Common use of Employability Clause in Contracts

Employability. Our focus over the last eighteen months has been to use the opportunity of redesigning our undergraduate and postgraduate courses to embed employability and reposition our careers service and ‘Job Shop’. Our focus over the next eighteen months is to move beyond delivering pockets of activities out with the course and develop a fully integrated and scalable programme that makes a real impact on our students and their career aspirations and choices. Our Access to the Professions programme is the first introduction to students in our associate schools and colleges network of our approach to employability. This year we have introduced our Employability and Enterprise Fortnight (EEF) which provides students with the opportunity to prepare themselves for entering into employment or starting up their own business. Xxxxxxxx held over the two weeks were hosted by potential and current employers and include such areas as CV writing and interview skills. We have reviewed our postgraduate taught portfolio, the overall aim was to develop and deliver flexible courses with a professional focus and, wherever possible professionally accredited. Employer involvement in the form of mentoring, internships, guest lectures and attendance at Careers Fairs has been strengthened and embedded within our refocused postgraduate taught portfolio. In addition, students who are considering setting up their own businesses have increased opportunities to participate in tailored workshops and development opportunities provided by our Enterprise Office. We recognise that learning takes place at different times, in different places and in different ways and we develop flexible approaches that enable students to learn in ways that are most effective for them. We are establishing options that will meet the needs of the majority of our students. Our postgraduate students are normally mature students and employed in one of the professions. The primary motivation is to enhance or progress their careers. We are therefore developing modes that meet students’ study needs and gives flexibility in their study methods in order to avoid conflict with their other commitments such as work and family. This includes delivery of week-end courses and distance learning. Our postgraduate portfolio is largely rooted in professional courses that drive employability and career success. We work closely with employers and professional bodies, to make sure our courses meet, or indeed anticipate market demand.

Employability. Our focus over MMU has recently carried out a major Employability Review which has identified a range of initiatives that would improve the last eighteen months employability outcomes for our students. We believe that improving the outcomes for all students is the best way to support WP students, especially in light of the large proportions of undergraduates who are from OFFA countable groups. We will therefore invest in a range of initiatives and monitor the impact this has on target groups through the new Strategy for Employability, Employment and Enterprise. Investment will include the following areas: i. MMU has introduced a Writing Project to support students in the development of their academic writing skills. This has been very successful and so will be expanded to use enable more students to benefit and for support to be given in other areas such as numeracy. An on-line version will be developed which will then be used as part of a pre-entry initiative to support targeted students before they begin their course ii. We will increase the number of placement and work experience opportunities for students. In order to do this we will increase the support provided for securing and managing student placements and other work experience and thereby increase the numbers of target students taking part in such placements. iii. MMU has embedded employability in the curriculum for all undergraduates through the Employability Curriculum Framework. Additional resources (Skills on-line and Employability on-line) have been developed to support the student experience. We will develop ‘Global Citizenship’ as a unifying theme for employability related content within and alongside the curriculum. ‘Global Citizenship’ will encompass Internationalisation, sustainability, ethics, enterprise and entrepreneurship. iv. Micro businesses (1-9 employees) are a major part of the local economy and so supporting students develop their enterprise skills would be a valuable addition to their employability skills. We will therefore invest in training for staff and students in skills relating to enterprise and entrepreneurship v. Studying abroad, for any period of time, is a highly rewarding experience. Students returning from a study abroad programme frequently describe their experience as ‘life-changing’. It helps students develop and mature both personally and academically, and can improve career prospects. Through the new International Strategy we will identify ways to enable a greater range of widening participation students to gain International experience. vi. The University has created the MMU Intern Scheme to offer employment opportunities within the University to our recent graduates. Through this scheme we aim to offer internships throughout the University. The scheme offers many of our graduates the opportunity to gain highly valuable experience of redesigning our undergraduate working either within a specific university department or across multiple departments. In addition the GradMatch internship scheme offers internships for graduates with local companies, and postgraduate courses we also promote summer Internships for students. In total we aim to embed provide more than 100 internships each year vii. There is a Student Employability Development Programme that runs throughout the year and includes two new programmes to support students in developing their employability skills, Work Ready (for undergraduates) and reposition our careers service Graduate to Work (for unemployed graduates). In addition we are engaging with local SMEs to encourage them to offer Internships, placements and ‘Job Shop’. Our focus over the next eighteen months is to move beyond delivering pockets of activities out with the course and develop a fully integrated and scalable programme that makes a real impact on graduate opportunities for our students and their career aspirations and choices. Our Access to the Professions programme is the first introduction to students in our associate schools and colleges network of our approach to employability. This year we have introduced our Employability and Enterprise Fortnight (EEF) which provides students with the opportunity to prepare themselves for entering into employment or starting up their own business. Xxxxxxxx held over the two weeks were hosted by potential and current employers and include such areas as CV writing and interview skills. We have reviewed our postgraduate taught portfolio, the overall aim was to develop and deliver flexible courses with a professional focus and, wherever possible professionally accredited. Employer involvement in the form of mentoring, internships, guest lectures and attendance at Careers Fairs has been strengthened and embedded within our refocused postgraduate taught portfolio. In addition, students who are considering setting up their own businesses have increased opportunities to participate in tailored workshops and development opportunities provided by our Enterprise Office. We recognise that learning takes place at different times, in different places and in different ways and we develop flexible approaches that enable students to learn in ways that are most effective for them. We are establishing options that will meet the needs of the majority of our students. Our postgraduate students are normally mature students and employed in one of the professions. The primary motivation is to enhance or progress their careers. We are therefore developing modes that meet students’ study needs and gives flexibility in their study methods in order to avoid conflict with their other commitments such as work and family. This includes delivery of week-end courses and distance learning. Our postgraduate portfolio is largely rooted in professional courses that drive employability and career success. We work closely with employers and professional bodies, to make sure our courses meet, or indeed anticipate market demandgraduates.

