Careers education - are we preaching to the converted?

Ruth O'Riordan, senior careers adviser at the University of Dundee, explores the importance of extra-curricular careers education - and whether those who opt for it have greater career prospects following graduation

Two consecutive years of research at The University of Dundee into the value of, and motivation for, credit-bearing careers education allow us to clearly conclude that affording students the opportunity to take part in such learning has a positive and measurable impact on their career prospects.

Careers modules can influence graduate destinations

Using three years of Destination of Leavers From Higher Education Survey (DLHE) results, comparing students who had and had not taken an optional credit-bearing careers education module, found that the odds of a student reaching a positive destination who had taken a careers module were 21.9% higher than if they had not. For the full report see impact of careers education on graduate success.

This research also considered final (4th) year students who had taken a careers module in their second year. It found that students who completed a Level 2 careers module reported feeling more prepared to graduate and more likely to have a clear plan of action.

'But surely students who take careers modules are more motivated and would have done well regardless.'
- senior academic, 2017

The above comment made us stop and take stock. All the modules used in the research are optional - students self-select entirely. Numbers of students choosing them are healthy, but are we simply preaching to the converted and working with a group of motivated students who would progress positively anyway?

Are graduates who take careers modules more motivated?

Using a group of students who did not select the modules as a control group and a module attend group we asked students about the level of activities they are (or have been) involved in during their time at university. Using this engagement activity as a measure of student motivation, we showed that students who choose to partake in credit-bearing careers education as one of their module choices are no more or less engaged or motivated than students who choose not to. The average number of activities engaged in show no statistical difference across the two groups.

This mix of students is welcomed and provides a breadth of student experiences - or lack thereof - which makes these findings more valuable for student cohorts.

Furthermore, students choosing to take part in structured careers education did not report feeling more prepared to graduate than their counterparts before the module starts. Interestingly however, there is a trend of better self-reported preparedness to graduate being associated with taking on more extracurricular activities. On average, the most prepared group took part in 16.3% more of the extracurricular activities than the least prepared group.

Main findings

In summary the main findings of our two research studies are:

• taking an optional full-credit careers module has a positive impact on the odds of graduate success
• taking a careers module makes students feel more confident about life after graduation
• students who choose to take part in credit-bearing careers education are involved in a similar level of activities as those who choose not to
• the students who are engaged with the highest numbers of extra-curricular activities report the highest levels of career readiness.

The distinct conclusion we can observe, and recommendation we now make, clearly emphasises the value of structured careers education. Furthermore, this research endorses the importance of ensuring that careers education is afforded a clear space in academic timetables and recognised with academic credit.

Written by

Ruth O'Riordan

Senior careers adviser

University of Dundee