RAPPORT
WWW.RECORDINGACHIEVEMENT.ORG
Issue 1 (2015)
The International Journal for
Recording Achievement,
Planning and Portfolios
The challenge of uniqueness – employability in higher
education.
Jon Curwin and Ruth Lawton, Birmingham City University
Abstract
In the authors’ work with employers the expression ‘uniquely good’ keeps recurring. This paper will
look at what could be meant by the term and the implications for our work as academics in higher
education. Given the proliferation of employability advice, there can be an expectation on the part of an
employer (or funder) that an applicant will evidence skills like self -management, team working, business
and customer awareness, problem solving, communication, application of numeracy and application of
information technology (CBI/NUS 2011). These can be thought of as threshold skills without which an
applicant will struggle to compete. They will need to be evidenced: however, if being uniquely good is
important, applicants also need to evidence all those attributes, characteristics and insights that make
them special. To stand out an applicant will need to showcase those qualities and skills that make them
different.
How do we get our students beyond the threshold – not only to what employers want now but to what
they may need in the future? How do we avoid creating the oxymoron of a large pool of ‘uniquely good’
graduates? We believe that the key lies in a fresh approach to curriculum design and course delivery
– allowing students a route to recognising and learning to articulate their uniqueness through their total
higher education experience, including opportunities which lie outside of ‘study’ and ‘work experience’.
Higher Education (HE) wants to demonstrate that
its provision does address the issue of
employment and its courses offer a range of key
skills (Pegg et al., 2012). It might be the case that
the student has already developed many of the
additional skills and qualities that an employer
might value and HE wants to develop, thus selfawareness is critical. If students are asked to list
their skills they will usually ignore those that lie
outside their course of study, for example cultural
awareness through travel. HE practitioners often
address this through a skills audit of some kind,
typically in the form of checking against a
standardised list. If done in a timely way, this can
identify strengths that can be strongly articulated
and weaknesses that can be worked on. A
‘personal development programme’ can give
guidance but without attention this can lead to a
conformity of approach that focusses on the skills
that all candidates ‘must have’ at the expense of
those that make a candidate stand out from the
crowd. If we are to acknowledge and value
diversity, then we should encourage students to
evidence skills and qualities that do differentiate:
for example, it could be their interest in a second
language or photography that would make them
stand out as uniquely good or interesting.
What are we looking for?
We want to enhance the employability of our
students
and
graduates,
but
what
is
employability? It can be defined in terms of:
‘a set of attributes, skills and knowledge that
all labour market participants should possess
to ensure they have the capability of being
effective in the workplace – to the benefit of
themselves, their employers and the wider
economy’
CBI/NUS 2011 p12.
The term capability is now used to embrace the
many qualities a potential employee is expected
to offer. These can be articulated in a number of
ways, but willingness to develop the specific skills
a particular job requires and a preparedness to
take on new skills as they are required would be
expected. In a joint report by the Confederation
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