Employer engagement in the development of doctoral graduates Alison Mitchell [email protected] Vitae®, © 2011 The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Limited Vitae vision and aims The UK to be world-class in supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers Build human capital by influencing the development and implementation of effective policy relating to researcher development Enhance higher education provision to train and develop researchers Empower researchers to make an impact in their careers Evidence the impact of professional and career development for researchers The development of researchers The UK is committed to the development of world-class researchers Strong HEI and funders commitment Researchers are critical to economic success Researchers’ careers span range of employment sectors Concern about UK researcher pipeline Research into career progression Value to society: occupations three years on HE research occupations Research (not in HE sector) Teaching and lecturing in HE Other teaching occupations Other common doctoral occupations Other occupations 0% Doctoral graduates 10% 20% 30% Masters graduates 40% 50% 60% 70% First degree 1st/2:1 Cluster of ‘other’ common doctoral occupations Functional and production managers, and senior officials 25% of cluster Health professionals 18% of cluster Business, finance and statistical professional and associate professional roles 15% of cluster Engineering professionals 14% of cluster ICT professionals 10% of cluster Value of doctorate 19% Qualification type occupations HE research 13% Research (not in HE sector) Subject Teaching and lecturing in HE teaching occupations Skills and Other competencies 22% 6% 27% Other common doctoral occupations Relevant work experience* Other occupations 0% 10% 20% 0% 30% 5%40% Formal requirement Important Not important Dont know 14% 50% 10% 60% 80% 15% 70% 20% 3.5 years (L DLHE) * DLHE data for corresponding L DLHE respondents only 90% 25% 100% 30% Not very important but helped 6 months (DLHE*) Use of knowledge skills and experience Use of knowledge, skills, experience Conduct research Interpret research data Critically evaluate research findings Use the research skills developed Draw on detailed research degree knowledge Use general disciplinary knowledge Use the generic skills developed Work autonomously Work as part of a team Work under close supervision Have responsibility for others 0% Most of the time 10% 20% Some of the time 30% 40% 50% Occasionally 60% 70% 80% 90% Not at all 100% Conducting research and being innovative in the workplace CONDUCT RESEARCH All HE research Other research HE teaching and lecturing Other teaching Common doctoral occupations Other occupations BE INNOVATIVE All HE research Other research HE teaching and lecturing Other teaching Common doctoral occupations Other occupations 0% Most of the time 10% 20% 30% Some of the time 40% 50% 60% Occasionally 70% 80% 90% Not at all 100% Value of doctoral graduate : employers views (N=16) Subject specific specialist knowledge Research & technical skills Analytical thinking & problem solving skills New ideas, help innovate Maturity Guarantee of high calibre candidates Future leadership potential (Talent fishing, CIHE, 2010) Value of doctoral graduate : employers concerns (N=16) ‘Whilst it is widely accepted that recruiting postgraduates is important and can add value to an organisation, some employers expressed concerns’ Subject lack of commercial awareness Limited work experience Inability to market skills Narrow focus/ over specialised Unrealistic expectations Difficulty in adapting to non-academic environment (Talent fishing, CIHE, 2010) Employers’ expectations of researchers’ performance (N = 104) Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Employer categories Data analysis 100% 100% 91% 91% Problem Solving 100% 88% 89% 83% Group 1: actively target doctorates Drive and Motivation 100% 84% 59% 74% Project Management 83% 36% 70% 39% Interpersonal Skills 67% 56% 39% 26% Leadership 67% 28% 24% 17% Commercial awareness 50% 20% 28% 22% Overall 81% 59% 57% 50% Group 2: strong interest Group 3: some interest, occasionally recruit Group 4: no interest (Recruiting researchers, Vitae, 2009) The University - Company Cultural Divide: SME employers            Decision making Problem solving Pace Deadlines Judgement of success Team working Approaches to negotiation Critical thinking Income generation focus Company core business Customer focus (Across the Triple Helix: Innovative companies and Government funded development of demand-led research graduate transferable skills in Universities, Mitchell, 7th Triple Helix International conference paper, 2010) The new UK Researcher Development Framework The UK professional development framework to realise the potential of researchers to Build and strengthen the UK research base Develop world-class researchers Knowledge, behaviour and attributes of successful researchers Common framework across institutions in the UK Universal language for understanding researcher capabilities Developed by researchers for researchers The UK Researcher Development Framework 4 domains 12 sub-domains 63 descriptors For discussion How can we introduce a broader range of employers the benefits of employing researchers? How can we prepare doctoral graduates more effectively for careers outside of academia? How can we help doctoral graduates and those supporting them to better understand the transferability of doctoral graduates capabilities?