< backAn evaluation of the role of Personal Development Planning in the delivery and assessment of graduate employability skills.

 case_study_bolton.pdf

The aim of this case study was to enhance students’ awareness of graduate employability skills through the use of personal development planning (PDP). To achieve this, a first year module combining study skills and PDP was developed as the basis of an intervention. At the start of the module students were asked to undertake a self-evaluation of their competency across a range of generic skills. University Careers Service staff and employers were involved in the delivery of the module, skills development and assessment. At the end of the module students completed a second self-evaluation of their generic skills and also participated in focus group interviews designed to elicit their view of the module and the extent to which it had encouraged them to integrate employability skills within their personal development planning. It was found that when generic and transferable skills were delivered as ‘employability skills’, students were less engaged than when, in a repeat of the intervention, they were presented as ‘career development skills’. The intervention was successful in encouraging students to create personal development plans which incorporated longer term career planning. The engagement of specialist career development staff in the delivery of the intervention was a positive step which enhanced the breadth of the intervention and is recommended to other educators as good practice. As the case study suggests that students tended to prefer practical and experiential learning methods, curriculum-integrated approaches to the delivery of career development skills should be considered.

Dr. Bob Snape,
University of Bolton.