Key Action Points for Implementation Of

Policy on Career education, information, advice and guidance

Introduction

The University of Reading’s vision is to ‘produce graduates who have developed skills and knowledge of life-long value, have the confidence and enthusiasm to fulfil their personal ambitions and seek to make a difference in the world in which they live.’
This vision applies to both undergraduate and postgraduate leavers and, in its pursuance, the University is committed to providing a ‘stimulating student experience’ that enables them to ‘develop the wide-ranging skills, self-reliance, and adaptability required for their destinations beyond university and a self-awareness of their own individual attributes so that they can continue to build upon a strong base.’ High quality Careers Education Information and Guidance is fundamental to enabling students to value their skills, relate them to occupations and achieve a successful transition into work or further study.

This policy:

Documents the roles and responsibilities of those involved in CEIAG
States the entitlement to CEIAG of prospective, current and past students
Specifies the nature of CEIAG provision including principles for career learning approved by the University Board for Teaching and Learning
Complements the University’s placement strategy which aligns with the Code of Practice on Work-Based and Placement Learning
Outlines quality assurance processes in line with Chapter B4: Student support, learning resources andcareers education, information, advice and guidance of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education

Roles and Responsibilities

The University made a policy decision to embed CEIAG in both academic and central services in order to ensure the widest possible range of advice and expertise for students. Hence there are many individuals involved with aspects of CEIAG within the University, and together they provide a full service to the students. They include the following:

Careers Advisers and Careers Information professionals employed centrally by the Student Employment, Experience and Careers Centre (SEECC) or locally by the Schools or Departments. It is expected that these professionals are appropriately trained with a relevant qualification and/or experience of recruitment in relevant employment sector(s)), to ensure that service delivery reflects the best standards of professionalism for impartial guidance, confidentiality and equal opportunities. These professionals give careers advice and guidance and/or make relevant information available to students via online content and physical media, e.g. notice boards, as applicable. Partnership working between staff in SEECC and Departments is strongly encouraged to ensure comprehensive and consistent provision that meets legislative and quality guidelines.
Nominated academics, such as School Directors of Teaching and Learning, ensure that career learning is embedded and visible within course structure. Module convenors ensure that appropriate transferable skills are delivered in the module and articulated to students. Programme Directors are responsible for ensuring that career learning is appropriately promoted, taught and assessed across degrees and academic staff provide specialist information and advice related to their subject area.
Placement and Programme Administrators ensure that the academic requirements of CEIAG activities are properly managed. For instance they findand administer placements that are integrated into the University’s degrees to ensure that processes are in place that cover the University’s duty of care and that the placement meets academic requirements.
Placement Development Officers in SEECC assist Schools in sourcing opportunities, advise Schools and Departments, and advise students throughout the process from application and preparation for the workplace to post-placement reflection.
A Student Development and RED Officer in SEECC operates the Reading Experience and Development Award to encourage early student engagement in and reflection on activities that build employability skills and the Student Training and Experience Programme (STEP) draws together activities to enhance skills and employability.
The University Graduate School provides additional support to postgraduate research students through its Reading Researcher Development Programme.
Students have personal responsibility for utilising relevant CEIAG opportunities both within and outside the curriculum. They are encouraged to appraise CEIAG sources critically and to use CEIAG interventions as a stimulus to personal reflection and action.

Staff development

All staff whose main activity is CEIAG are encouraged to join appropriate professional bodies such as the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Association of Sandwich Education and Training and the National Association of Student Employment Services and to undertake regular training and employer update appropriate to their role. SEECC also provides expert support to academic and administrative staff for duties relating to CEIAG through one-to-one advice and guidance as well as formal training sessions while best practice in placement provision is shared through the Placement Community of Practice.

Entitlement

The following groups are eligible for access to the University’s CEIAG facilities:

Prospective students are provided with information through channels such as the University and SEECC websites, prospectuses, Departmental websites, University Open Days and University and School Visit Days.
Currently registered full-time, part-time and distance learning students of the University of Reading at first degree and postgraduate level have full access to SEECC services. This includes students who are temporarily suspended from their course.
Currently registered students in the above categories on courses which are awarded in partnership with another institution, where the Memorandum of Agreement assigns to Reading responsibility for careers guidance. It would normally be expected that students, while studying at a partner institution, would access the partner institution’s careers service, where available, in the first instance.
University of Reading students who discontinue their course are encouraged to take part in an exit discussion with a CEIAG professional in SEECC to plan their future career.
University of Reading graduates can continue to attend group workshops and recruitment events and access job vacancies as long as they wish. One- to-one support delivered in person or remotely is primarily focused on the six month period following the end of their course.

Nature of provision

CEIAG will be provided by knowledgeable and impartial members of staff through an appropriate blend of career learning workshops, one-to-one consultations, on-line content and events such as careers fairs and employer presentations and other career-focussed events.
The University welcomes students from all over the world and with very diverse careers aspirations. CEIAG provision should aim to address their different needs, reflect local, national and international employment opportunities and encourage them to take personal responsibility for managing their own careers. Staff with responsibility for CEIAG remain aware of labour market trends through meeting with employers and representative bodies and through the review of appropriate secondary materials or through consultation with SEECC.
The University encourages partnering with employers and representative bodies when delivering specific CEIAG interventions and undertakes careful briefing to ensure that their information and advice for students is representative and impartial.
Workplace experience is set to be an increasingly important element of CEIAG and students are encouraged to gain experience so that their career learning can be viewed in context. As a result of the University’s Thematic Review of Work-Related and Placement Learning undergraduate programmes for entrants from 2011 include a credit-bearing placement option and work is currently underway to research and pilot postgraduate placements. The review is attached as Appendix 1.
A wide range of extra-curricular placements and internships are promoted alongside these modules and students can gain recognition through the RED Award that is included on their Diploma Supplement.
Careers education is delivered through a programme of events and curriculum-based career learning. Arising from the 2010 review of undergraduate Career Management Skills provision which is attached as Appendix 2, it was agreed that career learning should:

Be a compulsory and visible element of the curriculum;
Constitute at least five credits worth of learning;
Be embedded within a larger module or modules (in keeping with the subject being studied); and
Address core learning outcomes.

Appendix 3 provides a checklist of suggested core career learning outcomes which module designers are encouraged to consider.
The 2010 review also recommended that:

Additional learning outcomes could be addressed by the development of skills in other modules; this would allow career skills to be delivered at an earlier (or later) stage of the programme than any designated careers module; and
The modules should be seen as part of a broader set of PDP/employability activities that are available to all students both inside and outside the academic curriculum.

Careers information and guidance is provided centrally through the SEECC website and one-to-one guidance. Students are also encouraged to consult academic staff for information on their specialist areas and to discuss career plans with personal tutors.

Nature of provision

The University monitors the quality of CEIG provision through high level committees as shown in the following diagram:

The Employment Project Implementation Group (EPIG) has general oversight of student employability and the development of CEIAG provision.
The Student Employment, Experience and Careers Centre also reports to the Careers and Employability Board (CEB) which oversees its work and provides additional linkage with the Faculties. SEECC staff attend Faculty Boards for Teaching and Learning and the Director of SEECC attends the University Board for Teaching and Learning.
CEIAG provision is always addressed in the Periodic Review of programmes and student employability and career learning has been the subject of the following institution-wide reviews to ensure high quality provision that meets the changing needs of students and employers:

Thematic Review of work-related and placement learning, reporting May 2010;
The Employment Project, reporting November 2010;
The Working Party to Review the Provision of Career Management Skills, reporting October 2010.