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Write a note to your future self and check back in during Semester 2. Part of The Student Self Care Movement.

Careers and Employability Services 

Our commitments 

  • Make better use of the data to maximise its potential for use in change
  • Package the information and work with faculties so that a partnership can be informed by the data in order to bring the right service to students
  • Engagement: find a way to present the case studies, personalised info and targeted communications to get the right message across
  • Build on work with Students Union and the work that led to the BAME careers report in conjunction with adding an additional careers advisor that works on issues facing BAME students
  • Developing strategic partnerships: focusing on positive action around diversity e.g. internship opportunities

 

Our Progress 

Make better use of the data to maximise its potential for use in change

  • The differential outcomes workstream group has taken an increasingly data lead approach, using graduate outcomes data by differentials to help us identify ‘priority groups’ across the university. Work is ongoing as to how to share this data on a wider scale across the university (we are in the planning stages of an intranet page) however has fed into the work of faculty careers teams. Both graduate outcomes and career registration data are also looked at on a differentials level in all Education Annual Review (EAR) meetings – where departments are now challenged on any differences in outcomes between various groups of students, for example ‘white vs BAME’ or ‘academic vs vocational’ students.
  • Each Faculty Careers Manager undertook a piece of activity to look at differential data on a department level within their faculty. This included looking at graduate outcomes and engagement with the Careers Service digital platforms by demographics such as BAME students, vocational students etc. This insight was shared with departments and has fed into strategic conversations throughout the academic year.
  • The employer team within CES have specific EDI targets that they aim to meet relating to diversity for guest speakers that they are inviting to speak to our students. For example, targets around differentials such as gender and ethnicity. When inviting speakers to engage with us, EDI data is collected via a document which is then used to analyse whether targets are being met. The aim is to ensure that we are representing our diverse student body by providing speakers which reflect their diversity.

Package the information and work with faculties so that a partnership can be informed by the data in order to bring the right service to students

  • As well this data being shared with faculty colleagues in forums such as EAR meetings, each Faculty Careers Manager will also formulate a ‘partnership agreement’ document with each department for each academic year. This document is an agreement of how we will partner with the department for that year which also includes data in the format of quantitative objectives and targets around intended impact – both of which can feature EDI data.
  • Differential data has informed our approach of providing targeted initiatives to faculties. For example BAME mentoring schemes in departments with high numbers of BAME students, our work promoting EDI opportunities/initiatives in organisations related to specific faculties etc.
  • For 23/24 we plan to produce ‘Spotlight’ documents that will highlight the careers and employability context in which every academic department works and these documents will reference differential outcome data.

Engagement: find a way to present the case studies, personalised info and targeted communications to get the right message across

  • Over the previous two academic years we have tried different approaches to collecting and presenting case studies as a way of raising awareness of opportunities, helping students to relate with these and raising aspirations. For example, we have employed a graduate intern to create content relevant to Arts and Humanities. BAME students have been a feature of these case studies. During 2023 we have committed to mainstreaming these different projects – reviewing what has worked and how we can build into business as usual across all faculties.
  • We have also created a number of EDI related career resources, which feature in the ‘careers guides’ section of Career Centre. These include careers support for care leavers, disabled/neurodivergent students & graduates and LGBTQ+ students & graduates.
  • As part of the differential outcomes workstream group, we have collected a list of all faculty specific student societies. These include societies such as Social Work BAME Network, Black & Asian Teaching Network, Islam and Psychology Group etc. Faculty Careers teams then work with these networks to provide targeted initiatives eg we are providing a careers session to the Social Work BAME Network to provide these students with an opportunity to engage with us in a more targeted way.
  • The CES have an EDI Teams channel where EDI related opportunities, initiatives, training etc are promoted to CES colleagues, which can then be shared across faculties.

Build on work with Students Union and the work that led to the BAME careers report in conjunction with adding an additional careers advisor that works on issues facing BAME students

  • We had a Careers Adviser focus on BAME as their thematic project work specifically during the previous academic year. This year, the differential outcomes workstream (which focuses on BAME and wider differentials) is made up of colleagues from different parts of CES who have a shared goal of improving outcomes for student across a range of demographics. This approach will help to build a more sustainable and holistic approach to developing practice including links with the Students’ Union.
  • A number of partnership activities have been progressed with the SU over the past year which include the following:
    • Work with course reps – series of three skills workshops Feb/ March 2023
    • Two major events – Next Steps Fest (May 22) and Feel Good Friday Graduate Jobs event (March 23)
    • Planning in ongoing with Kathryn Cribbin in terms of developing SU student employees support programme
    • During 2022/23 Joseph Brotherton worked with us to help promote elected roles - the first time we have done this

Developing strategic partnerships: focusing on positive action around diversity e.g. internship opportunities

  • We engage with and promote targeted opportunities such as BAME mentoring schemes.
  • We also work in formal partnership with EmployAbility – an organisation aimed at supporting disabled students & graduates into work. This is highly relevant – intersections of disadvantage are very real for many students and the cause of significant challenge to career progression.
  • Other examples of partnerships we have engaged with are Manchester Rising Stars and Reaction 24/7 – all offering opportunities to students who are from disadvantaged backgrounds to increase their confidence & access to opportunities.