Employer collaboration in developing graduate employability: a pilot study in Ireland

Authors

Miriam O'Regan, Technological University DublinFollow
Aiden Carthy, Technological University DublinFollow
Colm McGuiness, Technological University Dublin, BlanchardstownFollow
Philip Owende, Technological University Dublin, BlanchardstownFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9272-5815

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

5.1 PSYCHOLOGY, 5.3 EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, *training

Publication Details

Education + Training ISSN: 0040-0912, volume 65, issue 10.

Open access

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ET-03-2022-0081/full/html

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact on student work readiness outcomes of collaboration with employers in developing and delivering tailored graduate employability workshops in socioemotional skills for work (SES4Work).

Design/methodology/approach – Framed by the CareerEDGE model of graduate employability, the authors piloted a five-session module for near graduates in five disciplines. The research included an online employer survey (n 5 128), employer interviews (n 5 21) and tailored workshops for near graduates, culminating in a mock competency-based interview. Using a pre/post-test design, participants (n 5 24) also completed the CareerEDGE Employability Development Profile (EDP) and the Trait Emotional Intelligence questionnaire (TEIque).

Findings – After completing the module, there was a statistically significant improvement in participant scores on the CareerEDGE EDP þ12.3%, p < 0.001, effect size (Cohen’s d) 0.89, large, and the TEIque þ6.4%, p 5 0.009, effect size (Cohen’s d) 0.61, moderate. Furthermore, 70% (n=17) of participants were “hired” based on their mock interviews, with 12% (n=4) offered employer connections after graduation.

Originality/value – This is the first academic research in Ireland to develop and evaluate an enterprise collaborative, discipline-specific module for enhancing graduate employability. Findings suggest that employer collaboration can enhance the efficacy of employability interventions and therefore merits further research.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-03-2022-0081

Recommended Citation

O'Regan, M., Carthy, A., McGuinness, C. and Owende, P. (2023), "Employer collaboration in developing graduate employability: a pilot study in Ireland", Education + Training, Vol. 65 No. 10, pp. 1-13. DOI: 10.1108/ET-03-2022-0081

Funder

Higher Education Authority, Ireland

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.