Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Higher Education Research & Development
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Business and Law
RAS ID
35646
Abstract
Declining graduate labour markets, perceived devaluing of degree qualifications, and intense focus on graduate employment metrics have increased pressure on universities to enhance their students’ employability. Formal curricula developments have been accompanied by co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings intended to enhance students’ career readiness and emerging graduate profiles. Using survey data from undergraduate and postgraduate students in an Australian and UK university (N = 352), multivariate techniques examined participation in employability-related activities and students’ perceptions of their importance for their employability. Data revealed differential participation based on student profile characteristics and the type of activity undertaken. Overall, these were valued for boosting a range of employability-related facets, including networks, learning about future career and profile attractiveness to employers. The more aligned these activities were to intended career outcomes, the more importance they were ascribed. The implications of these findings for enhancing employability-related offerings in universities are discussed.
DOI
10.1080/07294360.2021.1901663
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT on 25/03/2021, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07294360.2021.1901663.
Jackson, D., & Tomlinson, M. (2022). The relative importance of work experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(4), 1119-1135.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1901663