Find out how the Career Readiness Pulse Check came about and what it aims to do.
The Sussex Career Readiness Pulse Check was introduced in October 2019. It builds upon a model known as Careers Registration, developed by The Careers Group, and trialled at over 80 UK universities. The survey provides institutions with targeted and actionable information based on three simple questions:
- what stage are you at in your career planning? – students choose one statement, from a list of 10, that best reflects their position
- what career readiness activity you may have undertaken in the last 24 months? – students can indicate if they have been working, volunteering, self-employed or none of the above
- what sectors/industries are you currently interested in working in or learning more about? – students are asked to choose their top two.
Careers Registration is an established concept which has been in use within the UK HE sector since 2012. There is some variation in the mechanisms and processes each institution has used to implement it as a result of varying internal factors but all are in line with the fundamental purpose already outlined. Careers Registration may also be useful in the demonstration of learning gain in TEF submissions.
The aims of careers registration are to:
- systematically measure student career readiness at points when timely intervention to support student employability development is still possible prior to graduation.
- inform the tailoring and allocation of employability resources.
- be demonstrably responsive to the student voice in the delivery of employability support.
- assess the impact of employability initiatives and engage new or developing sectors that our students indicate are areas of career choice.
- act as a potential predictor of future employment outcomes for graduates.