ABSTRACT

Declining graduate labour markets, perceived devaluing of degree qualifications, and intense focus on graduate employment metrics have increased pressure on universities to enhance their students’ employability. Formal curricula developments have been accompanied by co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings intended to enhance students’ career readiness and emerging graduate profiles. Using survey data from undergraduate and postgraduate students in an Australian and UK university (N = 352), multivariate techniques examined participation in employability-related activities and students’ perceptions of their importance for their employability. Data revealed differential participation based on student profile characteristics and the type of activity undertaken. Overall, these were valued for boosting a range of employability-related facets, including networks, learning about future career and profile attractiveness to employers. The more aligned these activities were to intended career outcomes, the more importance they were ascribed. The implications of these findings for enhancing employability-related offerings in universities are discussed.

摘要

毕业生劳动力市场的下滑、学位资格的贬值以及对毕业生就业指标的高度关注增加了大学提高学生就业能力的压力。正式课程的发展伴随着旨在提高学生职业准备和新兴毕业生形象的课外活动和课外活动。使用澳大利亚和英国大学本科生和研究生的调查数据（N = 352），多变量技术检查了参与与就业能力相关的活动以及学生对其就业能力重要性的看法。数据揭示了基于学生档案特征和所从事活动类型的不同参与。总体而言，这些在促进一系列与就业能力相关的方面受到重视，包括网络、了解未来职业和对雇主的吸引力。这些活动与预期的职业成果越一致，它们被赋予的重要性就越大。讨论了这些发现对提高大学就业能力相关产品的影响。