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Wales e-hub resource website for Welsh students facing barriers to employment

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What do you bring to the table?

Do you realise what you already have in terms of skills and experience because of your life experiences? Let's focus on some of the valuable assets you bring to a workplace that you may not have thought about.

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The Employability e-Hub - Your Career Navigator

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Welcome to the employability e-Hub, an online resource created to help you navigate your career journey.

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Well-being resources developed by the Universities Alliance in Scotland.

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GCAS funds internships and provides careers support to bridge the gap between recent graduates and employers in Scotland.

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Overcoming Employment Barriers for International Students A strategic approach Noeleen Hammond Jones and Tammy Goldfeld (1)

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Graduate Career Advantage Scotland impact report

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Directory of regional graduate development schemes and opportunities, such as GradSkills in West Yorkshire: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16XOqhgEJA0-ddo310Mjpuahe7VgLLvgi5nSxXmV2oDs/edit?usp=sharing

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Graduate Careers Support Network - Regional Opportunities

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Supporting the transition to employment for neurodivergent students, What needs to change by Dr Meg Kiseleva

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WALES

Venture Graduates – for graduates who would like to work within the Cardiff Capital Region (active job roles all year on website).  As a Venture Graduate (once secured a role), graduates are personally supported and professionally developed, benefitting from a unique 12-month Career Accelerator Programme, individually shaped to work alongside the graduate role.

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The Venture Graduate Scheme aims to link talented graduates with ambitious businesses in the Cardiff Capital Region.

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Please add your feedback on the toolkit or to suggest any ideas to extend the toolkit further.

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGD6vmX2us/AQyLHKoQDZDYsT-Pc1kqiA/view?utm_content=DAGD6vmX2us&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Noygawl5E8yPcS2Kvcs7UJOeEQCsKiBN/view?usp=sharing

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Graduate Transitions 
Glossary of terms and acronym dictionary

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGD6KhKC2c/nTbzB-qJX_2FB5CvieZJEw/view?utm_content=DAGD6KhKC2c&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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GradConsult - Rebecca Fielding's Student to Professional infographic - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transition-from-education-employment-rebecca-fielding/

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The transition from education into employment is, and always has been, a rough one for most students. Working full time, with typically 20 days holiday per year, with colleagues from a wide variety of backgrounds, doing work we perhaps weren't expecting, comes as a shock to most graduates - one that I'm sure many of us later in our career can still vividly remember! Even for those lucky few who secure a role on a structured graduate development programme, the mindset shift required is significant and the changes in personal circumstances can also be huge.

Here, I will explore the most common factors at play in this transition and how both universities and employers can support students to make the transition more successfully. This year this will be critical as we work with and recruit a graduating class who have been deprived of most of the 'normal' part-time work experiences (bars, restaurants, shops) alongside their studies, as well as a huge reduction in the number of meaningful placements and internships which have been available to them to help understand and prepare for the world of work. This will be the least work-experienced graduating class we have brought into the workplace for a generation, and they are going to need our help. Not least as we know that any significant periods of change and life transition are also when we are at our most vulnerable in terms of our mental health. We don't just have a commercial imperative to set them up for success, but a moral obligation as educators and employers to take care of these people too.
Mindset shifts
The world of work operates in a very different way to most educational settings and the mindset shift required is huge. Here's a simple summary of some of the major differences:

* Acknowledgement to Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the ISE, who presented a number of these transitions at a 2020 conference.

The shifts can be bewildering and for some can take a very long time to adjust to. Articulating these shifts can be one of the most important starting points in the process, giving students and graduates the knowledge and shared language to identify and normalise the experiences they are having. 'Name it to slay it' is perhaps an overused term, but here could not be more apt. In our extensive work with students preparing for work, and graduates starting out on their careers, we know they take enormous comfort and confidence from knowing their experience is shared and a common one.

