EMPLOYABILITY
A successful employment starts from you
Employability has been defined as: "A set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and to be successful in their chosen occupations".
The global youth unemployment rate by the International Labour Organisation reached 13.1% in 2013 which meant that 74.5 million people between 15 and 24 years old worldwide were neither pursuing an education no working.
At the same time as this high youth unemployment rate, companies reported a lack of desired competencies in university graduates.
Steps can be taken to create an entrepreneurial mindset and foster creative thinking in university students. These are complex skills and even when creating a link between education providers and employers, a gap can still exist between preparation and employer expectations.
EMPLOYABILITY AND SOFT SKILLS
The concept of employability is linked to soft skills. Employers seek graduates who demonstrate a high level of skill in areas outside of their specific expertise.
Student affairs and services staff are able to educate students in these skills and give them the opportunities to practice what they have learned in these and other areas, such as critical thinking, problem solving and networking.
Soft Skills can help students be poised for employability in an eve-globalized work-force.
The better employers and higher education providers communicate and understand one another, the better off students will be.
EucA advances the promotion of soft skills also through a European project, eLene4life, which supports curriculum innovation in higher education through the development of active learning approaches for soft skills. The ultimate aims of the project are to improve students' employability, develop new innovative curricula and teaching methods, and improve the relevance of HE curricula through a focus on soft skills.
CAREER COACHING SERVICES
EucA’s Career Coaching Services aims to help to explore the endless possibilities that open up to students throughout their academic path, while also giving them the tools to successfully transition from university to the job market.
The project develops in different ways: through Individual Online Advising (CV Check and LinkedIn Coaching) , Online Events and In-Person Study Visits.
The CV Check is a 45-minutes online meeting with one of the EucA staff members to review students and recent graduates’ English CV and receive personalised recommendations, based on their background, interests and aspirations.
The LinkedIn Coaching is a service aimed to help students to create an outstanding LinkedIn profile, no matter the experience they have. Through a 45-minutes online session, they get customised feedback from EucA experts to make the most of their presence in this network.
The Online Events include webinars, talks and interactive events with professionals and experts of the job market - like professors, HR manages - that will give students training and guidance on how to approach and move the first steps in the world of work.
Finally, the Study Visits, EucA’s specialty. Visiting the companies, meeting the professionals of the different sectors as well as living from inside the atmosphere of big companies or startups, is a great opportunity that EucA offers to the Students interested in going deeper in their passions and ambitions. After a Study Visit they can begin shaping and planning their future careers and the relatives opportunities.
