Towards a Confident Future: Enhancing Employability for Wider Access Students

1. Towards a Confident Future: Enhancing Employability for Wider Access Students Fiona Wager Edinburgh Napier University HEA Social Mobility Conference 26 - 27 March 2013

2. Context • Edinburgh Napier University • In 2012/13 Edinburgh Napier had approximately 17,264 students. 12,209 UK and EU students, and 5,055 overseas students. • Three campuses in Edinburgh: Sighthill, Craiglockhart and Merchiston. • Three faculties: Faculty of Engineering, Computing & Creative Industries (FECCI), Faculty of Health, Life & Social Sciences, The Business School (TBS) • Graduate employability • ‘Stand Out from the Crowd’ • ENU Graduate Attributes Model

3. ENU Graduate Attributes Model

4. Background • Towards a Confident Future Project established in 2009 to address ongoing disadvantage in early employment and long-term career outcomes of Edinburgh Napier University students from wider access backgrounds • Three year Big Lottery funded project (June 2009 – July 2012) • Employability-focused personal and professional development activities including: • Employer Mentoring Programme • Confident Futures workshop programme • Academic skills development workshops

5. TACF Project Activities • Scottish domiciled students in third or fourth year of an undergraduate programme who fit one or more of four eligibility criteria: • Direct entrant • Mature student • From most deprived 40% of postcode areas • First in family to attend university • Employer Mentoring Programme • Aims to match eligible students with a professional working in a relevant field of employment. Target to recruit 60 mentors per annum over three years • Increasing target group participation in existing personal and professional development programmes

6. TACF Project Outcomes • 15% disadvantaged students actively taking part in the programme to have developed enhanced employability and networking skills • 180 employer/alumni mentors to be effectively trained in raising aspirations and career goals for disadvantaged students who participate in the Employer Mentoring Programme, and in creating networks into employment • 15% increase in disadvantaged students gaining graduate level employment by the end of the project

7. Evaluation Overview • Evaluation a key project component • Big Lottery funding: • evaluation built in from the start • specific resource allocated to evaluation activities • Range of quantitative (eg baseline population statistics, project participation statistics, satisfaction ratings) and qualitative (eg individual interviews, focus groups, case studies) approaches to evidence progress towards project outcomes

8. Measuring Impact: • Data Gathering for TACF

9. Engaging target group in TACF Overall population numbers provide a baseline for the project to ensure we worked towards the 15% engagement required to meet Outcome 1: Year 1 TACF target group population = 2261 TACF engaged with 329 unique individuals (14.5%) Year 2 TACF target group population = 2791 TACF engaged with 554 unique individuals (20%) Improvement of 5.5% between Year 1 and Year 2 Year 3 TACF target group population = 2800 TACF engaged with 666 unique individuals (24%) Improvement of 4% between Year 2 and Year 3, and 9.5% increase over the project lifetime (ie between Year 1 and Year 3)

10. Employer Mentoring • Aim to train 180 mentors over project lifetime (3 years) • 206 mentors trained over the 3 years, with 245 mentors active across the 3 years matched with 248 employer mentees

11. Employer Mentoring • Satisfaction rates of ≥ 90% have been achieved for both mentors and mentees across all three years of the programme • Findings from quantitative and qualitative evaluation have highlighted benefits of participation: • Improved confidence • CV skills, interview skills, job search skills • Industry insight and knowledge • Exploration of career options • Identifying transferable skills and how these can be put into practice in the workplace • Improved self-assessment ratings on three aspects relevant to graduate employability for Employer Mentees across each of the three years: • Current skills and attributes relevant to gaining a graduate job • Knowledge/awareness of graduate job opportunities • Confidence about the job application process (CV preparation, networking, applications, interviews)

12. Student Educational Outcomes • Data gathered on student educational outcomes indicates positive impact of participation in TACF project activities for participants. • TACF Year 1 and Year 2 participants: • Improved progression into Year 4 from Year 3 • Lower rates of graduating in Year 3, but more likely to achieve an Ordinary degree • Higher rates of achieving a ‘Good Honours’ degree • (ie First or Two One)

13. Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey • Graduates surveyed six months after graduating to determine leaver destinations • DLHE 2011 survey data gathered for those who graduated in 2010 (July and November), DLHE 2012 survey for those who graduated in 2011 (July and November). • Additional question on impact of participating in TACF on job-search for telephone respondents • Supplementing DLHE with informal tracking of employer mentees into graduate destinations, focus groups with graduates who participated in TACF

14. Employment Outcomes: • DLHE Survey 2012 • Employment outcomes for TACF participants in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) return for January 2012 indicate that TACF participants who graduated in July 2011 gained graduate employment at slightly higher rates than for either the TACF target group or all undergraduates. In terms of graduates in ‘full time paid work only’: • 84% of TACF participants who were in ‘full time paid work only’ were in graduate occupations; • 79% of TACF target group in ‘full time paid work only’ entered graduate occupations; • 78% of all undergraduates in ‘full time paid work only’ entered graduate occupations.

15. Qualitative evidence ‘I’m happy with my range of skills I’ve picked up, especially the additional seminars. I’ve finished university with an outlook not just a piece of paper.’ (TACF Year 1 participant, male, English & Journalism graduate) ‘For me it was Employer Mentoring (which helped). Doing things like going over my CV, learning how to approach an interview. I wasn’t good at interviews but after employer mentoring I wasn’t nervous. It built my confidence.’ (TACF Year 1 participant, female, Social Sciences graduate) ‘Overall the positives were confidence... Going in to a professional workplace – I’d never had that (opportunity) before – dealing with professionals on a daily basis, and hearing exactly what people are looking for when sourcing graduates, the skills and attributes they want from people coming out of Uni ...’ (TACF year 2 participant, male, Law graduate)

16. Next steps ... • Big Lottery funding period ended July 2012 and report submitted • Further analysis of student outcomes and DLHE employment outcomes for Year 3 TACF participants • New funding (Scottish Funding Council Regional Coherence) for a new Graduate Employability project commenced 2013 to further develop our work on graduate employability • Includes a continued focus on Employer Mentoring and other aspects of personal and professional development activity focused on improving employability for wider access students as well as a wider programme of activities for Scottish domiciled students