One Side of the Equation An Integrated Student Services and Educational Delivery Model Prepares Students As Employees of First Choice Counselling in the.

One Side of the EquationAn Integrated Student Services and Educational Delivery Model Prepares Students As Employees of First Choice

Counselling in the Technical Education Environment

Dr Chris Coutts , Abdulridha Dismal Hussain Seroor

What is a Polytechnic?

Bahrain Polytechnic is a higher education institution that offers career focused programmes to

produce PROFESSIONAL and ENTERPRISING work-ready,

graduates

Breakdown of post-secondary student population: Bahrain’s post-secondary tiering is not aligned with tiering in other countries

Bahrain

~80

~20

Hong Kong

23

2157

California

19

3942

Singapore

20

80

New Zealand

32

68

Finland

35

65

A mismatch of graduate skills with Labour Market needs

Research Universities

Teaching universities & polytechnics

Vocational , technical, and community colleges

A Gap in the Labour Market

2030 Economic Vision for Bahrain• Reducing Dependency on Oil• Economic Diversification • Making the Private Sector the Engine of Growth• In Bahrain 98.8% of business are SMEs (internationally 90%+)

and they: i. Create 60%+ of GDPii. Provide 80% of employment opportunitiesiii. Are cheap to start-up (average BD 5,000)iv. Provide a vehicle for more equitable income distributionv. Life-blood of new product innovationvi. Have a high Risk of Failure within first two years (1 in 10)

• Making Bahraini Employees of choice

Bahrain’s Supply & Demand Issues

5

Communicate Participate in a team Use their initiative Problem solve Think critically

Much more than

technical skills

Stakeholders said…

Graduates need to be able to:

Work Ready Graduates

Vision Mission Values

Vision:• Bahrain Polytechnic to be a world class provider of applied higher education

Mission:• Bahrain Polytechnic produces professional and enterprising graduates with the

21st Century skills necessary for the needs of the community locally, regionally and internationally

Values:• Excellence التعلم • Learning التميز • Innovation االبتكار

Work Ready Graduates: Our Priority

• Well-designed work related problems stimulate learning to ensure that students develop technical knowledge and skills, as well as employability skills PBL

• Directed or supported educational activities that integrate theoretical learning with its application in the workplace (industry projects, work experience, simulations)

Work Integrated Learning

• Generic competencies for work effectiveness: teamwork, problem solving, communication, initiative & enterprise, planning & organisation, self-management, learning & technology

21st Century (Employability)

Skills

Work Ready G

raduates

Student Services Model

Enterprising & Professional

Graduate

Career Employment Centre

Health & Wellness Centre

Enterprise Development Centre

Library & Learning Development

Student Welfare

BPSA-Clubs & Events

Career Equation

• There are so many choices today• Its difficult for students to think

what to do• Student Services Role:

1. Supporting students to achieve the necessary knowledge, attitude & skills

2. Assisting them to match their strengths and interests with future job opportunities to get the perfect career pathway

Personal Potential + Labour Market Intelligence=Career Pathway

Its about supply and demand

Factors affecting the model?• High youth unemployment rate (28%) in Bahrain• Need for more highly skilled labour force• World-wide concern over drop out• About a third of students withdraw in their first year• A range of individual, social, family and institutional

factors associated with drop out• Leaving behaviour cannot be understood outside of

the settings in which it occurs -an ecological approach

Ecological Framework

• Polytechnic

• Community

• Sports

• Workplace

• Friendship

• groups

• Home

• setting

• Student Characteristics: • “The quest for self”-ability;

attitude; personality; temperament, etc

• The ‘setting’ (Microsystems) in which the adolescent lives and is developing,

including the person’s family, peers, school and neighbourhood

• Macrosystem – the culture in which individuals live.• Overarching macrosystems capture social values and

political ideologies concretised in policies and practices

• Health and

Welfare Systems

• Educational system

• Political influence

• Economic

environment

• Historical

context

• Socio-cultural systems

• Contexts influencing a student’s development

• After McIntyre (1998, p. 14)

• Employment opportunities

Getting Lost in Transition

• Leaving school involves a change of role from high school to Higher Education and/or employment

• Transitions are about developing a sense of identity and about career development

• Many students find the transition difficult and some never recover • An Integrated Student Services and Education Delivery Model is

needed as a “safety net”

Mentoring: Integrated Model

Enterprising & Professional

Graduate

Career Employment Centre

Health & Wellness Centre

Enterprise Development Centre

Library & Learning Development

Student Welfare

BPSA-Clubs & Events

ELLI

Mentoring

Mentoring Programme

Case study (Watt, 2012) 8 mentors + 8 students1. “students begin to trust themselves because of improved self esteem” (Student)2. “ able to make choices by mentor discussing choices with students” (Student) 3. “mentors are encouraging don’t make you feel dumb” (Student)4. “if you become involved in mentoring process its empowering” (Student) 5. “help students take charge, become their own advocates” (Tutor) 6. “improves self esteem by reinforcing positive behavior “ (Tutor)7. “positive feedback” (Tutor)

Concluded mentoring helpful to their academic and personal development

•Every tutor a mentor•Training provided•Student Services monitoring and follow-up•Mentors “career coach” to monitor progress•Mentors identify issues, refer to support services

CEC: Integrated Model

Enterprising & Professional

Graduate

Career Employment Centre

Health & Wellness Centre

Enterprise Development Centre

Library & Learning Development

Student Welfare

BPSA-Clubs & Events

Clubs such as Women in

Engineering

entrepreneurship

Explore

Creativity & innovation

Career voyager assessment

Market yourself course

Summer & PT Jobs

PAL

Service electives

Career advice Academic

Advising

Why is choosing the right career so difficult? A labour market characterised by high levels of uncertainty.

