Building career pathways in the allied health industry: a practical framework

Understanding and application of work skill requirements and the pathways to develop those skills from novice to advanced practitioner are fundamental to success in any given health profession. The research reported in this paper aims to guide the progression of allied health professionals in achieving this objective. Currently work placements in allied health disciplines provide an introduction to integrating clinical skills in the workplace; however they do not necessarily consider adaptability and sensitivity to the workplace environment or an awareness of fundamental employability skills required for career progression. In addition, current workplace assessment in the allied health industry is confined to professional appraisal/development more so than supporting the individual's capacity to progress their career. The Allied Health Career Development framework [AHCD] developed through this research is a practical tool to guide, monitor and foster progress of the individual from novice to advanced practitioner via the delineated levels of autonomy embedded within it. These levels of autonomy are ascribed to six workplace skill attributes - initiative & goal orientation; technology & resource use; learning & reflecting; planning & leadership; problem solving & critical thinking; and, communication & professionalism. The AHCD outlines the attributes required in each of these facets to progress from novice to advanced practitioner. The value of the research lies firstly, in monitoring professional growth; secondly, in the use of reflective practice and peer/mentor coaching, and thirdly, in creating a more confident, satisfied and goal orientated employee in the allied health workforce

Bridging the gap in health professionals from novice to advanced practitioner: a practical framework

The objective of the AHCD was to facilitate the successful transition of an allied health professional from novice to advanced practitioner while focussing on key competencies and levels of autonomy through reflective practice and emotional and social sensitivity to the workplace. The AHCD facilitates this transition via self-directed learning and reflective practice. The philosophy presented in the framework may be applicable to all health care professionals

Improving Employability Skills Through a Web-Based Work Integrated Learning Database for Construction Students

Employability and Unemployment continues to be dire issues that Nigerian youth are faced with daily in a saturated employment market. Whereas, the use of workintegrated learning can help bridge the gap by increasing employability skills among students. The study examined the benefits of having a work-integrated learning (WIL) program for students in the construction field. Therefore, the study developed a framework for improving employability skills through a web-based work integrated learning database for construction students. Using a system block diagram, use case diagram and activity diagram, the study illustrated the functional requirement needed for the development of the WIL platform. The WIL platform is a web-based system pooling submission of available WIL positions from employers in construction businesses and former WIL students in order for prospective WIL students to access possible openings where they can learn in a workplace environment. The methodology of this research includes using the combination of HTML, CSS and the C-Sharp programming language for the interface design and server side scripting while MySQL was the database platform used for storing and retrieving the data used for the application. In conclusion, the study designed a WIL platform for construction students. The use of the WIL platform is intended to encourage employability of construction students by ensuring that they are adequately engaged in a work place training

Graduates’ Attitudes to Research Skill Development in Undergraduate Media Education

This paper examines the attitudes of graduates employed in different segments of the media industry to the development of research skills during their studies. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten graduates employed in different jobs approximately one year after graduation to understand how applicable they found generic and media-specific research skills to their employment. The study was conducted as part of a wider project evaluating the application of a systematic framework for research skills development, across whole degree programmes. The interviews demonstrate broad agreement regarding the value of research skills for media employment. However, there were divergent opinions about the need to articulate research skills explicitly and the value of media-specific skill for current employment situations. Interviewees also indicated varying levels of awareness regarding the relevance research skills have across different employment contexts. Therefore, it is important that media-educators understand how their students’ differing career destinations immediately after graduation influence formal and informal evaluations of the quality of their course. We conclude that this educational challenge is best addressed by implementing a consistent framework for research education that improves students’ metacognitive awareness of the transferability of this graduate attribute across multiple industries and career destinations

Work Skill Development Framework: an innovative assessment for Work Integrated Learning

The Work Skill Development Framework (Bandaranaike & Willison, 2009) was developed to inform and assess a student‘s progress in work-integrated learning (WIL) from conception to completion. The WSD is a tool that enables both academics and employers to monitor qualitatively and quantitatively the progress of students, and students to self assess their work skills. This paper presents a study on the use of the WSD in student placements at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The WSD makes explicit six facets of WIL: initiative, use of technology, establishing lifelong learning skills, reflecting on self management, skills in problem solving and applied communication. These six facets are articulated across five levels of autonomy, from highly guided where expectations are explained and modelled, to high levels of student determination. These facets were focussed on by placement students initially via input in a reflective journal, a progress report and a reflective essay. Subsequently, comprehensive interviews on each student‘s progress and achievement based on the principles of WSD were conducted, one with the student and the other with the employer. Over a six month period 27 students and 21 employers were interviewed using the WSD to frame discussions, and to generate a quantification of WIL measures for assessment. Student perceptions were compared and contrasted with the employer perceptions to assess progress during the placement. The research demonstrated that the WSD facets frequently enabled the employer to explore readily and meaningfully the performance of the student across a comprehensive range of nationally accredited employability skills. The findings include that students have a stronger sense of improvements in work skills after completing WIL, than do their employers, but both agree that there is improvement, and that this varies with the specific skill set being considered. While traditional assessment is focussed mostly on quantitative assessment, the WSD focuses on qualitative assessment as well, giving valuable feedback to the student and assessing future employability. Students were able to review, reflect on and so adjust their workplace engagement and receive critical feedback. It is an innovative, inclusive measure of performance that has the potential to be adopted in numerous disciplines.Sue Bandaranaike and John Williso

'What skills do i have? What skills will i need?' Building an employability skills profile through an online reflective learning program

There is consensus of opinion of the value of critical reflective practice for student learning, professional development and employability. Yet, students are known to struggle with reflective practice. The purpose of this research is to describe a proposed design for an innovative multidisciplinary online program for Work Integrated Learning [WIL], which facilitates and guides reflective thinking while developing metacognitive awareness of employability skills and attributes. The paper discusses the theoretical framework and envisaged design of this online resource. Reflection and application is introduced in three stages. In stage 1, [Pre-Placement], the student reflects on their preparedness for WIL using the tool informed by the Work Skill Development Framework (WSD) [Bandaranaike & Willison, 2009]. Questioning techniques together with skill statements derived from the WSD six facets of work, guide students through the process of self-identifying current employability skill sets. This process is then elaborated by self-appraising the degree of autonomy across a continuum for each employability skill identified. In stage 2, [In- Placement], the student collects evidence of applying practice based work skills. The progressive development of skills and the acquisition of new skills are mapped to a WSD informed online template. In stage 3 [Post-Placement] the student re-identifies and re-appraises skill competencies by reflecting on the WSD's degrees of autonomy. Reflections submitted gradually compile a personalised employability skills profile of a student's WIL journey. The artefacts that will be produce will enhance student feedback, inform WIL discussions with stakeholders and empower students with the 'language' needed for future employment