- To what extent do you think you have achieved each of the learning outcomes for this week? If you think there is room for you to achieve these more fully, how could you help yourself do that?
In this week we learn about embedding employability, enterprise and professional practice in HE which focuses on embedding these in students at early stages of their learning and is very necessary for graduates. We studied some case studies of different university (Owens & Tibby (2014)) who seriously focusing and working to make their student more confident so they may get employed or become entrepreneur or can start their professional practices as soon as they finish their degrees.
As a practitioner in health and social care sector, as an individual I personally tries my best to train my students in a why so they understand things well and work well in their fields. Related to the topic of this week our institute offers some assistantship to the students, as the students study their core subjects they get engaged with senior practitioners as assistant. They work as volunteer and in some cases, they get paid for their jobs, in this way the institute and our employees work together to embed employability, enterprise and professional practice in students.
- What have you learned this week about embedding student employability, enterprise and professional practice in your practice of supporting student learning in HE?
Embedding student employability, enterprise and professional practice is necessity of the time. Students having degree but not having prior knowledge of how to work in their field, how to get jobs in their relevant field or how to get started at their own can causes a sense of frustration among the students. It is duty of the HE department to look at this and find some solution for this. HE departments all over the world now understand these issues and many of the international university launched their programs for supporting and equipping students with the field requirements and to promote entrepreneurship. The (CBI 2011) defines what employer mean by employability skills, ESECT and the employer employability skills says that person having:
- Business and customer awareness
- Problem solving ability
- Good communication skills and oral literacy including listening and questioning
- Knows the application of numeracy
- Knows the application of information technology in the field
- Having positive attitude towards his/her work and ability to innovate
Is it necessary to embed all these skills in the students, which helps them out to work in their fields successfully by supporting them to work efficiently and to learn efficiently.
- How did you learn this?
In this week we were advised to go through some case studies, which gives us prior knowledge about the employability, enterprise and professional practice in HE. In that we learn that many of the universities are working on it as necessary by making it important for a student who wants to get degree from the university. We learn that it is an important factor that plays a vital role in a student’s professional career. Among all those case studies I found one who provides clear strategies and some real statistics about the outcome of their strategy, this case study about University of Buckingham, who offers BSc Enterprise Program to its students. The university focuses on the employability, enterprise and professional practice from the day a student gets enrolled in the program and according to (December 2007- December 2012) among 31 graduates, four started their own business, seven returned to their family business, 18 gained employment and two continued in HE. None of them was unemployed within 6 months of their graduation (Owens & Tibby (2014)).
- What supported you?
The real case studies we read in this week opens our mind with so many strategies that we can adopt to embed the key employability and enterprise skills in our students. After this week we are encouraged to work on it by the start of our session and train our students in a way that within their course duration they must be well equipped with the knowledge and practice of their field.
- What have you learned this week about the practice of supporting student learning in HE?
In early stages of this course, we learn a lot about supporting student learning. We also learn reflective practices but, in this week, we do realize that not only the learning material and learning support is enough but it requires more than this. Embedding employability in students is one of the most important factors which plays vital role and having great impact of student learning. “Good learning happens mostly when students are engaged in challenging tasks rather than being passive recipient of curriculum material (HEA (2006) Pedagogy for employability).
- How has your understanding of this changed from doing this week’s topic and activities?
In this week where we were learnt about employability, enterprise and professional practice. Side by side we also see the importance of all these in a student career. Before this week we were at the point that learning support is enough to get good marks and to get good job. But now we realize that we as a teacher responsible to support them to achieve the goals they want and for the purpose they study this course. In short after this week we realize that not only in learning activities but also in practical field we have to train and equip our students.
- What has challenged you?
Providing support to a student and to help him to choose his career is always a challenge for a teacher and for a student. Students who thinks for different career at the same time could not achieve the right things. Keeping an eye on every student’s interest and guide and train them for that is a big challenge. An institute can provide same training to all the students but it is a challenge to deal every student individually and train and equip them according is difficult.
- What has surprised you?
In this week everything was surprising for me, reason is that we didn’t see this aspect before. How employability, enterprise and professional practice training helps a student to start up with his career was a great thing we learned. Many institutes in UK and all over the world is focusing on it, the (MMM) Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Stirling contributing all in it. It offers many programs such as employability, confidence building, career development and networking.
- What has this taught you about your strengths in your practice in supporting student learning, through your assessment and feedback practice?
As we now well aware with the importance of employability, enterprise and professional practice. This importance keeps me motivated about the contribution me and my institute already making towards employability and professional practice of our students. By keeping the view of enterprise, I will include this in my future consideration that I engage my students in learning of enterprise skills side by side by my subject.
- What actions can you identify from this that you could take to further develop your assessment and feedback practice in the future?
I will adopt the strategies that helps students to choose their career. In assessment and feedback, we will be held some inter university or inter college competition and some group activities that develop a sense of competition and to perform well in their fields. These competition and real work at institutional level helps student to build up their confidence and to do up to the mark things in their academic and professional areas.