Increasing Employability Beyond Getting a Job: Engaging Criminal Justice Students in Their Own Professional Development

Abstract

The UK’s higher education (HE) sector has long recognised its changing landscape and the increased importance placed on developing student’s employability beyond the university experience (QAA in The Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Education Section B4: Enabling Student Development and Achievement, 2012). This has however become more important with the link to the Teaching Excellence Framework and a renewed focus on student outcomes and lifelong graduate potential. Employability however is not an easily understood concept and there is much debate not only in relation to its meaning but in respect of its effective implementation within the HE sector. This chapter aims to encourage development of a broader understanding of notions of employability and of how the HE sector should engage staff and students in understanding its significance. It looks firstly to definitions, and then offers the example of a specific module designed for and delivered to second year undergraduate Criminal Justice (CJ) students. The team worked in partnership with careers staff, employers and students to ensure that its curricular design would embed the skills, knowledge, and experiences that students needed to be successful after graduation, gaining graduate level roles. Module content, mode of delivery, assessments and the outcomes achieved, are discussed here, with a view to understanding (and overcoming) barriers and issues often faced in attempting to embed such a module. A ‘how to do it’ framework with ‘hints and tips’ (which could be translated into any discipline and programme of study) aims to engage students in developing self-efficacy and furthering their sense of professional development.