A novel employability embedding framework for three-year bachelor’s programs

Abstract

Employability skills and capabilities are equally important as academic and technical knowledge in the current job market. Consequently, universities are increasingly focusing on providing employability skills to their students. While universities in Australia are experimenting with various methods for employability embedding, we could not find any framework for embedding employability at the course level. Mapping employability at the course level is non-trivial but necessary to scaffold employability. e-portfolios form an integral part of employability; however, it is not well defined in the literature how to embed and assess an e-portfolio into a tertiary academic program. Unless an e-portfolio is embedded and assessed in the academic program, the uptake by the students cannot be guaranteed; hence students miss out on the benefits of such an important tool. This paper addresses these two key challenges. It develops an employability embedding framework targeted for a three-year bachelor’s program. This framework also enables the embedding and assessment of e-portfolios. The framework is novel as it offers a scaffolded and organic way to embed employability