The Role of Career Centres in Skills Development and Graduate Placement

Training Workshop 1-2 March 2014

"The role of Career Centres in skills Development and Graduate Placement"

General Introduction:

A training workshop on employability will take place on the 1st and 2nd of March 2014 at the Golden Tulip Hotel. The British Council is organizing the event in partnership with the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The event will address the issue of employability among Tunisian graduates with particular focus on how to develop career development centres in Tunisian Universities. Around 30 participants will attend. The list of participants includes Ministry of Higher Education, university representatives, students, employers. The Tunisian Minister of Higher Education has agreed to open the meeting at 9.30 on Saturday 1 March with The British Council Country Director.

At the opening session, senior representatives from the Ministry of Employment and UTICA will attend as well as university presidents and deans.

Context: British Council employability strategy in North Africa:

Following research done into employability post Arab Spring, BC offices in MENA are implementing a number of different employability activities; the goal of which is to:

Support leaders and key staff from universities across the region, to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to plan and implement an employability strategy that is appropriate to their university or institution.

This is achieved through a combination of regional activities (such as this study tour) and in-country activities, partnerships and training. How this is done is different in each country, but the overall goal remains the same.

Background:

On November 2013, The British Council organized a study tour for a number of university faculty and staff in universities in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia who are responsible for planning, setting up and/ or managing an employability strategy or a careers development centre in their own institution. During the study tour, participants visited a number of different universities in the North of England and in Wales. These universities all belong to the University Alliance which brings together ‘Twenty-four of the most innovative and enterprising universities in the UK’. These institutions combine science and technology with a focus on delivering the human resources needed for the professions, business and the community.

Following the study tour, the Tunisian delegation drafted a proposal to the Ministry of Higher Education to set up and start the career development centres in Tunisian Universities.

The British Council expressed its support to this initiative by providing training workshops and organizing skills development events. In this context, the British Council contacted Liverpool John Moores University to organize this event.

Trainers

Joanne Ives:

Jo Ives is Deputy Director of the World of Work Centre at Liverpool John MooresUnviersity where she is responsible for the implementation of the World of Work Programme and the creation, integration and delivery of the World of Work Skills Certificate across the University into all academic undergraduate programmes, as well as the operational management of the centre.

Prior to this she was a Principal Lecturer at the University with over 30 years of teaching experience in secondary, further and higher education. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

She has written and given papers at many international conferences, including QS Apple in Malaysia and Philippines as well as in Australia and British Council Going Global in Dubai 2013. She has been working as a consultant, with Universities and Ministries of Higher Education in developing and delivering support for senior managers assisting the HE development and implementation of Graduate Employability models at the UniveristiTechnologi Mara in Malaysia, University of Malaya, University of Jordan, University of Ain Shams and Alexandria in Egypt and most recently in universities in Morocco.

Terry Dray:

Terry Dray is the Director of Graduate Advancement, Employer Engagement and Alumni Relations at Liverpool John Moores University where he is responsible for the World of Work Programme, stake holder engagement, regional employment and skills, and alumni relations. Prior to this he was Director of the Oxford University Careers Service and a Professorial Fellow of New College.

He has worked in higher education careers services for 20 years. He has held management positions at Warwick University and The University of Manchester. He has travelled widely addressing conferences in Australia, South Africa, China, Europe and The USA.

He has acted as a consultant for the careers services at the London School of Economics Careers Service, Cape Town University, University of Jordan, Ain Shams University, Egypt, UniversitiTeknologi Mara, Malyasia and others. He is currently working with universities and government departments in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan.