Alexander

Northwestern University

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Harnessing technology to support graduate employability

Academics and graduate recruitment experts discuss how digital education can best be used to support students in gaining the skills they will need in the future workplace

Andy Coxall, Stephen Isherwood, Chris Moule, Paul Marshall, Riddi Viswanathan

Common Purpose Student Experiences, The Institute of Student Employers, Robert Gordon University, University of East London , Generation Purple

With more and more students achieving high grades, online micro courses can help graduates stand out in the jobs market

Short online courses can grease the wheels of student employability

The degree has transitioned from differentiating factor to basic benchmark. Online microcredentials can help graduates stand out from their rivals, says Madina Tash

Madina Tash

University of Sussex

The government and HE sector must think digital-first when offering employability skills and training.

Digital-first thinking is needed to address youth employability

Younger people are geared towards digital channels, so they’re more likely to engage with innovative, online training as part of their studies, says Harminder Matharu

Harminder Matharu

FutureLearn

Sharing knowledge and becoming 'intellectually dependable' are intertwined and should be placed at the forefront of education

Teaching students to think for themselves is not enough

The critical thinking ideal is too individualistic and self-focused − students must learn to help others think well, too, says T. Ryan Byerly

T. Ryan Byerly

University of Sheffield

A student takes part in a virtual internship

Impostor syndrome can strike even in virtual internships

It’s worrying that students who do internships online underestimate their contributions when employers rate them as valuable, say Chloe Severn and Katie Stote

Chloe Severn, Katie Stote

University of Plymouth

Podcast discussing building resilience and protecting well-being among university staff and students

THE podcast: student employability post-pandemic

How can universities prepare students for a post-Covid workplace?

Anton Muscatelli, Nancy Gleason

University of Glasgow, New York University Abu Dhabi

How learning technology can help build students employability skills

Using learning technologies to enhance students’ professional communication skills

Learning technology offers an opportunity to embed useful workplace skills training into university courses, as Kyle Bowen and Allison Hall explain

Kyle Bowen , Allison Hall

Arizona State University

A student takes part in an online work placement. Given the huge backlog of placements created by Covid-19, universities should consider e-placements.

It’s time for the sector to embrace online work placements

Placement capacity has been shaken to its core by the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a huge backlog. We must look for sustainable alternative solutions, says Gilly Salmon

Gilly Salmon

Swinburne University of Technology

How to set up virtual work placements for students to gain real world experience online

Developing internship opportunities for students online

Lecturer Dorothy Kwok offers three strategies institutions can take in setting up digital work placements and industry projects to ensure students get real-world experience when learning online

Larry Ching, Dorothy Kwok, Candy Law

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Advice on redesigning assessment in the digital space, to test skills needed in future careers

Rethinking assessment in line with the changing world of work

Sarah Montano offers insight on redesigning assessment in the digital space to test the skills students will need in their future careers

Sarah Montano

University of Birmingham

How to support entrepreneurship among students via digital channels

Sparking entrepreneurship online

Laura-Jane Silverman describes how LSE’s entrepreneurship centre created continued opportunity for innovation, collaboration and personal development among students after moving online

Laura-Jane Silverman

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Using digital scholarship for public engagement

Using digital scholarship to enhance public engagement

Having been pushed to the sidelines of academia for too long, public engagement projects can take a central role in digital courses, furthering students’ learning and reaching wider audiences, explains Warren Stanislaus

Warren Stanislaus

Rikkyo University

Developing students' digital literacy skills

Developing students’ digital skills through online learning

Digital skills are key to the future employability of most graduates. Jo Coldwell-Neilson advises on how to embed digital literacy training into all aspects of online higher education

Jo Coldwell-Neilson

Deakin University

Boosting student employability via digital learning

Boosting student employability through virtual experience

From digital industry projects to virtual internships, employability can be enhanced online in many ways, but it is how students reflect upon and learn from their experiences that is important, as Dino Willox and Laura-Anne Bull explain

Dino Willox, Laura-Anne Bull

The University of Queensland

How to offer real-world training and fieldwork through digital channels as part of its online courses

How to tackle fieldwork and real-world training online

Francine Ryan explains how the Open University law school offers real-world training and fieldwork through digital channels as part of its online courses

Francine Ryan

The Open University