Mullen, Emma, Bridges, Stephanie, Eccles, Sue and Dippold, Doris (2019) Precursors to employability—How first year undergraduate students Plan and strategize to become employable graduates. In: Diver, Alice, (ed.) Employability via Higher Education: Sustainability as Scholarship. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 171-200. ISBN 978-3030263416 (doi:10.1007/978-3-030-26342-3_12)

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Abstract

Debates surrounding the ability of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to produce work-ready graduates have dominated higher education (HE) debate at both academic and policy levels for many decades. Whilst increasing emphasis is paid to university-workplace transitions and evidencing ‘employability’ as a new graduate, Murtagh et al. (J Further High Educ 41:597–610, 2017) remind us that a student’s first year at university is also a critical transition period. Whilst students will have a number of priorities during this time, including adjusting to university life and developing friendships, it is important to also consider their early thoughts and plans concerning their future careers and ‘employability’ as graduates. It is not surprising, for this reason, that Coertjens et al. (High Educ 73:357–369, 2017) highlight research into first year students’ transition into HE has received increasing attention in recent years. Here, we offer an account of how the academic, social/personal and professional capital students bring with them as they begin their university ‘journey’ influences their strategic decisions regarding their future employability. First year students’ stories and experiences from a multi-disciplinary study across four UK universities offer insights into the way they plan for post-graduation employment. Holmes’s graduate identity framework (Holmes in Q High Educ 7:111–119, 2001; Educ Train 57:219–238, 2015) is utilised to explore these case studies into how first year students develop their future graduate identity—what aspirations, expectations and experiences they bring with them and how they believe their degree and broader student experiences contribute to developing who they become as employable graduates. What emerges is that consideration of their career aspirations and how to achieve them is important both prior to and as they begin their university degree.

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2020 17:31
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/28273

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