Employability. Our focus over 3.15.1 In the last eighteen months has been to use initial years of the opportunity current economic downturn, which hit the West Midlands particularly hard, we experienced a drop in the ‘Positive Destination’ metric of redesigning our undergraduate and postgraduate courses to embed employability and reposition our careers service and ‘Job Shop’the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey. Our positive destination performance, which has moved from 66% in 2009/10 to 79.9% in 2014/15, suggests that the targeted activity implemented to support Coventry University’s employability strategy has had a positive impact. 3.15.2 We wish to continue focussing on improving the employability of our diverse student population to secure an advantage in the increasingly competitive graduate job market. This is of particular relevance for students who may lack the social capital due to their background to otherwise progress into their chosen profession. Coventry’s Education Strategy continues to ‘embed a range of workplace competencies and employment relevant to the student qualification aim’ providing a professional and career relevant focus over to our students throughout their studies. 3.15.3 We are committed to our embedded approach to employability, from curriculum design, the next eighteen months delivery of our Add+vantage module scheme, placement opportunities, and engagement with employers including the showcasing of our diverse and inclusive student population to non‐traditional employers of Coventry graduates, to providing our students with many opportunities to engage in volunteering, mentoring and ambassador schemes. This is in line with sector evidence reported by the UUK advisory group that “demonstrated that there are a range of interventions that could help address differences in graduate outcomes. These include collaborations with employers on the development of degrees, the embedding of employability into the curriculum, and the provision of opportunities for students to move beyond delivering pockets engage in social action, volunteering or participation in outward mobility programmes. University careers’ services are also integral to brokering links with employers, for instance in facilitating work experience including internships and placements.” (UUK, 2016, ‘Working In Partnership: Enabling Social Mobility In Higher Education. The final report of the Social Mobility Advisory Group’) 3.15.4 Under this access agreement we are accordingly committing to a range of activities out and 74% of the associated expenditure to support employability. To date activities have included: • The provision of Employability Tutors and a sector specialist Employability Unit in each Faculty to work with students from their first term. • Employer engagement teams that aim to increase access to rewarding employment opportunities within the course professions across a range of initiatives including industry representation on mock interview panels, lectures and develop a fully integrated at recruitment events. • The delivery of diversity conferences, which link employers, students and scalable programme that makes a real impact on staff to change employer attitudes to diversity, exploring issues such as unconscious bias in recruitment. In particular we seek to engage with employers who have not historically recruited Coventry graduates to showcase our students and graduates, build closer links with employers and over time change both employer perceptions and student aspirations. • Coventry’s Add+vantage scheme provides one of the most innovative and comprehensive employability programmes in the UK. The scheme consists of the delivery of mandatory modules designed to help students develop more of the practical skills and capabilities sought after by employers, enhancing the student experience and complementing the skills and knowledge acquired through their degree subjects. We aim for our students to be better prepared to ‘hit the ground running’, contributing to their organisations from day one. • Location specific support. As an example Coventry University London Campus (CULC) offers all students a variety of skills development modules per programme of study and additional employability workshops and development programmes such as High Flyers/Get Ahead. Students are also offered opportunities to study/work abroad and undertake work experience modules. Students participating in these activities gain real life opportunities to develop their transferable skills in preparation for employment and onwards career aspirations and choicesdevelopment. Our Access to the Professions programme is the first introduction to students in our associate schools and colleges network of our approach to employability. This year we have introduced our • The CULC Careers, Employability and Enterprise Fortnight (EEF) which provides staff aim to equip students with the opportunity to prepare themselves for entering into employment or starting up their own business. Xxxxxxxx held over the two weeks were hosted employability skills sought by potential and current employers and include such areas to equip students with the skills and knowledge to effectively choose and manage their career aspirations. Students with no family history of attending university or entering professional careers are particularly supported to consider a range of career options. The ‘Women in Business’ series of on campus workshop events is run by CULC in collaboration with an external specialist/development coach, working with students to help develop self‐awareness, confidence, personal values and professional impact. • CU Coventry, CU Scarborough and CU London are delivering and developing a range of mechanisms to support and enhance the employability of students. 4.1 We have reviewed and revised the level and balance of our financial support measures as CV writing part of the development of this agreement for 2018/19, mindful of the limited sector evidence available to demonstrate the impact of investment in this area. As a result we are forecasting a lower level of expenditure on OFFA countable scholarships and interview skillsbursaries and an increased level of expenditure on student success and progression. We will continue to offer a range of financial support measures to support access to HE for students from low participation neighbourhoods that complement our outreach activities. We have reviewed our postgraduate taught portfolio, hardship funding and the overall aim was previous Access to develop Learning Funding and deliver flexible courses consolidated into a single process. This is designed to provide a fund that can respond to students with a professional focus and, wherever possible professionally accreditedimmediate financial hardship and be delivered very quickly after an assessment driven by the Students' Union Advice Centre (trained financial support workers). Employer