Enhancing the development of student employability skills
For more detailed information on current employability projects see:
Employability Card Sort Exercise
A subject specific adaptation of an activity from the Windmills programme (Peter Hawkins, University of Liverpool. http://www.windmillsprogramme.com), this electronic resource uses the popular ‘solitaire’ game format. Students are able to choose various options by moving the card of choice following through the structured format. Tutors have the option of including some customised cards if they wish. When used in conjunction with other employability resources, this acts as a simple and useful exercise initiating forward thinking and early-stage career planning. The resource is available free to Higher Education institutions, further details may be obtained from the LTSN Physical Sciences web site. http://www.physsci.ltsn.ac.uk/employ.htm
Skills and Careers
The University of Southampton has an extremely useful and very relevant web site that looks at the key skills in some detail. There are exercises for the student to perform to help them identify their own strengths and weaknesses in these areas. There is simple and easy to follow advice on a range of areas from oral and written presentations to forward planning. There are also helpful links to other interactive related topics such as study skills. http://www.soton.ac.uk/~pw/teach/skills/
Information Retrieval
The University of Leicester covers the area of information retrieval very well. This web site is well structured and very relevant. The sections are comprised of sources of information, successful database searching, a Web of Science (WOS) tutorial and scientific referencing. There is an optional quiz at the end of each section to test the student. http://www.le.ac.uk/li/sources/subject3/chem/ist/synopsis.html
Personal and Professional Development for Scientists
Developed by UEA this is a 20 credit course with a recommended teaching period of one semester, each five hours of contact time is divided into 2+3 hours. The materials have been produced as a set of five independent teaching units, each containing a number of separate learning activities to give flexibility. The objectives are clearly outlined and there is guidance for the tutor. The areas covered include team working, problem solving, communication skills and working in groups. Available in a downloadable format, free to all HEFCE funded UK institutions. http://www.uea.ac.uk/che/ppds
‘CV’s for Physicists’
Manchester and UMIST careers web site has some useful tips on CV preparation for physics students. http://www.netwise.ac.uk/noticeboards/manchester/physics/cv.stm
Chemistry Careers and Advice
The Royal Society of Chemistry has careers and job advice available via the Chemsoc web site. The site deals with a wide range of careers news and there are helpful sections on CV preparation, interview technique and careers with chemistry including personal profiles. This site also offers some useful links to other sites. http://www.chemsoc.org/careers/careers.htm http://www.rsc.org/lap/educatio/sz_career.htm
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics has a careers page on their web site. The site has case studies, job advertisements, careers fair news and some relevant links. There are useful sections on psychometric tests, presentations and group exercises. http://www.careers.iop.org
If Only I Had Known:
making the most of higher education, a guide for students and parents. P. Hawkins and C. Gilleard This is a general guide, not specific to the sciences, but still very useful. The guide is aimed at level 1 students, intended to help them make the most of their University time and the choices they need to make. The booklet is available in hard copy or may be downloaded and is free to all Higher Education institutions. http://www.ltsn.ac.uk/application.asp?app=resources.asp&process=full_record§ion=generic&id=187
Got a degree? What next…
This booklet offers advice on job seeking, guidelines for CV preparation and interview techniques. Some of the employment opportunities available within the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and other unrelated areas are outlined. Available free to RSC members both in hard copy and PDF format. http://www.rsc.org/members/gotadegree.htm
Getting the message across: Key skills for Scientists
In addition to presentation skills this booklet includes areas such as time management, meetings and networking. It is available free of charge for RSC members and costs £1.20 for non-members. http://www.chemsoc.org/networks/learnnet/Getting_message.htm
Handbook of Science Communication
This book covers written and oral communication skills and team working. It is an easy to read book with some good suggestions. A. Wilson, Institute of Physics Publishing, £12.00.
LTSN Generic Centre
The web site offers good background information into the area of employability as a whole and includes an employability resources database. The site is likely to be useful to tutors looking for more general information. http://www.ltsn.ac.uk/genericcentre/index.asp
Keynote Project
This HEFCE funded project has a web site containing useful generic information on employability including Personal Development Planning (PDP) and work placement guides. Included are some useful links to other sites. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/textiles/keynote/
The Chemistry Style Manual
This is available in PDF format and covers report writing in some detail. Also included are tips for poster and oral presentations. http://www.deakin.edu.au/~lim/KFLim/books/Style_Manual_2003.pdf