Learning & Teaching

What is it?

'Your Future: Careers and Employability' is a short Moodle course introducing students to career planning and to the range of support within Careers, Employability and Opportunity and to additional employability support within each College.  The course provides participating students with the opportunity to develop the confidence and skills to plan and reflect on their employability development during their time at Glasgow.   

Course Aims: 

• Think about the career options available to your students; 

• Realise the employability value and skills development potential of their academic programme and extra-curricular activities; 

• Identify the key future skills that they will develop through their academic programme and extra-curricular activities. 

This course can be accessed individually by all current students at any time via the Careers, Employability & Opportunity website but can also be embedded into courses and/or programmes to engage students in career planning. It might therefore be useful to build in at level 1 as an introduction to Careers and Employability provision or can be used later at critical stages to encourage engagement in career exploration and progression. For example, it could be used with mid-year students to support them in preparing to apply for work experience including internships and industrial placements. Or it could be used with finalists as a final prod to engage with Careers and Employability to support their transition on from university.  

The Moodle includes College specific sections to signpost students to more discipline specific resources and services.  

How does it work?

The course generally takes around 20 – 30 minutes to complete and is split into 8 short, impactful sections. They cover a range of areas of how employability connects to their career, their degree, their university experience, their skills and more.  

The course also introduces students to the services offered by Careers, Employability and Opportunity (CEO) and in their College that will support their employability.  

Students must complete and pass the End of Course Quiz to receive their certificate and digital badge which they can add to their LinkedIn profile. 

How to Embed: 

Two different methods of embedding in programmes were used this year with Level 3 students on different programmes (see Case Study for further insight into example 1): 

1) Asynchronous example: The Moodle course was made a compulsory part of a Level 3 Skills course with students receiving a grade for completion of the course. Students were introduced to the Moodle at the start of the Skills course by lecturers and a short presentation by their Careers & Employability Manager. They were given a deadline for completion of the Moodle which they evidenced by uploading their completion certificate to their lecturer.  

Using the Moodle course as encouragement to engage in career planning and exploration, this worked as a good foundation for later sessions in the Skills course on 'Applying for Internships' which were also delivered by the Careers & Employability Manager. 

2) Blended synchronous example: The Moodle was embedded in a workshop as part of a Level 3 Skills course.  Students were instructed to complete by the end of the workshop.  This can ensure higher completion rates.  

As the Moodle course is short, this could easily be completed within a 50-minute session whilst also allowing sufficient time for self-reflection and follow up peer interaction and feedback. 

Does it work?

Completion rates for the Moodle are higher amongst COSE students than in other colleges as the majority engaged with the course from the two examples shared above who had it embedded into their course rather than choosing individually to undertake it (as is more common in Arts & Humanities, Social Science and Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences). 

Positive feedback from both of the above cohorts with the vast majority rating it as a positive or highly positive experience and almost all recommending it to peers on their degree programme: 

‘It is short simple way to get good advice and start thinking about what you want for your future.’ 

‘Increase awareness about the importance of career planning and choosing from the variety of available job opportunities to fit the person's values and goals.’ 

‘It helps to gain a more in-depth look at ourselves, like what skills we have and what we lack’ 

‘Good introduction to a range of tools that can be used to gain information on careers and employability.’ 

You can request Staff Member access to the Moodle by contacting your Careers & Employability Manager. You can also discuss with them what format would be appropriate for the needs of your students.   

References

Students’ reflections on an employability skills provision, Fraser J. Scott & Debra Willison