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Student-led Employability Audit Toolkit

Lead Institution: University of Exeter
Collaborating with: Teach First, Nationwide, JP Morgan, Centrax, Airbus, Microsoft, RBS, Devon Education Business Partnership

Project Report

This student-led project facilitated collaboration between students, graduate employers and staff to design an audit of the extent to which employability support is currently integrated within the Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering degree programmes at the University of Exeter.

During July 2011, 12 students undertook an employability skills audit and produced a final report detailing their findings and making suggestions for improvements in the curriculum. The process of this audit was successful, areas of improvement were identified and changes were implemented as a result of this employability audit.

Through the Practice Transfer Adopters’ scheme, the audit methodology was transferred to five universities (Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle College and UWE), so that they were able to establish their own student-led employability audits with support from the original project team. Learning and tools developed from the project form an online student-led employability audit toolkit.

The final report for the entire project can be downloaded below, followed by a report from the Practice Transfer Adopters' process:

Employability Audit - Final Report

Practice Transfer Adopter Report

Project Highlights

1. A mathematics group project module has been successfully rolled out at the University of Exeter in response to the student-led employability audit. This module develops some of the employability skills that students saw to be lacking in their programme such as communication, project management and team working.

2. Exeter’s student-led employability audit has been transferred to five HEIs across the country as part of the Practice Transfer Adopter Scheme, enabling them to undertake their own programme audits and to implement changes in their curricula.

3. A series of Creative Learning Journeys have captured the perspectives of 12 Exeter students who completed the audit and 5 HEI representatives who adopted the audit. These have helped in the reflection on the project process.

Staff involved

Dr Barrie Cooper
Project lead, University of Exeter

Abel Nyamapfene
University of Exeter

Amanda Arthur
University of Exeter

Amy Boylan
University of Exeter

Chloe Cunningham
University of Exeter

Dawn Evans
University of Exeter

Fiona Dyke
Teach First

Greg Craft
Nationwide

Holly Geipel
University of Exeter

James Baxani
Teach First

Jodie Sherman
JP Morgan

Julie Hawkings
Centrax

Kathryn Edwards
Airbus

Lee Stott
Microsoft

Mohit Malik
RBS

Paul Hartley
Devon Education Business Partnership

Richard Whinnett
University of Exeter

Rowanna Smith
University of Exeter