Projects
Interactive workshop on The Employability of English Graduates - 06/07
Project Description
The Careers service at the University of Sheffield ran a half day interactive workshop which focused upon ‘The Employability of English Graduates’. This was run in close collaboration with academic staff from the School of English and :
- Included input and activities to raise students’ awareness of the skills developed through studying for a degree in English, with links to Personal Development Portfolios (PDPs) and the English benchmark statement.
- Provided an overview of the first destinations of recent University of Sheffield English graduates
- Included a panel of recent graduates from the School – to give brief individual presentations about their career pathways and to engage in small group discussions with the students.
- Introduced participants to a specially developed on-line ‘Career Planning Pack for English Students’ accessed through Web CT.
Project report
The report on this project is now available along with a 'Career planning pack' and a list of useful websites.
Final report by Hilary Whorall (March 2007) (62kb)
Career planning pack (56kb)
Useful websites (92kb)
Careers event flyer (112kb)
Benefits to English students
Participants benefitted from this session in a number of ways:
- It raised awareness of the transferable skills developed through their degree
- It increased their confidence levels in terms of their potential in the graduate employment market
- It motivated them to investigate their career options further
- It signposted them to career planning resources and raise their awareness of the support and facilities available to them through e Careers Service
- It enabled them to develop some useful contacts
Outline Plan of Activities
The workshop took place in early February 2007 immediately after first semester exams and prior to the beginning of the second semester. It was open to level 2, level 3 and postgraduate students through an on-line booking system. The outline of the workshop was as follows:
1-00 An introduction to the workshop by the Careers Adviser who provided a specific link to the School. Input on the skills of English graduates and the destinations of recent graduates from University of Sheffield.
1-30 Participants worked in small groups undertaking an exercise to assist them in identifying concrete evidence of the skills they have developed through their degree in relation to the competencies required by employers. This activity was facilitated by the Careers Adviser and a number of academic staff from the department.
2-15 Alumni presentations – a panel of 5 -6 recent graduates was invited to give 10 minute presentations outlining their career pathway to date.
3-30 Refreshment break
3-45 Participants were able to take part in three 15 minute small group discussions, each led by one of the panellists to allow an informal question and answer session.
4-45 Where Next – An introduction to the on-line ‘Career Planning Pack for English Students’ and an overview of Careers Service support.
Resources
Free copies of the English Subject Centre DVD A Way with Words - Creativity, Enterprise and the English Graduate.
The development of an on-line career planning pack accessible via Web CT.
Funding to offer travel expenses if required, to the alumni panel.
Contact Details
Hilary Whorrall
University of Sheffield
h.whorrall@sheffield.ac.uk
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