EmployabilityAdvice for staff
At Strathclyde our students have a wide range of opportunities to enhance their employability throughout their degree and beyond graduation.
One of the primary goals of these pages is to raise awareness among university staff about the variety of employability opportunities available to our students and graduates.
We encourage you to explore the list of employability opportunities and signpost students and graduates to it.
Below we provide resources you can draw on when supporting students and graduates to develop, and articulate, their employability. It includes contacts and services that will support your department in evidencing the work you do relating to employability.
Careers & Employability Service
Your support is essential in helping the Careers and Employability Service deliver the best possible service to students. We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively within your faculty and department and are always pleased to discuss your needs and ideas.
Find out how staff can work together with the Careers Service or more about the Careers Service, our team and how we support students, graduates and employers.
Careers & Employability Working Group
Chaired by Deputy Associate Principal (Online Learning and Teaching), Debbie Willison, the Careers and Employability Working Group (CEWG) was established to inform the development of the University’s employability strategy.
It provides the opportunity to coordinate, prioritise and progress employability enhancement opportunities within the curriculum and recently hosted the University’s inaugural Employability Showcase.
Career Readiness data
Since 2016, the Careers Service has had 2 questions about career readiness embedded at registration for every student. These questions are based on the Careers Registration Learning Gain Project funded by HEFCE. At Strathclyde, the questions are asked of all year groups.
The results can be analysed by Institution, Faculty, Department and Course. Faculties receive the results via a Faculty Report presented at Faculty Academic Committee and these results will inform careers education in the curriculum. In 2020 the career planning question was also asked at graduation registration which allows further analysis at the end of a student’s academic journey.
Careers support & resources for international students
Our Careers Coach for International Students delivers sessions specifically for international students to support them bridge the gap between their prior experiences and the potentially different demands made of them in the UK workplace and recruitment process.
Case studies and examples of good practice
Read case studies from across the University that demonstrate good practice in embedding employability and examples of innovative ideas that colleagues have put in place that work.
Connecting you with employers & advertising their vacancies
If you're looking for employers to contribute to, or inform, your curriculum please get in touch. Employers are keen to connect with our student community and many of our industry contacts would be willing to deliver a guest lecture or offer a student project or placement. We are happy to reach out via our network so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We can also advertise vacancies for free to students and graduates.
Employability champions
Employability Champions represent their Faculty at the Careers & Employability Working Group (CEWG).
Connect with the Employability Champion for your Faculty:
- Faculty of Engineering: julia.race@strath.ac.uk (interim)
- Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences: manuela.williams@strath.ac.uk
- Faculty of Science: helen.vaughan@strath.ac.uk
- Strathclyde Business School: craig.mclaughlin@strath.ac.uk
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Information, resources and links for inclusive employers and opportunities are available via the Careers Service Equality and Diversity web page.
MyPlus Students’ Club provides students with disabilities with the advice and support they need to navigate the recruitment process and achieve their career potential. Register for free with MyPlus Students’ Club for advice on openness, requesting adjustments and access to many more resources
The University of Strathclyde is committed to achieving and promoting equality of opportunity in its learning, teaching, research and working environments, and to ensuring these environments support positive relations between people, and a culture of respect. Information and resources are available via the University’s Access, Equality & Inclusion Service.
Graduate Outcomes
Graduate Outcomes is the name of the UK-wide survey of leavers from Higher Education. Students who gain a qualification from the University of Strathclyde are contacted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 15 months after they received their award. They are asked questions about their career and study activities to date.
Information from the Graduate Outcomes survey is crucial in allowing current and future students to make informed course choices. The survey also helps the University promote and evaluate our courses and provides a valuable insight into the graduate labour market.
Labour Market Information
Prospects Luminate provides regular updates on the state of the UK labour market, in-depth reports on graduate destinations, surveys of student and graduate views of their early careers - and much more.
The Careers & Employability Service Labour market intelligence (LMI) web page provides further comprehensive information and resources.
Learner Experience Framework (LEF)
The Learner Experience Framework (LEF) aims to articulate what makes an outstanding student experience at Strathclyde and is incorporated into the Faculty Annual Reporting (FAR) process.
It was developed in partnership with students and colleagues from Professional Services and the Faculties through the Education Strategy Committee (ESC). Indicators, include: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Digital Literacy, Adaptability, and engagement with Education for Sustainable Development.
The LEF Hub contains guidance and resources to aid colleagues in completing the LEF Appendix in the Faculty Annual Report.
LinkedIn Alumni
The Strathclyde Linkedin Alumni Tool is a great resource for staff, students and graduates to use to gain an idea of the variety of different career pathways our graduates have undertaken.
If you're new to LinkedIn or lack confidence in how to get the most from it, log in to the short course on using LinkedIn that has been developed by the Careers & Employability Service.
Subject Benchmark Statements
Subject Benchmark Statements describe what can be expected of a graduate in the subject they are studying, in terms of what they might know, do, and understand at the end of their degree. They are developed and written by academics on behalf of their subject and are regularly updated.
They're a great way to empower students to understand the subject-related and generic skills they develop through their studies. Recently updated ones incorporate consideration of how practice within disciplines addresses the wider social goals of equality, diversity, and inclusivity, education for sustainable development and enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Subject Benchmark Statements are available for undergraduate degrees with Honours and Masters awards (for example MChem, MEng, MIBML, MPhys) .