Employability

How to work on: Employability (click image for PDF)

The Employability Process and Transition to the Labour Market for the Adult Educator

The main focus of the topic is to develop the employability of young adults at the higher education level. The emphasis on graduates’ employability is an important challenge for universities when supporting graduates’ transitions to the labour market, especially in countries with high youth unemployment rates.

The study and the reflection on the materials we prepared give you the opportunity

to develop an understanding of what employability is,
to gain a better understanding of your transversal competences and your experiences,
to engage in in-depth reflection on yourself and your story,
to achieve a better transition from university to the labour market,
to become prepared for entering the labour market.

The framework is the concept of employability and its main definitions (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2014; Yorke, 2006) according to its influence on higher education policies and practices. In the context of knowledge economies and high-skilled labour demand, employability acts as an educational process that supports the transition from university to work. In this sense, the topic directly involves adult education studies for its impact on career pathways and on the development of a life plan.

If you work on this topic, you will be able to

build a curriculum vitae,
write a cover letter,
create a professional profile on LinkedIn,
understand professional families of adult education,
listen and understand stories of practitioners in adult education.

Instructions for reflecting on your Employability Profile

The starting point for your work on this professional topic is the instruction for reflecting on your employability profile at home. Please look at the documents below as a first step. You can choose from two different instructions.

Materials on the Topic: Employability and Transition to the Labour Market for Adult Educators

We selected the following materials to give you a good starting point for a better understanding of the topic of employability and transition to the labour market for adult educators.

When working on the instruction for comparison at home, you can start with the following materials:

Boffo, V., Fedeli, M., Melacarne, C., Lo Presti, F., & Vianello, M. (2017). Teaching and learning for employability: New strategies in higher education. Pearson.
Reading recommendation: Chapter 5

https://flore.unifi.it/retrieve/handle/2158/1075204/211853/TeachingandLearning2017.pdf

The book captures the efforts of a groups of researchers who focused on the critical nodes of university education with the aim of creating and developing operating models and services to improve the academic success of students and the institution itself.

The chapters presented across different approaches trace research paths for contextualized research on a number of topics, including incoming guidance, teaching, and dimensions of career counselling and entrance into the professional world, which can stimulate reflections on possible changes. The results provide directions for future research that places students at the centre of all processes and for the role of the institution as the catalyst of processes concerning the insertion of the student in the professional world.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, (2014). Modernisation of higher education in Europe: Access, retention and employability 2014. Eurydice Report. Publications Office of the European Union.

https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/59560dcc-a3c3-11e5-b528-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

The development of quality mass higher education systems is high on the policy agendas at both national and European levels. An increasing number of European citizens require high level knowledge, skills and competences to expand the knowledge-base and foster innovation and progress. Thus, higher education systems in Europe should be designed to respond and adapt to the needs of our increasingly knowledge-based economy and societies. To support evidence-based policy making, this Eurydice report sheds light on current national and institutional policies and practices aimed at increasing and widening access, reducing student dropout, and improving the employability of higher education graduates in Europe. The report covers 36 European countries and education systems and consolidates information from three different sources: Eurydice national units, national quality assurance agencies and site visits to higher education institutions. Contents: Chapter 1: Access and Widening Participation; Chapter 2: Student Retention; Chapter 3: Flexibility of Higher Education Studies; Chapter 4: Employability and Transition to the Labour Market.

Yorke, M. (2006). Employability and higher education: What it is, what it is not. The Higher Education Academy.

https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/employability-higher-education-what-it-what-it-not

This guide is intended to serve two purposes. First, it makes a case for employability as a set of achievements which constitute a necessary but not sufficient condition for the gaining of employment (which is dependent, inter alia, on the contemporary state of the economy). Employability is, on the analysis presented here, considerably more complex than some proponents of “core”, “key” and “transferable” skills have suggested, and is strongly aligned with the academic valuing of good learning. The second purpose is consequential, in that this publication has considerable implications for curricular activities in higher education, which are the subject of other publications in the Learning and Employability series (from the introduction).

For more references about the topic “Employability and transition to the labour market for adult educators” see the INTALL information tool

Exercises and Online Interaction

To test your learning progress on the topic of employability and transition to the labour market for adult educators, we have prepared some exercises for you. Also, we have created a discussion board where you can get in contact with other learners working on the topic. Please first sign up for OpenWueCampus under the following link:

REGISTER AT OPENWUECAMPUS
https://go.uniwue.de/registeropenwuecampus
For the self enrolment, use the enrolment key "Winterschool"

After creating your account and logging in, use the following link to access four exercises on employability and transition to the labour market for adult educators and test your knowledge:

EXERCISES ON EMPLOYABILITY AND TRANSITION TO THE LABOUR MARKET FOR ADULT EDUCATORS
https://go.uniwue.de/employabilityandtransitions

Team up online: In the Intall@home discussion board, you can discuss your work with other students or researchers or search for partners for a collaborative work.

DISCUSSION BOARD
https://go.uniwue.de/forum

Next to OpenWueCampus, you can also join our LinkedIn professional network where you can also get in touch with other learners, professors and professionals in the field of adult education!

LINKEDIN PROFESSIONAL NETWORK FOR ADULT EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8445381/