Employability at the university

Many employability measures are available at universities, but they are still unknown and underused. This is the result of research by the Taskforce Employability for Academic Education of the SoFoKles fund. Especially early career researchers are in a position to benefit greatly from measures and activities that support sustainable career development. Therefore, I have asked one of the researchers, dr. Judith Semeijn from the Open University, to present the most striking conclusions of this research to a group of coaches, trainers and HR advisors who focus specifically on early career researchers.

The meeting, with ample opportunity for discussion, is scheduled for February 5th from 12 to 14h. at a central location in Utrecht. If you are interested in participating, let me know via email.

The SoFoKles project consisted of a research- and an advisory part. Advisory groups of four Dutch universities found that career development of university staff would benefit from coaching, training, career- and talent-development activities and improved mobility. It is not only important that such activities are available, they also have to be communicated well so that employees value these activities and are encouraged to take up responsibility for their personal development, their own employability and mobility. Implementation of employability measures and activities helps to attain specific personal and organizational development goals. At team level important factors in this respect are good interpersonal relationships, with trust and acknowledgement, autonomy, and sufficient space for personal development. At the level of the university the advisory groups emphasize the importance of HR policy measures with good implementation and communication. The SoFoKles research team has developed checklists and charts with best practices for employability measures.