Employability - making it work in Higher National Certificates and Diplomas

dice image John Laird, Assistant Principal and Cathy McSkimming, Quality Manager from Cardonald College developed and facilitated this popular workshop. Participants were asked to consider some definitions of employability and the importance of colleges, as major providers of vocational education, in making employability work in the delivery of qualifications.

After considering the opportunities and threats that the revised HNC/Ds offer in terms of employability, the presenters suggested a number of ways in which colleges could make employability central to their delivery of qualifications. These included:

devising a college strategy
carrying out an employability audit
staff development
raising student awareness
encouraging the innovative use of materials
thinking outside the box

Cathy and John gave practical examples of each of these measures, including the Focus on Learning 2 project on employability that had been run in Cardonald College and other colleges in the consortium. Delegates welcomed the opportunity to hear about these practical examples and discussed some of the issues relating to employability and qualifications. These included: how strategy was developed; what contribution external partners could make; how to promote employability; and how to access the Focus on Learning materials.

The presentation and associated papers are available to download below.