involvement We consider these financial support measures to be closely aligned to support for access to HE and in the form case of mentoringhardship funding, internships, guest lectures and attendance at Careers Fairs provision for which has been strengthened and embedded within our refocused postgraduate taught portfolio. In addition, students who are considering setting up their own businesses have increased opportunities to participate in tailored workshops and development opportunities provided by our Enterprise Office. We recognise that learning takes place at different times, in different places and in different ways and we develop flexible approaches that enable students to learn in ways that are most effective for them. We are establishing options that will meet the needs of the majority of our students. Our postgraduate students are normally mature students and employed in one of the professions. The primary motivation is to enhance or progress their careers. We are therefore developing modes that meet students’ study needs and gives flexibility in their study methods in order to avoid conflict with their other commitments such as work and family. This includes delivery of week-end courses and distance learning. Our postgraduate portfolio is largely rooted in professional courses that drive employability and career success. We work closely with employers and professional bodiesincreased, to make sure our courses meet, or indeed anticipate market demandsupport success and progression.

Employability. Our focus over MMU has introduced the last eighteen months E3 (Employability, Employment, Enterprise) Strategy, under the direction of the DVC Student Success, which identifies a range of initiatives and measures to improve the employment outcomes for all our students. The University has been increased the resource available to use improve the opportunity opportunities and support for students entering the graduate labour market, and we will monitor the impact of redesigning our this on the target groups. Specific investment in time and resource will include the following areas: i. Research demonstrates that as many as 30% of major employers offer graduate jobs to students who have undertaken placements with them. Increased resource for placement teams in Faculties will enable us to increase the number of placement and work based learning opportunities for students, and increase the amount of support available to students to ensure the experience is a success. ii. MMU will implement a curriculum framework for all undergraduate courses that encompasses employability, internationalisation, sustainability, enterprise and postgraduate courses to embed employability and reposition our careers service and ‘Job Shop’. Our focus over the next eighteen months is to move beyond delivering pockets of activities out with the course and develop entrepreneurship, alongside a fully integrated and scalable comprehensive extra-curricular programme that makes complements and enhances the credit-bearing learning experience. iii. Support will be provided for target group students to access both study and work experience opportunities abroad as this can be a real impact on our great way of helping students to develop personally and their career academically, and can raise aspirations and choicesimprove confidence, and therefore job prospects. Our Access MMU’s Internationalisation Strategy identifies ways to facilitate a greater range of target group students to gain international experience. iv. The University has created the Professions programme is MMU Intern Scheme to offer employment opportunities within the first introduction University to students in our associate schools and colleges network recent graduates. The scheme offers many of our approach to employability. This year we have introduced our Employability and Enterprise Fortnight (EEF) which provides students with graduates the opportunity to prepare themselves for entering into employment gain highly valuable experience of working either within a specific university department or starting up their own business. Xxxxxxxx held over the two weeks were hosted by potential and current employers and include such areas as CV writing and interview skills. We have reviewed our postgraduate taught portfolio, the overall aim was to develop and deliver flexible courses with a professional focus and, wherever possible professionally accredited. Employer involvement in the form of mentoring, internships, guest lectures and attendance at Careers Fairs has been strengthened and embedded within our refocused postgraduate taught portfolioacross multiple departments. In addition, the GradMatch internship scheme offers internships for graduates with local companies, and we also promote summer Internships for students. In total we aim to provide more than 100 internships each year. v. As around 66% of our graduates choose to stay in the North West it is important that we maximise employment opportunities for them in this region. As SMEs represent 95% of all employers in the UK, we will develop a specific plan to increase employment with SMEs for MMU students who are considering setting up their own businesses have increased opportunities to participate in tailored workshops and development opportunities provided by our Enterprise Officegraduates. vi. We recognise will implement a graduate Recruitment Agency so that learning takes place at different timeswe can direct employers straight to our students and graduates, and offer targeted support, thus maximising their chances of entering professional/managerial employment. vii. The University will provide an on-campus part-time jobs bureau, Jobs4Students, plus run an annual part-time employment fair to support students in different places finding work whilst they are studying, to both aid retention and in different ways and we develop flexible approaches that enable students deliver quality work experience to learn in ways that are most effective for themimprove graduate job prospects. viii. We are establishing options that will meet the needs of the majority of re-launch our students. Our postgraduate ‘Mentormatch’ on-line career mentoring programme, which will have a particular emphasis on matching widening participation students are normally mature students and employed in one of the professions. The primary motivation is to enhance or progress their careers. We are therefore developing modes that meet students’ study needs and gives flexibility in their study methods in order to avoid conflict with their other commitments such as work and family. This includes delivery of week-end courses and distance learning. Our postgraduate portfolio is largely rooted in professional courses that drive employability and career success. We work closely with employers and professional bodies, from professions they would like to make sure our courses meet, or indeed anticipate market demandenter.

