Careers and employability in higher education: Two sides of the same coin?

Abstract

Researchers and professionals in two distinct fields share a primary concern with how university graduates achieve employment and career success: graduate employability and career development. However, despite their shared interests, dialogue between these two scholarly and professional fields is limited. In this talk, I share some results from two studies into this problem. First, I share visualisations of academic research networks that illustrate the gap between the fields, but also highlight areas where some dialogue is emerging. Second, I share results from a study of 401 careers and employability job advertisements in Australian higher education, which reveal significant differences between the career development professional and a diverse range of employability roles. My goal is to illustrate some of the complexities of the higher education careers and employability space and argue for more integrated, collaborative approaches.

Michael Healy

Careers and employability learning expert

I am the National Manager, Career Education for myfuture.edu.au. I hold a PhD in careers and employability learning, with several publications to my name. I am passionate about promoting the value and impact of quality careers and employability learning.