Employability: undergraduate perspectives from vocational learners at a university in England

Background, A longstanding relationship is evident between practice occurring in universities and wider society. This connection is commonly manifested by the subsequent occupations of alumni. Contemporary associations between universities and graduate employment encompass notions of employability. Employability is a frequently studied, multifaceted concept. Previous research examples include employability conceptualisations accompanied by the identification of strategies thought to facilitate employability. Other research examples concern evaluations of approaches to employability enhancement. This study is interested in employability from the student perspective. Student understandings and experiences of employability plus contributory factors are explored. Methods, A variety of methods were used to meet this study’s aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, participant narratives were retrieved. Placement reflections and mentor feedback documents were examined. Each method was chosen for its ability to capture the student experience. Findings, This study confirmed a previous perception that employability is a multifaceted concept. This study finds that the multiple elements of employability make it a complex, dynamic and principally relational concept. The relational nature of employability emphasised by this research is demonstrated by the significance of a fit between worker and their work to employability plus employability’s social character. Numerous factors were found by this research to be impactful on fit and some were identified as integral to the concept. Experience was also highlighted by this study as being important for employability to the extent that it affects the concept’s temporality. Conclusion, Student understandings of employability illuminated implications for practice within universities and beyond. Learning encompassing work experience and social interaction is stressed as significant to employability by this research. However, given the individual and holistic nature of learning recognised by this study, no one teaching and learning strategy was thought to guarantee employability related success, rather a breadth of approaches is advocated.