Despite learning valuable skills during their postsecondary education, university graduates are not always able to clearly articulate and market those skills for job opportunities. This can be a particular problem for students in the social sciences and humanities, and there is an increasing awareness about the need to address these gaps in the current postsecondary context that is increasingly competitive and focused on employability.
This project was focused on assisting students to recognize, identify and market the transferable skills they learn through their time at Carleton. Whether it is applied policy analysis learned through coursework, or small business accounting skills attained through participation in an extracurricular club, Carleton students graduate with many skills that are valued by employers: they just don’t always recognize it or know how to market them. The project applies ‘concerted cultivation’ by focusing across three areas: (1) formal coursework and helping faculty articulate to students the transferable skills they are gaining, not just the knowledge they are attaining; (2) student services offered across the university; and (3) broader student life and extracurricular activity.
Through numerous consultations with the Carleton community the SIG identified a wealth and variety of services offered across campus; however a coordinated approach would be of value. Further consultations with students pinpointed areas to focus on. The SIG developed the following recommendations to consider:
1. Coordinated working group
2. Staff to provide support, training, and resources to faculty members
3. Employability Outcomes integrated into the classroom experience
4. Knowledge sharing through EDC session & faculty orientation
5. Greater engagement and buy-in from faculty
6. Align timing with the needs/expectations of students
7. Faculty as liaison between student and career services
Sharon Collins, Campus Safety Services
Claire Lewis, Department of University Advancement
Meredith Lilly, International Affairs (NPSIA)
Heather MacDonald, Library
Kaylee Mask, Office of Quality Initiatives
Michael Rodgers, School of Linguistics & Applied Language
Kate Swan, CU Research Initiative and Services