Connecting experiences to employability through a meaning-making approach to learning

Authors

  • Andrea Reid University of Southern Queensland, Australia
  • Anna Richards The University of Queensland, Australia
  • Dino Willox The University of Queensland, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2021vol12no2art1013

Keywords:

employability learning, experiential learning, reflection, meaning-making, experiences, transfer, employability narratives

Abstract

A key part of the student experience in the higher education context is employability. There is an expectation that universities will contribute to their students’ employability and indeed they are measured on this contribution and are allocated funding based on it. Despite the importance of employability in higher education, it remains a complex and contested concept, often conflated with employment – graduates in jobs and the roles they occupy – and seen as a quantifiable outcome of the student experience. Where employability is understood as an individual’s knowledge, capabilities, and personal attributes that make them more likely to gain employment and be successful in their professional lives, it is often framed by the discourse of skills. There are some employability models, however, that champion a more holistic view of employability and highlight the role that experiences play in individual employability development. This paper reports on the development of an institutional employability framework and reflective process in an Australian research-intensive university. The paper discusses the experiential learning theories that underpin the reflective process that supports students to understand and articulate employability learning, for framing narratives around the potential to contribute to an organisation for employment, and for the transfer of this potential to professional contexts. The framework and reflective process represent employability as a learning process through which students make meaning from their experiences and learning opportunities. This involves understanding the value of their experiences, how to articulate that value, and how to transfer it to workplace performance

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Author Biographies

Anna Richards, The University of Queensland, Australia

Senior Manager – Learning Partnerships, Student Employability Centre

Dino Willox, The University of Queensland, Australia

Director, Student Employability

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Published

2021-05-12

How to Cite

Reid, A., Richards, A., & Willox, D. . (2021). Connecting experiences to employability through a meaning-making approach to learning. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 12(2), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2021vol12no2art1013

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