Development of employability skills is globally expected in undergraduate students; this is frequently approached through Personal Development Planning (PDP). However, science graduates are often reported as lacking the skills necessary for graduate employment.
An online distance learning first-year science module required students to use radar charts for PDP in each assessment. An online questionnaire evaluated students’ perceptions of their employability skills development, and the efficacy of radar charts as a means of recording this. The questionnaire was sent to 636 students and 115 responded; this report is a thematic analysis of the open text questions. Students recognised development of several employability skills, though some found difficulty due to lack of self-confidence and challenges participating in asynchronous group work. A proportion of students found radar charts easy to use, though the majority used them to gain marks. Students found benchmarking their skills at module start challenging, and would benefit from more support with this, as well as the option to use other means of recording PDP
