Ready123GO: A novel course-wide employability intervention

Abstract

Ready123GO is a novel work integrated learning (WIL) curriculum intervention designed by a Faculty at an Australian University to enhance and track course-wide student engagement in employability learning. Specific objectives include a) improving student employability literacy; b) developing (and assessing) student reflections on employability skills in a discipline-specific context; c) recalibrating student perceptions of their employability confidence based on authentic WIL experiences, and d) capturing and reporting on longitudinal employability learning gain (+/-) data. A critical examination of the intervention is reported via a case study methodology, using an insider researcher perspective combining inductive and deductive analyses of the benefits and challenges of the intervention identified by industry and academic partners (n = 16). The study found that partner perceptions of the intervention's utility and value are contingent upon the extent to which employability skill awareness, development and real-world calibration can be embedded within existing assessment practices. The findings support the design intentions of the intervention. Rather than introducing substantial new curricular components, the light-touch re-design of assessment, via existing discipline-centric WIL units, combined with a co-ordination of course-wide employability curricula, provides a practical architecture for delivering employability learning development. This also functions to provide a curriculum-led process for monitoring lead data necessary for the iterative review of employability gain trends.