The Centres for Career Development and Careers Services within U21 institutions provide career education, information, advice, and guidance (CEIAG) to students in thirteen countries covering over 650,000 students.

These services provide to a varying extent, CEIAG to students from other countries as well as those from their home nations. The former is difficult for services to achieve given the varied nature of the employment market across the globe. The different practices in delivery amongst partner institutions are in part, a reflection of the varied nature of the graduate employment market.

Currently institutions work alone (from an international perspective) in meeting the challenges of providing effective services to both home and international students that are intent on seeking employment outside the institution’s home country. Given the rapid changes taking place in world markets, there is an increasing need to learn from like institutions and to maximise and benefit from the collective expertise that is spread across U21 Careers Services.

There is a clear opportunity to add value to members through enhanced collaboration between careers services; to review services and consider innovative ways to enhance student and graduate opportunity and employability. This is likely to enhance the attractiveness of our respective institutions and so aid their competitiveness in the process.
Proposal

Under the leadership of colleagues from the University of Nottingham, Universitas21 is developing a Careers Group composed of heads of each careers service and other stakeholders. This scoping group hopes to consider (amongst others) the following areas:

• Sharing of professional practice to better understand approaches to Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance and through this be able to offer a stronger experience for students in partner institutions.
  
  
• Sharing information on graduate employment practices, labour market intelligence and general approaches to employment and employability within national employment markets. Through this be able to develop a series of resources to support global graduates who wish to pursue employment opportunities in countries other than their home country but would be supported in doing so through their home institution Careers Service.
  
  
• To consider, where appropriate, sharing of resources, including consideration of collaborative CEIAG delivery through technology between partners.
  
  
• To work with global employers to further develop opportunities for our graduates and to enable them to recognise the unique position occupied by Universitas21 and its collaborative approach to Careers and Employability and as such enhance the position of our graduates in the labour market.
  
  
• Explore potential links with other U21 Networks (e.g. the proposed Educational Developers Group) for those Careers Services involved in integrating employability within curricula.

The group may consider those areas which would be developmental and those which would perhaps lead to an ongoing, sustainable, collaborative approach to CEIAG. The scoping group will devise a clear set of outcomes which can measure success (and viability) of any suggested collaborative outcome and look to establish a formal Careers Group within U21.

For further information or to register interest in being a part of the U21 Careers Group, please contact Mr Stephen McAuliffe at the University of Nottingham.