Career services in higher education institutions can be rewarding yet demanding to run. Developing student interest, forming industry relationships, and equipping students with the necessary skills for today’s job market are just a few of the challenges career services teams face.
The Education Collaborative Career Strategy Workshop is held annually to help higher education career services teams tackle these issues. It aims to actively develop lasting, transformative systems that improve graduate employability outcomes. “The workshop is a great opportunity for career development professionals to learn practical strategies for creating effective systems that enhance students’ employability outcomes,” shares Abigail Welbeck, director of career services at Ashesi University.
When Nkiru Ukachukwu, director of Pan-Atlantic University’s Careers and Alumni Office, first heard about the workshop through the Collaborative’s monthly newsletters, she thought, “Great! Somebody can help me solve all my challenges.” Her experience was even more impactful than she anticipated. “Our career office runs many programs throughout the year: career fairs, internship programs, pre-internship forums, and more. We typically followed up on these events with questions for attendees centered around event management. When we attended the 2023 Education Collaborative Career Strategy Workshop, we learned better ways to assess program impact from our students and industry contacts,” Nkiru shares.
Additionally, Pan-Atlantic University replicated successful practices from other institutions’ career services departments to transform its career services center. The university has since run a CV writing clinic and interview workshop to better prepare its students for the job market. Moreover, it has incorporated WhatsApp messaging as a student engagement channel, significantly increasing responsiveness compared to solely email. Using infographics to communicate events, data, and other relevant information and making periodic class-to-class visits from the career services team have also enhanced student interest and engagement.
“It has been incredibly helpful to be part of a group of higher education career services professionals from all over Africa. I am constantly learning new processes and identifying ineffective activities to avoid,” says Nkiru. For example, she learned to implement peer-to-peer counseling from institutions with student populations similar to Pan-Atlantic University. Scheduling one-on-one sessions is not feasible when student populations are high, and interacting with others who faced the same issue led her to its solution.
After the Career Strategy Workshop, Pan-Atlantic University’s career services team restructured its work calendar and planned its year in detail by quarters. The calendar positioned critical events at the beginning of the academic year so students can better track their progress. Furthermore, the team increased industry engagements and implemented more comprehensive activities, like quarterly newsletters and industry visits from staff and students, to build and maintain relationships and show commitment to grooming.
“The Career Strategy Workshop is worth every minute of your time. You can identify and solve your problems by participating in activities and discussions. There are few training programs for career services personnel, so attending it was timely and pivotal for us,” concludes Nkiru.
