Employability and Higher Education. How to Match Students’ expectations ?

HOLY SPIRIT UNIVERSITY OF KASLIK

Employability and Higher Education How to Match Students’ expectations ?

UNIMED General Assembly Oct. 22, 2015

Employability: A Growing Challenge in Higher Education

Market Needs and Employability Challenges

Moving market needs and

globalization

Students’ expectations

Facing employment difficulties, students consider more and

more university as a passport to find a job

Students and parents look for universities which will provide

students with the best skills to be employable

Universities

Universities have to face this growing challenge and to contribute to the

professional integration of students

Universities should provide their students with technical and professional skills but also with transferable skills ('soft skills‘)

that can be transferred between different jobs and different employment sectors.

New emerging words in Higher

Education: enterprises,

university-industry partnerships, employability,

professionalizationetc.


A report published by QS and based on a survey and a series of focus groups involving prospective students shows the importance of “Employability” as a top priority when choosing between universities. “Employability” would be the most important indicator in the ranking as perceived by students by these students.

QS Ranking “The Best Universities According to Employers” Times Higher Education Global Employability University Ranking

The Guardian “Top universities 2015 for employability”

Global Employability Ranking by Emerging (France)

New rankings that are currently emerging confirm the growing importance of employability in Higher Education Trendence (Germany) consulting firms.

http://www.topuniversities.com/blog/what-would-student-created-university-ranking-look

Accreditation agencies collect information about employers’ expectations and market needs in order to include criteria related to students’

professional skills


Example: ABET Accreditation

http://www.abet.org/about-abet/history/



Prepare Students to Be Employable

Theoretical courses and practical work (lab work, traineeships, research projects and multidisciplinary team creation projects, etc.), in addition to providing the basic general knowledge needed to equip graduates within vocational circles and within society.

A wide choice of hi-tech trainings and specializations, which are adapted to the labor market needs and to the community’s requirements

Personalization of the students’ training: The academic course of each student is adapted to his/her personal and vocational project.

USEK aims not only to educate students who could find a job shortly after their graduation, but rather to provide them with the skills to be employable in a long-term perspective and make them able to learn by themselves even after their graduation: Transferable skills.

USEK programs: Curricula and learning outcomes are developed in such a way as to prepare future graduates to the labor market.

Orientation and Admission

USEK starts its employability mission since the admission phase. It provides potential future students with information about job openings of each program in order to guide them in their orientation.


Professional Orientation and Career Services


The Career Office has been established at USEK in order to help students to be well prepared to find a job after their graduation

The Career Office has developed a 4 year career plan in order to guide USEK students to build their professional project

The Career Office is also in charge of developing strong ties with companies and enhance university-industry partnerships

On-Campus Interviewing Program OCIP

• Preliminary interviews between students and employers

• A networking event

Career Panel Discussion

• Encounter with HR specialists, successful alumni, businessmen, and professional experts from different fields

• An opportune moment for the students to interact with panelists on what does the job entail

• Career challenges to meet the job market requirements

Resources

• Resources to current students and fresh USEK graduates for opportunities as well as a lifelong career development plan

Professional Orientation and Career Services


Internationalization Global learning outcomes ; Language policy; International and intercultural skills ; Partnerships with international companies ; Internships abroad

USEK Students…

Debate and express their point of view in a foreign language

Demonstrate strong writing and communication skills in several languages (with professional vocabulary)

Compete in today’s job market both nationally and internationally

Adapt their vocabulary and their practices to interact with people from different cultures

Demonstrate knowledge and curiosity in other cultures

Adapt and live in a diverse society, are more internationally minded and able to understand concepts of intercultural communication

Prepare Students to Be Globally Employable

Internationalization

Global learning outcomes; Language policy; International and intercultural skills; Partnerships with international companies; Internships abroad

Prepare Students to Be Globally Employable

EXAMPLE Faculty of Medicine

22 USEK students who were residents in hospitals

abroad have been graduated in 2015

35 USEK students are currently in hospitals

abroad for their residency program

- The creation of a web site in order to inform students and potential students about existing subjects in each university involved in the project and about the employment available in each country. The dissemination of such information in secondary schools and higher education institutions aims to effectively help students in the process of choosing their future university according to their professional goals.- The creation of an employment center in each of the partner universities, led by a trained administrative staff. One of the main purposes of this center is to guide the students in their discovery of the employment market and tutor them in all the procedures regarding their professional integration ( e.g. resume writing, getting ready for interviews).

OIPULES Tempus Project Orientation et insertion professionnelle dans les universités du Liban,

d'Egypte et de SyrieSelected in 2011

Coordinator: Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie – Bureau Moyen-Orient Institutions from: Roumania, Portugal, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria

Objective

http://pmb.lb.auf.org/

OIPULES Tempus Project “Orientation et insertion professionnelle dans les universités du Liban,

d'Egypte et de Syrie’’

Enhancing and reinforcing the role and potential of HEIs in the development of employability in the Mediterranean countries by adopting a transversal entrepreneurial mind-set at the HEIs and by opening and structuring the dialogue between the universities, the enterprises and policy makers

RESeaU Méditerranéen pour l’Employabilité - Erasmus+ ProjectSelected in 2015 Coordinator: Unimed Institutions from: Italy, Spain, France, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia

RESUME Erasmus+ Project

Objective