• Unclear relationship betweenHigher Education and the Job Market.

• A multiplicity of Higher Education Providers and Programmes

• Fragmentation of the Labour Market• Lack of access to well qualified Careers Advisors and

resources

The role of the Careers Advisor is both to assist in building capacity as well as reducing problems

Difficult Choices

Decision making?• Principals rated the most important influences on choosing a career as:

1. family2. students’

interest & ability 3. job-market.

• Many students were looking for “easy options”• Finances played a major part in deciding

• So did parents but a disconnect with labour market requirements

Career Development

• Computer Assisted Diagnostic Tests that help identify students’ interests and strengths, coupled with careers advising and coaching , are integrated with the curriculum in both foundation programme and elective s at degree level

• Career voyage is a tool used at Polytechnic1. Individual students2. Careers Advisors workshops3. “Market yourself” course

• http://www.jiig-cal.com.au/index.html

How it helps our students?

Assists in 4 aspects of career development:• Assessing: interests, personality and work

preferences (knowing self) • Exploring: Explore occupations and industries that

match interests, personality and work preference • Planning: Develop a career plan and action points • Taking action: Use the plan to help in choosing a

major, writing CV, job search and interviews •

What the students say?

Student 1

“I agree with this result because this is who I am, I like design and my study related to design. As well as, I am a person that likes to help people, to make life easier for people as I can, even by giving advice for them. Finally, I should focus on my top interest more and develop the skills that related to these types to get better result in future.”

Student Opinion

Student 2“I can see myself in this result, I’m a person who likes to present something new and…love to impress people with my work….helping others….I’m social person who like(s) to work with others and those shows my strongest interest. These results mean a lot to my future because I can use it as guide to my future so, according to the result I may start developing my skills in design and I may attend more events and conferences in order to develop my personality.”

And another.....

Student 3“The result illustrated that I strongly like Language

and literature, and Finance and economics which I totally agree with. I love presenting, talking to people and interacting with them which is a part of language and literature....It showed that I also have interest in social service and health care, which is true! I love helping out friends, volunteering… scientists…It is good to understand and develop things which you like”

Integrated Model

Enterprising & Professional

Graduate

Career Employment Centre

Health & Wellness Centre

Enterprise Development Centre

ProgrammesLibrary & Learning Development

Student Welfare

BPSA-Clubs & Events

Academic Advising

orientation

Clubs such as Women in

Engineering

Committee reps-Appeals, Programmes; Focus groups

Special needs ‘at Risk’

& on probation

entrepreneurship

Marketing Yourself

2st C Skills

Gym

ELLI

Mentoring

Nurse

Counselling service

In class support

Explore

Creativity & innovation

Career voyager assessmentCareer

advice

Market yourself course

Summer & PT Jobs

CACsWIL

PBL

Professional Practice

PAL Service electives

An Integrated Model

• Students

• Services• Programmes

• Industry

Role of Careers Advisors

Personal Potential + Labour Market Intelligence = Career Pathway

What employers need to know?

A work ready graduate needs to have:1. The necessary

(minimum) skills and knowledge. (Academic transcript)

2. Self knowledge (capabilities, shortcomings, confidence) (ELLI profile)

3. The right attitude(s) Employability skills (Employability Skills Profile and a Portfolio)

Defining the 21st Century Skills

•Communicate effectively in ways that contribute to productive and harmonious relationships across stakeholders.

Communication

•Work effectively independently and in collaboration with others through a common approach towards a common goal.

Team work

•Analyse a problem critically and respond appropriately to organisational and societal needs.

Problem solving

• Apply resourcefulness, innovation and strategic thinking in an organisational context.

Initiative and enterprise

•Efficiently and effectively plan and manage work commitments

Planning and organisation

•Demonstrate self-discipline, resilience and adaptability, and be able to plan and achieve personal and professional goals

Self management

•Understand the need for and engage in life-long learning

Learning

•Utilize information technology effectively and ethically in their personal and professional lives

Technology

Career Equation

There are so many choices todayIt can be difficult thinking what to do5 Considerations + 4 Skills = 1 Good

Career Move• What do you enjoy doing?• What motivates you?• What skills would you like to develop• Do you know yourself• What are your goals

Job Search Skills

• A compelling and results oriented résumé and cover letter (to help you stand out from the crowd)

• Leveraging social networking (to gain exposure)

• Training in effective interviewing (to ensure you deliver and maintain a positive personal brand throughout the job search process)

• Conducting effective salary negotiations

Once you have determined your career path through exploring your options and gaining awareness of

industries and opportunities then you need to prepare for your job search