module specification

This module provides students with the opportunity to critically consider the nature of employment and employability and to assess, reflect upon, and develop their own employability skills, attributes and attitudes. Students will be introduced to self-assessment, career planning tools, and digital resources that will support this process. The module provides students with the opportunity to apply their psychological knowledge ethically in an employment context, and to identify and plan for their ongoing training and development needs.

None

The syllabus will reflect the following interlinked topics:

 Developing self-awareness (e.g. identifying personal preferences and attributes; employability; self-motivation; psychological literacy)
 Interpersonal and transferable skills (e.g. group work; effective communication; self-presentation; IT and digital literacy skills)
 Professional development (e.g. ethics and social responsibility in the workplace, development of a positive online profile, well-being at work, career planning)

Learning Outcomes LO 1 - 4

This module is delivered through a combination of teaching and learning methods and a work-based learning experience (minimum 50 hours). Classroom-based learning will be supplemented by online resources for independent study, encouraging a blended-learning approach, and by a work-based experience, encouraging practical and ethical application of the concepts covered in the module.

The work-based learning experience may be paid or voluntary, and may be linked to work that the student already engages in. Students may identify and arrange their own work-based opportunities or will be supported by the University’s Careers and Employability Service to secure a suitable work-place opportunity.

Personal development and employability attributes will be a central theme across the module. Students will be given opportunities to develop and practice their team-working, digital literacy, time-management, written and oral communication skills throughout the module, for example, through collaborative experiential learning tasks, class activities, and discussions. Reflective learning will be developed through tutor-facilitated in-class discussions and by group and individual formative feedback.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Understand and articulate their employment-relevant attributes, skills, attitudes and preferences.
2. Effectively present and promote themselves to potential employers, collaborators, investors or recruiters and create a positive online profile.
3. Demonstrate an ability to apply and reflect upon the underlying concepts and principles of ethics and social responsibility covered in the module in an employment context.
4. Identify their need for further training, skill development or new competencies to facilitate their successful career, and their ability to create a strategy to achieve these.

This module is assessed by a portfolio in which students are required to evidence their identification and development of professional and employment-based attributes and a work-based experience report where students are required to reflect on the application of psychology-related ethical principles in the workplace. The module assessment strategy is designed to encourage students to explore the relationship between psychological and personal development concepts, and their ethical application in the context of employment. Students require a minimum aggregate of 40% from both assessment items in order to pass the module.

Cottrell, S. (2015). Skills for success, personal development and employability (3rd ed.). Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. [CORE]
Kirton, B. (2011). Brilliant workplace skills for students & graduates. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.