Employability. Our focus over In Session 2015-16 the last eighteen months has College undertook a review and evaluated both the effectiveness and affordability of the Skills Development Scotland Employability Fund courses. The outcome of this review is that the College did not deliver SDS Employability Fund courses in Session 2016-17. The College recognises that there is a need for this type of provision and delivers under the employability banner in many courses across the college. However the extended work experience element we delivered within the Employability Fund programmes is a crucial support mechanism for the more vulnerable learner and the more we can offer to scaffold transitions to employment the better; as the college, the learner and employer will all benefit. As such, two new courses have been developed in Construction and Retail, which run for 18 weeks, and provide learners with an extended 14 week supported work placement. The College offered both courses with three different start dates through Session 2016-17, and plans to continue with this provision going forward. The learners for this type of programme tend to be young people who are vulnerable and need additional support; they lack self-confidence and self-esteem, they have struggled in the school environment and tend to be care experienced. As such they do require more support both in college and when they are in the work place. By changing the programme to an 18 week programme opens up the student support services and funding to this group and allows us to recruit on this basis. Furthermore we have strong links with DWP and SDS as well as our LEP partners in identifying and reaching this group of young people. A project was initiated within the College to help evidence and provide management information on the many forms of Employer Engagement undertaken by many staff within many areas of College activity. The aims of this project are to define what strands of Employer Engagement we will aim to collect, and how we will centrally collate, report and use this information. The first phase of this development is now live, allowing staff to record their engagement with employers. Linked to this project, the opportunity of redesigning College is piloting an e-portfolio tracking system which is being used for and with Modern Apprentices and VQ Learners. This will enable our undergraduate and postgraduate courses to embed employability and reposition our careers service and ‘Job Shop’. Our focus over the next eighteen months is to move beyond delivering pockets of activities out with the course and develop a fully integrated and scalable programme that makes a real impact on our students students, their assessors and their career aspirations employers improved access to track progress through their qualification, enable more effective communication, and choices. Our Access to the Professions programme is the first introduction to students in our associate schools and colleges network enable a more efficient way of our approach to employability. This year we have introduced our Employability and Enterprise Fortnight (EEF) which provides students with the opportunity to prepare themselves for entering into employment or starting up their own business. Xxxxxxxx held over the two weeks were hosted by potential and current employers and include such areas as CV writing and interview skills. We have reviewed our postgraduate taught portfolio, the overall aim was to develop and deliver flexible courses with a professional focus and, wherever possible professionally accredited. Employer involvement in the form of mentoring, internships, guest lectures and attendance at Careers Fairs has been strengthened and embedded within our refocused postgraduate taught portfolio. In addition, students who are considering setting up their own businesses have increased opportunities to participate in tailored workshops and development opportunities provided by our Enterprise Office. We recognise that learning takes place at different times, in different places and in different ways and we develop flexible approaches that enable students to learn in ways that are most effective for them. We are establishing options that will meet the needs submit evidence of the majority of our students. Our postgraduate students are normally mature students achieving milestones from their workplace, and employed in one of the professions. The primary motivation is to enhance or progress their careers. We are therefore developing modes that meet students’ study needs and gives flexibility in their study methods in order to avoid conflict with their other commitments such as work and family. This includes delivery of week-end courses and distance learning. Our postgraduate portfolio is largely rooted in professional courses that drive employability and career success. We work closely with employers and professional bodies, to make sure our courses meet, or indeed anticipate market demandreceive quicker feedback from assessors.