SUPPORTING STUDENTS TO MAKE GOOD CAREER

SUPPORTING STUDENTS TO MAKE GOOD CAREER CHOICES

SARAH BROOKES, Student Services Marketing and Operations Director, reflects on Jisc's latest projects and looks ahead to the new academic year.

Careers services adapted to the pandemic by offering virtual careers events and remote guidance, but are students and graduates still making the most of these resources and what do they find useful?

The answer to this and more is in Prospects Early Careers Survey 2022, which is now available on Luminate.

BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF 2022

More than 5,000 students and graduates responded to our survey. It shows that after two years of disruption caused by the pandemic – from the shift to online learning and the cancellation of exams to the impact on social lives – it is perhaps not surprising that mental health and motivation are now students' biggest challenges as we move through 2022.

These challenges can have many different impacts on career planning. When comparing the findings with last year ’ s data, the proportion of university students attending careers activities such as events, guidance appointments and help with job applications has declined.

However, careers professionals shouldn't necessarily be overly concerned about this drop in engagement. Careers services reported increased engagement at the height of the pandemic and the shift to virtual provision. Interest may rise again when the novelty of returning to face-to-face interaction has worn off. Highlighting the benefits of virtual appointments, such as flexibility and accessibility, could improve interaction when promoting services.

VALUABLE RESOURCE

The data also highlights the importance of careers services, which cannot be overstated. The pandemic saw increasing numbers of students and graduates turn to careers professionals for reassurance and guidance and they remain a valuable resource.

The majority (87%) of survey respondents who actively sought advice from careers professionals said that they found them helpful. Those who attended a careers guidance appointment were also more likely to feel prepared for getting a job or apprenticeship (64%), compared with those who hadn't (56%).

Careers services should feel encouraged that during times of crisis students and graduates turn to them for support.

At the start of the year we launched the Jisc Research Grant, with £50,000 available to careers services professionals.

Florence Reedy at AGCAS and Charlie Ball at Jisc gave feedback to the applicants, with the University of Chester among the successful applicants. They will use the grant to explore the principles for innovation by career guidance practitioners, within a Northern UK ‘Cathedrals Group ’ higher education institution.

While Lancaster University will research the impact of Covid-19 on the career thinking of university students and the implications for careers services, the University of Sheffield will map overseas employers and alumni experiences to better understand international student employability.

We also have a collaborative project with MMU, University of Lincoln, University of Huddersfield, University of Leeds, University of York and University of Nottingham. They will identify differences in the career planning needs and behaviours of widening participation and non-widening participation postgraduate taught students.

Applications for next year ’ s research grant will be open from January 2023, with further information available closer to this date. This year we have also made additional investment in strengthening our bond with AGCAS, with funding available to careers professionals who support Prospects services. AGCAS members will be able to apply to become part of a paid pool of professionals for writing content, featuring in videos, and attending events. The details are currently being refined and more information will be available in the new academic year.

As we gear up for a new cohort in the autumn, we are working on an improved version of our career quiz Job Match. At the moment, Job Match looks to match users to groups of careers that offer similar purpose, interest and reward. Among many improvements to be made is that users will be able to filter on careers where their subject studied is required or useful. We would love to hear from any careers professionals interested in helping us improve this service. Contact gemma.pearson@jisc.ac.uk for more information.

Registering for this resource and creating an account on prospects.ac.uk for a personalised experience is as useful for freshers as it is for finalists, helping to steer and clarify the right career choices. Please encourage your students to sign up. Job Match in particular is a great way for opening conversations with careers professionals.

Prospects Luminate

Prospects Hedd

VIEW PHOENIX THEMES AND ISSUES next issue OF PHOENIX

NOVEMBER 2022

THIS ISSUE INCLUDES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AGCAS MEMBERS AT THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

City, University of London Liverpool John Moores University London South Bank University LSE Queen Margaret University The Careers Group, University of London The University of Edinburgh The University of Warwick University College Cork University of Aberdeen University of East Anglia University of Greenwich University of Leeds University of Liverpool University of Nottingham University of St Andrews Writtle University College