But acknowledgement and articulation are only the start. Wrapping around development interventions into on-boarding, induction and graduate development will also help graduates make the shift more effectively. For example:

The ROI challenge, which accelerates the transition from student consumer behaviour to employer consumer behaviour (you can hear more about this challenge in my SAGEA conference keynote here)

Safe spaces with peers to explore mindset shifts and provide key coping strategies/tactics for dealing with ambiguity, stress v pressure, driving your own development, working efficiently, embracing failure, working in diverse teams and dealing with imposter syndrome are all key (workshops, experiential learning challenges etc)

Time protected outside of the day job, or working on stretch projects, to allow them the opportunity to follow their curiosity, utilise their academic learning and research skills (adding value, building confidence and transfer of learning independently)

Bitesize learning content (Netflix style provision) to meet real time needs

Coaching and peer coaching to support reflection and develop personal agency/accountability

This kind of content is often delivered by employers through effective pre-boarding, induction and graduate development. Or indeed some of the shifts I've outlined may give you pause for thought about whether you are doing enough to articulate, support and accelerate those shifts.

But it can, and I would argue should, also be delivered by universities through employability programmes and more importantly by embedding employers into curriculum to bring the differences to life. Programmes like ' Becoming a Leeds graduate' run by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Leeds University last Summer, focussed on the process of 'Out-duction' for upcoming graduates, are leading the way. This focus not only with the transition into university (where millions is invested each year), but also the oft 'poor relation' transition OUT of university will hopefully become more commonplace. Not least with the 15-month time horizon for Graduate Outcomes highlighting the continuing importance of supporting students beyond graduation.
Life shifts
New student and graduate hires don't just face the changes in ways of working, pace and mindset. They also often face a host of significant changes in their personal lives when making the move from university to employment. Depending on their personal circumstances and whether they worked alongside studies, travelled away from home to study or are re-locating for a new job this can include:

Working full time for the first time - finding themselves much more tired, with a lot less free time and a huge change to their available holidays/leave

Significant commutes or travelling for work

Finding and moving to a new location/home and all the financial pressures this ensues

Loss of social/familial support networks including things like sports and social events/groups, where they will be shifting from a group of like-minded people with similar lived experiences and interests to an environment at work which is not necessarily the same

Changes to their dress, attire or appearance

Earning money for the first time, but a whole load more expenses and perhaps some barriers to relocation/deposits/travel/student debt, loans etc

For international students; visa, tax and travel concerns, perhaps for the first time without university international student support to turn to for advise

Loss of extensive student support services, most notably high levels of often immediately available mental health support and provision

Changes to doctors/healthcare

Pressure from families or loved ones who have invested (financially or emotionally) in their studies, earnings or career

Distance or change in location for their romantic partners and their relationship status

Applying for roles and experiencing mass rejection for the first time, alongside seemingly endless peer success stories on social media

These changes are significant for anyone at any time in their career (think of anyone who has been through a relationship break down, moved house or change jobs recently). But for those first starting out and dealing with the broader changes in how they work they can become overwhelming. It is easy perhaps for those of us who have been working a lot longer to forget, or minimise, just how much can be going on for people during that period from graduation to starting in a job. Particularly if we ask them to move regularly as part of a development programme, which causes sustained changes to life, financial and personal circumstances over a period of years to come.

Support for some of these changes in life circumstances is key to the successful shift from education into employment, but particularly for those students who are first in family to university or from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Employers can support in a variety of ways:

Community and belonging building amongst early career hires (not just 'belonging' support from the employer, but also providing support to build their own communities. This can be particularly relevant for under-represented groups in your employer base such as LGBT+ or BAME groups)

Social/fun/sports networks and activities

Providing and facilitating practical information/support on things like local areas, housing, commuting, car sharing, cycle to work schemes, understanding pay/tax/student loans or house-sharing

Bursaries, employee loans, or financial support to assist with relocation, deposits, learning to drive, car insurance, home office set up, or new clothing etc (especially critical for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds or those who have to rotate and relocate regularly)

Mental health, employee assistance programmes, health and wellbeing support or facilities (SumUp for example offer all their employees access to 'SumUp sessions' - talking therapy slots on demand every month)

And whilst much of that list may already be offered by many larger, corporate graduate employers, it's notable that a good chunk of graduates won't start their career in an environment where that is the case. And this for me is where universities can again play a part, offering bursaries, extending access to mental health support or making connections and offering development to graduates working in local employers (example programmes include RISE in Sheffield city region, the Liverpool City Region Graduate Scheme or the NTU Innovation Community Lab).

