5 lessons in embedding employability: insights from LCCA

The majority of LCCA’s students are part-time learners, balancing study with careers. Many students begin at foundation level before progressing onto the first year of a degree. 

Because our students are time poor, it’s crucial that we meet them where they are. Ensuring employability can be delivered digitally, as well as in person, has been key to this. We use several tools that enable us to do everything from organising virtual events, to providing career coaching and resources such as psychometric tests, all accessible online.

This ensures that even students with busy schedules can engage with valuable career development services without always needing to be on campus. 

A key priority for LCCA is to see a continuous improvement in the student experience and engagement levels. Given the nature of the courses at LCCA, practical and applied elements work particularly well. 

Students engage strongly with content that feels real - things like live briefs, mini placements and activities that help them understand how to present themselves and articulate their skills.  

Asynchronous content also plays a key role in extending access beyond campus, ensuring students can engage in ways that fit their schedules. This also means student employability isn’t dependent on everyone being in the same room at the same time. While still a core part of the curriculum, it is delivered in a way that feels relevant and accessible to working students. 

It’s crucial that academic and employability functions work closely together and are aligned on goals. To make this happen, we provide specific training to support academic staff, providing clear benchmarks and standards to work towards. This is supported by active monitoring and governance processes that track how effectively employability is embedded within the curriculum. 

For example, individual session templates include a tick box to clarify which employability skills will be delivered and which activities will be used to deliver them. This creates an audit trail and makes it easier to identify and address any gaps. 

At the same time, employability specialists are encouraged to broaden their own skillsets, including pursuing learning and teaching qualifications. This enables more effective and strategic collaboration with academic colleagues.  

Employability professionals can no longer focus solely on traditional careers provision. It’s important that specialists can see clear goals and progression pathways for themselves, particularly as people enter careers roles from a wide range of backgrounds. 

Alongside traditional career consultants, the sector is seeing people move into employability roles from teaching, HR and business development. It’s an exciting time to join the profession as the role becomes more strategic, but expectations and skillsets are also changing significantly. 

Modern employability specialists need to be data literate and commercially aware. They must understand labour market forces and be able to build relationships and negotiate with multiple stakeholders. Their voices also need to be heard at the top table, where broader strategic decisions are being made, so building confidence and visibility among senior leaders is becoming an increasingly important part of the role. 

We need to think beyond simply helping students get jobs. While that may be the end goal, experiential learning offers a major opportunity to have a meaningful impact. Live briefs, for example, allow students to be supported by their lecturer while receiving feedback directly from an employer. By the time they graduate, students may have worked on multiple live projects, which can be just as valuable as an internship. 

This kind of experiential learning is key for more linear academic degrees, where a better alignment between curriculum and employability is becoming even more important. Making it a fundamental part of academic programmes can significantly improve student outcomes. 

Looking ahead, greater collaboration across the wider careers sector is essential, including closer links between schools, colleges and higher education institutions. With initiatives such as the government’s lifetime learning entitlement, where individuals may access funding at different stages of their lives, any existing disconnects may be exposed even further. 

A more joined-up, lifelong approach to careers and employability is a bold ambition, but it has the potential to deliver the greatest impact for students, graduates and employers.