Employability

Is the contribution of extra-curricula activities to employability recognised?

Employers are looking for students who are intellectually able, skilled interpersonally, team players, numerate, literate and full of Vrooooom! Many of these attributes are acquired, practised and demonstrated through extra-curricular activities. Students often find difficulty in appreciating the contribution their work experience and especially 'free-time' activities make to their employability. Employers will not accept students’ claims to have particular skills unless backed up with evidence and that evidence can come from a student’s spare time activities and achievements just as much as from other aspects of their university experience.

Certainly many students do not understand how important it is to manage their interests and achievements to enhance their employability and do not document the contribution this makes to the development and demonstration of their skills. Those who have engaged in activities such as playing team sports, holding office in societies and clubs, involving themselves in departmental, e.g. staff-student liaison, or hall affairs, or organising fund raising projects will attract the interest of employers. Students who generally have demonstrated that they want to get involved, have opinions about, and influence what’s happening around them have the Vrooooom factor! They will have lots of raw material to draw on for their CVs and for those tough questions found on employers’ application forms.

Links relevant to recording and developing extra-curricula activities

The following links are to resources that relate wholly or in part to the role that extra-curricular activities (other than work experience) play in the enhancement of employability.

Centre for Recording Achievement (CRA)
A web-based resource that aims to support good practice in recording achievement and personal development planning in the curriculum, extracurricular activities and work experience. It includes case-studies and a forum to share and discuss ideas and problems.

Enhancing Student Employability Co-ordination Team (ESECT)
As part of its work on enhancing student employability ESECT is researching and disseminating information about existing practices and will offer support and guidance to academic staff and other groups within HE. The contribution that extra-curricular involvement, including work experience, makes to employability is addressed. Information and resources will be added to the web pages as they are produced. See, for example the Employability Briefings.

Enjoy Student Life, Develop Workplace Skills, Get that Job. Video produced by University of Leeds and Reuters (Reuters Foundation and Leeds TEC funding) for first-year students highlighting the importance of extra-curricula activities. For more information contact Paul Jackson (University of Leeds)

Recording Achievement and Personal Development Planning
The Higher Education Academys' list of Useful Links to information about resources that have been developed for students to record, reflect on and plan to improve their personal and skills development in all aspects of their higher education experiences including work experience and other extra-curricular activities.

Working Out? Graduates Early Experiences of the Labour Market (1999) Purcell, K., Pitcher, J. and Simm, C. IER for AGCAS, CSU and DfEE. Manchester: CSU.
This study of the career progress of a large cohort of 1996 graduates includes information about the importance of pre-graduation work experience and other extra-curricular activities in skills development. Data is linked to degree disciplines. Copies of the report are available for purchase from Prospects website.

York Award
The York Award is a certificated programme of transferable skills training and experiential learning, offered by the University of York in partnership with leading public, private and voluntary sector organisations

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