Employability data and the Wilson review with Paul Hazell #GEC12

Paul Hazell leads research in to funding for employability and advises the HEFC on what is going on. Theres a big wave of reform as a result of the Wilson review. The change claims to put the student at the heart of education through choice, and to create an open market through fees.
Employability is measured by what professional bodies recognise a course and the number of students employed full-time in a managerial job after one year, and the average salary after one year. This information is going to be made available to students. The first question comes from the floor. “what is the point of giving all this information if UCAS points prevent attendance on a course?” The next question is average salary, “Is this a national average or regional? if not it is misleading in say Norwich.” The answer to the first question is no, and the second answer is that there is some regional adjustment deep in the data.
The data is presented as a widget to go on any career website. Looking at the stats website (via the widget), it’s interesting to note that there are no social features on the sites. This perhaps reflects the view of the dept as to how information is being consumed. The object of making 10 data sets available on course sites is that it helps students choose, moving education towards being a consumer brand. the results are based on 2 surveys which go out at 6 months and 12 months and include and include satisfaction.
I’m seeing room for a Glassdoor type course review site. related to courses and employability.
Paul moved on to the Wilson review. the review in to post-graduate employability recommended that all students should take part in University approved internships. Information should be made available on entrepreneurship and social enterprise. (This is not currently catered for.)
Employability is a shared responsibility between Government, universities, Individuals and Employers. I thought it was interesting that this slide was presented as a triangle, indicating government has the least responsibility for this, and the individual and employers the most. that doesn’t sound very shared.
I think there is a need for a bit more clarity on how this information will be presented and if it provides real value, or meaningless data. We will wait and see.