REFLECTION, REFLECTION, REFLECTION: UNCOVERING THE VALUE OF WORK EXPERIENCE

Rebecca Valentine, Careers Consultant at the University of Edinburgh, discusses findings from a HECSU-funded project investigating the value of work experience for students and graduates. Work experience is a broad term and the findings from this project highlight the value of reflection in supporting students to gain maximum benefit, whatever their experience, and in the development of a graduate identity. E ver since the publication of the Dearing Report in 1997, there has been widespread recognition that a degree alone is not enough to secure employment after graduation. In the 20 years since its publication, higher education institutions have responded with a wide range of initiatives to support students with developing their employability. One means has been to support students to obtain and make the most of work experience whilst at university. This comes with the assumption that this is valuable for both students and employers.

The aim of this research project, Experience Works? Exploring the Value of Work Experience, was to look at the value of work experience for students, graduates and employers and to examine the benefits of different types of experiences to develop a more nuanced understanding. The concept of work experience is very broad and experiences such as paid part-time work and extracurricular activities have been largely ignored in the work experience literature. Yet, such experiences are crucial for many students who rely on paid part-time work and for those entering sectors where structured experiences, such as internships, are in short supply.

DATA COLLECTION We used a mixed methods approach for data collection. We conducted interviews with 15 employers recruiting from the university, a survey of students participating in the Edinburgh Award: Work Experience (60 respondents), and semi-structured interviews with seven graduates who were between one and three years into their careers. Alongside this we conducted a review of the work experience literature encompassing all forms of experience, including internships, placements, volunteering, paid part-time work and extracurricular activities.

WHICH SKILLS? Employers identified their key skill requirements as creativity, problem solving, critical and systems thinking. Employers also cited the importance of other psychological factors, including selfmanagement, flexibility and resilience. Work experience was seen as an opportunity to develop these skills in a pressurised environment, but employers were open to a range of different types of experience. To them it wasn't important where the students had got the experience, but that they could articulate and evidence the skills they’d gained.

Students reported a wide range of skills developed through their part-time work, with communication and working under pressure the top skills developed. The concept of a ‘hierarchy’ of experience is also partially supported by the survey data: 37 students reported that they perceived employers to regard directly relevant work experience as the most important type of experience.

Graduates similarly reported a wide range of skills developed through their work experience, including problem solving, communication, organisation, confidence and time management. They also identified that their experiences supported them to develop skills that might feature less prominently in the academic domain, including teamwork and presentation skills. Several of the graduates had reflected deeply on the value of their experience in supporting them to become more rounded and motivated individuals. This supports the findings from some of the work experience literature on the role of work experience and reflection in supporting the development of a graduate identity (Holmes, 2015; Jackson, 2017). There is also a wealth of evidence in the literature which points to the value of reflection before, during and after experience in supporting students to derive maximum benefit from it (Artess, Mellors-Bourne and Hooley, 2017).

IT TAKES ALL TYPES There was clear evidence from students, graduates and employers that all types of work experience have value and the key lies in students being able to reflect on those experiences, identify skills gained and articulate this. This finding has particular relevance now, at a time when students may be undertaking virtual work experience or paid work in key sectors of the economy unrelated to their career aspirations in order to support the nation through the Covid-19 pandemic.

/in/rebeccavalentine rebecca.valentine@ed.ac.uk @BeaValentine