Employability and Entrepreneurship
In this section you will find sources of information concerning the development of students' skills — both subject specific and generic — that will be relevant to them in seeking a job and doing that job effectively.
Transferable Skills
- Writing Skills
- Online tutorial from LSE on Writing for Economics includes advice on writing job applications
- IREE Paper: Using Writing to Enhance Student Learning in Undergraduate Economics
- Case Study: Developing Skills through Regular Assessment
- Case Study: Students' assignment as a piece of economics journalism and follow-up
- Resources from the Write Now CETL
- IT Skills
- Presentation Skills
- Funded project: Presentation Skills for Economics Undergraduates
- Handbook Chapter: Undergraduate Research in Economics
- Handbook Chapter: Seminars
- Reflections: Classroom practice and student engagement
- Case Study: Making the Leap to Web-based Study
- Personal Development
- Research Skills
- Team Work
- Handbook Chapter: Groupwork and Assessment
- Handbook Chapter: Seminars
- Extended case study: Collaborative learning tutorials for introductory microeconomics
- "A Double Take on Presentation Skills" Video
- Multiple Skills
- Case study: Teaching Basic Skills to Economics and Business Students: Some Reflections from Delivering a Dedicated Module
- Case Study: The 'Business Project' at Salford University
- Case Study: Exploring the Use of a Generic E-portfolio/PDP Tool in a Basic Skills Module for Economics and Business Students
- Case Study: Employability, Transferable Skills and Student Motivation
- Funded Project: Embedding a PDP tool in a basic skills module (including Skills Audit Worksheet)
Projects
Among the FDTL5 projects relevant to economics are METAL: Mathematics for Economics: Enhancing Teaching and Learning (Creating video, worksheets and assessment materials to support the teaching of mathematics to economics students) and Embedding Threshold Concepts (Embedding threshold concepts in undergraduate programmes to promote deep-level transformative understanding)
The Economics Network has funded projects supporting the development of skills and entrepreneurship of students.
- Enhancing the employability of Economics students
- Skills for enterprise
- Embedding PBL and Critical Skill Development in the Curriculum
- Writing for Economists: Embedding the Development of Writing Skills in Economics Courses
- Presentation skills for Economics Students (Undergraduates)
- Using Personal Development Plans (PDP) to aid the student's self-evaluation of their understanding of economics
- Developing critical reasoning skills as a foundation for the first year core curriculum
- Embedding a generic ePortfolio/PDP tool in a basic skills module for Economics and Business students
Research on Employability
Employer Survey 2012
The 2012 survey aims to improve understanding of the skills economics graduates need in the workplace. It is partially funded by the Higher Education Academy. Read a summary of the results or download the full report "Economics Graduates' Skills and Employability".
Employability Survey 2006/07
This project was conducted by the Applied Statistics and Quantitative Modelling Consultancy Unit (ASQM) at the University of the West of England and supported by the Economics Network and the Royal Economic Society. It sought to inform the UK economics academic community about employers' requirements of economics graduates, to establish whether they think these graduates generally possess the required skills and knowledge, and to reveal any clear shortfalls. It also sought to establish whether the Economics subject Benchmark Statement is regarded as appropriate by employers. You can read a summary of the results is available (PDF) or the full report (PDF).
Economics Student Employability Profile 2005
The Student Employability Profile (Word document) uses interviews with Economics graduates to examine the distinctive strengths of a degree the subject.
Alumni Survey (Economics Graduates) and Employers Interviews 2008, 2004
The Economics Network conducted interviews with employers and alumni to investigate the knowledge and skills acquired in an Economics degree and their relevance to jobs and careers. This work is part of an ongoing research project into learning, teaching and employability in Economics HE.
Our latest survey of alumni ran until December 2008. The results can be read either in an executive summary or a full report.
National aggregate results from 2004 can be downloaded in PDF format. They can help provide better understanding of the links between curriculum, learning experiences and career outcomes.
Student Perspectives
Three questions in our 2006 student survey addressed questions of employability: we asked students what they saw as the best aspects of their degree, what useful skills they had developed, and how they had been changed by the course.
External Links
The Higher Education Academy has an index of tools to improve student employability .
Employability resources are available from the Scottish Higher Education Employability Network's (SHEEN) site.
There is a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in Embedding, Enhancing and Integrating Employability at Sheffield Hallam University.
Another Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is Write Now, which "aims to enrich students' learning experiences through the development of innovative, evidence-based provision focused on writing for assessment."
The Enhancement Themes for Scottish HE include Employability and Graduates for the 21st Century.
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