Workplace skills

Advice on how to help students develop employability skills for the 21st century workplace, covering classroom activities, real-world experience, career advice and authentic learning models that aid graduates in the transition to professional careers. These resources look at what are the most sought-after graduate attributes and future skills today and how best to teach them within a university. 

A mature student with her son on her lap while she works at her desk

What about students who can’t take a placement year?

Ways for academics and careers teams to support students juggling multiple responsibilities, including helping them recognise and articulate the skills they gain beyond their studies

Danny Buckley, Natalia Vershinina, Julia Cook

Loughborough University, Audencia, De Montfort University

‘Universities must manufacture the work experience AI is deleting’

Telling students to become more AI literate does little good if the labour market offers them fewer entry-level roles where they can develop professional judgement. Gleb Tsipursky offers a strategy to fill the gap

Gleb Tsipursky

Independent consultant

A group of university students sitting on the stairs leading to the entrance of a university building

Make employability accessible by embedding it in curricula

Sometimes, our job is not to give students more examples to add to their CV. It is to help them recognise, value and communicate what is already there, writes Natalie Freeman, who offers guidance on how to do so

Natalie Freeman

The University of East Anglia

Young Asian female graduate in job interview

How universities can help students translate their skills for employers

A shared language for skills can help students identify the transferable capabilities they are accruing in their studies and present their relevant experiences confidently to employers

Sarah Armour, Harriet Smith

University of Glasgow, Russell Group

Two business students discussing visuals on a dashboard

Beyond analysis: let’s teach business students to act

How to help postgraduate students interpret real-time data and system behaviour to detect early warning signals, identify emerging disruptions and guide decisions – rather than simply report after the fact

José Ignacio Sordo Galarza , Astrid Xiomara Rodríguez Castelblanco

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Develop your students’ characters through real experience of care

Embed virtues in students by helping them practise caring for others. Here is a step-by-step guide to get started

Agustina Ortelli

Universidad Austral

Develop students’ oracy with these activities

Oracy skills can empower graduates to contribute meaningfully to societal challenges in an increasingly dynamic and interconnected world, says Paul Demetriou, who shares practical advice

Paul Demetriou

New City College

Five ways to make workplace learning count

How can we make workplace learning relevant to students’ academic journeys? Ice Ko shares five lessons learned from getting the most out of external partnerships

Ice Ko

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

A teacher advises students on their work

Bring agility to a slow-moving curriculum with intersessions

Short, intensive learning periods can give educators room to experiment, as technology and workplace demands move faster than traditional curriculum cycles. Here’s how it works

Harit Satt

Al Akhawayn University

Female instructor in class before screen with code

The building blocks of effective teaching

The best teachers genuinely care about their students, but build that care upon a solid structural foundation. Find advice here on making good teaching a habit

Karen Yu Ka Man

The Education University of Hong Kong

Students and mentors laugh around a table

Personalised coaching could be the key to postgraduate resilience

Democratise executive coaching for postgraduate students and help them develop the resilience and adaptability they’ll need for the future. Here’s how

Pamsy Hui, Terrance Leung, Celine Ho

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

An online learner smiling at classmates on his laptop screen

Five design principles for meaningful online global learning

As digital technologies transform access to both information and education, how can universities offer distinctive educational value for professional learners online? Maria Cross offers advice

Maria Cross

UCL

A student taking notes on a notepad while looking at her laptop

How to prevent free riding in online group work

When collaborative assignments lack structured guidance, levels of contribution among team members may vary. Gabriela Espínola offers insight into building community and accountability online

Gabriela Espínola Carballo

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Preparing students for the workplace? Alumni could be the key

The alumni community have been exactly where students are now. Here’s how harnessing their expertise and guidance can be invaluable

María Manson

Universidad Austral

Human and robot hands making a curve shape

How applied theatre can help students examine the ethics of AI

Why not harness theatre to spark students’ exploration of the ethical dilemmas embedded in AI design, deployment and regulation? Jon Catherwood-Ginn explains how educators can do just that

Jon Catherwood-Ginn

Virginia Tech

Caucasian male working at laptop in cafe

Learning shouldn’t have a graduation date

AI’s pace of change is challenging the idea that education is something we complete at the beginning of adult life. Drawing on lifelong learning expertise, Aidan McGowan shares five lessons for extending the university-learner relationship across a career

Aidan McGowan

Queen’s University Belfast

The world is not a case study: teaching business judgement with the Bloomberg Terminal

A software program can give students a better proxy for business environments and help them make better decisions. Learn how

Irina Gokh

De Montfort University

A student and careers advisor discuss options

Three steps to introduce transfer students to career services

Students who arrive at university midway through their studies often miss out on vital introductory courses, and the opportunity to discover the career services centre with confidence. Here’s how to remedy that

Roxanna M. Ruiz-Vázquez , Adrienne L. Provost

University of Florida

Give students space to practise the soft skills they’ll need for the workplace

Don’t leave the development of soft skills up to chance – they can be the difference between one graduate candidate and another. Here’s how to build them into teaching

Hanene Duprat

Al Akhawayn University

A hand holding a magnifying glass over a stack of papers

Don’t ban GenAI: teach students to question it

By turning AI output into an object of collective enquiry, educators can teach a valuable habit: rather than simply asking whether an answer is correct, asking what makes it credible, writes Mert Can Atar

Mert Can Atar

Istanbul Aydin University

To AI or not to AI? That is the question

Educators should embrace their role as advocates for higher education and the critical thinking skills it imparts, argues Sarah Birrell Ivory. Here, she shares a classroom exercise that compares the learning benefits of a written source with generative AI

Sarah Birrell Ivory

Independent academic

A professor teaches from the front of class

We promise our graduates will be employable. Are we keeping that promise?

How can our degree programmes prepare future graduates to be employable and equipped? Chathura Sooriya-Arachchi envisages a better way

Chathura Sooriya-Arachchi

University of Westminster

Students developing a model aeroplane at an event

Universities create structured opportunities for students – but what happens in the spaces between?

Closer attention should be paid to what happens once students walk out of an event or workshop or complete a project – this is where the real impacts can be seen and further developed, writes Tosin Adebisi

Tosin Adebisi

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Female student examining a computer chip with a magnifying glass

What is authentic about ‘authentic learning’?

The catch-all term ‘authentic’ can distinguish certain teaching, practical and assessment tasks as being more valuable than others, but educators need to ask what assumptions underpin the label, writes J. Patrick Williams

J. Patrick Williams

Nanyang Technological University

Man tries to find his way through a maze

What students need to learn beyond the curriculum

Universities cannot assume students know how to engage in self-directed study and campus life. Clear direction and signposting can help arrivals flourish inside and outside the classroom, colleagues at Manchester Metropolitan University write

Katharina De Vita, Lucy Pittaway, Melanie McHale

Manchester Metropolitan University

A hand pulling out a book from a library shelf

Helping students find and learn from high-quality sources

From celebrating your university library to demonstrating your own source selection process, learn strategies to help students confront increasing misinformation and disinformation online

Tom Hayward

UCL

Two students have fun recording a podcast

Listen up: why audio assessment needs better design

Without intention, an assessment based on podcasting can end up confusing students. Here’s why intention is key

Eleanor Roseblade

University of Westminster

A group of students wearing green t shirts discussing a sustainability initiative

A beginner’s guide to systems thinking in education for sustainable development

Systems thinking can better equip students to engage with sustainability challenges. It helps to treat it as a competence and a journey, says Fatima Lopez Castellanos

Fatima Lopez Castellanos

The University of Bristol

How to make interdisciplinary teaching a reality

While disciplinary expertise remains important, future graduates will increasingly need broader capabilities to cope with uncertainty and change. Lei Zeng offers advice on how to develop them

Lei Zeng

The University of Manchester

Architecture students inspecting plans on a board

Memorable teaching doesn’t just transfer knowledge – it transforms perspective

Educators may often ask themselves how to make teaching more engaging. A better question is how to create learning experiences that fundamentally change the way students think

Andrew Gipe-Lazarou

Virginia Tech

Instead of producing finished graduates, aim to build adaptable people

Employers aren’t looking for perfect specialists. It’s up to higher education to give graduates the skills to navigate uncertainty

Nicolas Klotz

Al Akhawayn University

Want industry speakers? Get them in early

Guest speakers offer an informed, personal perspective on their discipline and a chance for learners to make an in-person connection that a recording cannot replicate. Here’s how to maximise the benefits and get students to turn up

Treasa Kearney, Anna Egan

University of Liverpool, Manchester Metropolitan University

Two lab workers discussing something on a screen

Paid research internships can level the playing field for bioscience students

Research experience is invaluable – but only if students can afford to take part. Learn about a scheme that supports under-represented students

Richard Bowater, Carl Harrington, Anne Graham, Cathie Martin

The University of East Anglia

Build a supportive learning community for graduate apprentices

Graduate apprentices are often split between campus and workplace, their status between student and employee. Here’s how to foster psychological safety between cohorts

Gary Gillon, Alan MacDonald, Elaine Jackson

University of the West of Scotland

A team of coders brainstorming in front of a large code-filled screen

How a university coding competition develops future skills

How to create a pressure cooker environment that forces rapid problem-solving and collaboration among students from different disciplines

Oğuz Şentürk

Istanbul Aydin University

Digital heart among locks, ones and zeros on keyboard

‘Higher education needs more of the empathetic mindset’

Empathy, listening and imagination must remain central to how we educate future leaders, writes Lu Liu. The human qualities that make innovation meaningful are at risk when universities over-emphasise technical capability

Lu Liu

Virginia Tech

A woman walking up a leafy green structure extending up into the sky

Why AI makes a growth mindset fundamental for university students

How to encourage students to use AI as a reflective learning partner to strengthen weaknesses and respond to instructor feedback

Ana Li Zhong

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Medical students talk in a university corridor

Connecting the institutional dots for workforce readiness

Collaboration is proving critically important for changing workforce needs in the healthcare sector. Here’s how to make it part of your university’s culture

Walaa Awad

Colorado State University Global

How to set your students up to write compelling op-eds

Help students develop their writing and refine their arguments by publishing opinion pieces. Find advice for supporting student writers here

Arafat Reza, Shahariar Sadat

BRAC University’s Centre for Peace and Justice

A student discusses options with a careers support advisor

Embed career readiness throughout a student’s journey

Instead of a stand-alone service, career support should be part of a larger academic ecosystem that begins at orientation. Here’s how to implement it

Angel Iverson, Julia Vollrath, Alison Noonan

University of Florida

How to show students’ learning beyond grades: a five-step process

Teaching success should not rely solely on pass rates or student satisfaction. Here’s how to gather evidence that students understand, apply and transfer what they learned

Anabel Campaña

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

Adding an E to an MBA: what an ‘executive’ rebrand costs in real terms

Renaming an MBA an EMBA sounds like a branding tweak. It isn’t. Here’s what we learned about stakeholder buy-in, message sequencing and what a single letter can mean

Ekant Veer, Teresa van Dugteren

University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

Students sitting together in the library

Rethinking critical thinking in the age of algorithms

How to help students build a three-stage daily habit that interrogates both online sources and the systems that surface them

Temi Odusanya

Robert Gordon University

A psychology student providing counselling to a patient in a clinic

The role of work-based learning in psychology education

By offering choice and emotional support, educators can prepare students for a range of psychology careers. Learn how

Kalum Bodfield, Emma Tarpey, Melissa Pilkington, Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou

Manchester Metropolitan University

Will China’s push to bring higher education closer to industry fix its skills mismatch?

Despite 12 million graduates entering the job market, Chinese companies still lack highly skilled candidates, writes Gerard A. Postiglione. Here, he looks at how the country’s universities are addressing employment and what its strategies can offer other higher education systems

Gerard A. Postiglione

The University of Hong Kong

Six assessment types that support deep, real-world learning

If traditional assessment methods feel limited, Temesgen Kifle shares alternative ways to measure students’ understanding and ability to apply learning to authentic problems

Temesgen Kifle

The University of Queensland

Why subject-aligned career talks matter – and how to deliver them

Discipline-focused careers talks bring the labour market and recruitment practices into the classroom in a way that is based on speakers’ personal stories and experiences

Emilie Rutledge, Merim Baitimbetova

The Open University

Three business professionals standing in an office and smiling to camera

What skills will help students thrive in the job market of the 2030s?

Students will need a skills-focused mindset as GenAI absorbs entry-level jobs. Here, Raphael Dennett and Lisa Harris share lessons from developing a module that prepares undergraduates for a radically different start to their professional lives

Raphael Dennett, Lisa Harris

The University of Exeter

A group of multicultural students in the classroom

Help students become language mediators to bridge knowledge gaps

How mediation, translanguaging and a class contract can develop understanding, prevent clashes and promote appreciation for diversity in multilingual classrooms

Mazal Oaknín

UCL

University students working individually at their desks

Five pillars of collaborative online learning

How to promote interaction, a sense of collective responsibility and reflective practices to prevent students from ‘dividing and conquering’ in group projects

Mariana Elizondo, Elizabeth Marcial Morales

Tecnológico de Monterrey

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