For anyone starting to plan their graduate on-boarding, induction and development for this coming summer, I hope you have found this a timely and thought-provoking piece. As always, I would love to hear your comments as an employer or university careers professional. Or if you are a recent/upcoming graduate whether the transitions resonate with you. If you would like to discuss how we could support you with this transition from education to employment this year (either as a university or as an employer) please do get in touch!

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The transition from education into employment

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The transition from education into employment is, and always has been, a rough one for most students.

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Graduate Transitions timeline as part of the Graduate Toolkit

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAF8rgZ-al0/3H943ChF20B1_6IH70fDNw/view?utm_content=DAF8rgZ-al0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGFxceEspg/WJUOs4gjB4gEK9Ki_PAsPw/view?utm_content=DAGFxceEspg&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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Produced by AGCAS for their graduate toolkit. Unfortunately I can't upload the document.

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This section includes a bank of case studies which provide insights into a range of activities/initiatives led by careers services and experiences of career professionals in HE who support graduates. The case study examples are organised into key themes related to supporting graduates including graduate engagement, employer engagement, supporting graduate wellbeing, and social capital building. This section also includes resources for practice including a transitional experience guide, a graduate capitals checklist, and questions to consider.

Please share your examples using the case study template of successful and less successful initiatives or experiences supporting graduates. We all need to learn from one another so that collectively we can optimise our impact and improve experiences and outcomes for all our students and graduates.
Case Study Template
Please submit case studies to communications@agcas.org.uk
CASE STUDIES
Graduate Career Advantage Scotland

This case study presents an example of supporting graduates to enter the labour market during times of uncertainty: Graduate Career Advantage Scotland (GCAS).
Leavers Toolkit: Branching Out
This case study presents an example of a Toolkit designed to support student's mental wellbeing as they face the transition out of university.
RESOURCES Transitional Experience Assessment Tool
This tool outlines the four types of transitional experience identified in graduates moving into the labour market. Use it to understand the different types of transitional experience graduates might be experiencing.
Graduate Capital Model
The UKRI research report refers to different types of capital. You can use this model as a guide to identify ways that you can develop different capitals in your graduates.
Questions to consider when supporting graduates

1. What types of transitional experience do your graduates have? (e.g. evenly mixed, mainly disoriented, mix of integrated and disoriented etc.)

2. What support does your organisation/service currently offer graduates?

3. Do you maintain dialogue with graduates after graduation?

4. As a careers service or university-wide do you have a specific strategy for graduate support?

5. What are your service priorities/objectives in terms of graduate support?

6. What resources do you allocate to supporting graduates?

7. How do you integrate careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) and opportunities for work experience, experiential learning, and skills into the university experience?

8. Do you draw on alumni networks to support graduates?

9. What opportunities do you have for students to develop their capitals?

10. Do you tailor support for graduates with particular personal characteristics e.g. disabled graduates?

11. How do you engage less engaged students earlier in their time at university?

12. To what extent do you harness the power of stakeholders-internally and externally? E.g. Other departments, other organisations

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This section includes a bank of case studies which provide insights into a range of activities/initiatives led by careers services and experiences of career professionals in HE who support graduates. The case study examples are organised into key themes related to supporting graduates including graduate engagement, employer engagement, supporting graduate wellbeing, and social capital building. This section also includes resources for practice including a transitional experience guide, a graduate capitals checklist, and questions to consider.

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Graduate Outcomes Survey 
Communications guide

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGDgVCzrS4/g57wrIWEeE502s2JFfUXUA/view?utm_content=DAGDgVCzrS4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGD5LiFnJ4/I-rqE92f5kF4MlVtL200qQ/view?utm_content=DAGD5LiFnJ4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

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https://www.canva.com/design/DAGB0CAFc_Y/oBPIpOKt5maZrE1cn1IIoQ/view?utm_content=DAGB0CAFc_Y&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor