The Careers and Employability SIG serves to connect and foster networking opportunities and research collaborations across educational sectors.

The SIG was created to supported collaboration and networking activities between researchers with an interest in careers and employability in any educational setting. SIG priorities include fostering cross-sector collaboration (e.g. between higher education and post-16/compulsory education) and to support research and initiatives relating to equity of opportunity relating to career and graduate outcomes.

Research interests

• Transitions between post-16/compulsory education and higher education
• Careers-related outreach between educational sectors
• Employability and social justice
• Closing the graduate outcome gap
• Meaningfully embedding employability in curricula
• Working with students to embed employability in the curriculum
• Exploring critical perspectives on employability

SIG Aims

• To cultivate strong, cross-sector educational research collaborations to extend understanding about careers and employability in different educational environments.

• Using research to understand how careers and employability can be enhanced as learners transition between sectors (particularly between post-16/compulsory education and higher education, and from higher education into employment).

• Promoting an ethical and values led approach to how careers and employability is approached within educational delivery to ensure that the needs of all learners, particularly marginalised and under-represented learners are spoken to.

• Enhancing cross-stakeholder participation in research projects concerning careers and employability, particularly from learners themselves and employers.
• Identifying new areas for research and innovation and building research capacity among early career researchers and including learners within research initiatives where possible.