Reflections on UNIC Careers Staff Week: Employability in the Curriculum

"Employability is not just about destinations and outcomes; it is each person's unique journey - and what is learned along the way."

This observation from our student partners stayed with me throughout the Erasmus+ training event hosted by UCC Career Services last week at University College Cork (UCC). It captured the essence of everything we explored during two vibrant days with careers professionals from across Europe. Colleagues from Istanbul, Łódź, Maastricht, Malmö, Timișoara joined us in Cork to dive deep into the learning and teaching of employability as a lifelong, dynamic process rooted in identity, growth, and reflection.

Learning to Learn for Life

We began with a keynote from Associate Professor Sonia Ferns who set the tone perfectly. Her vision of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) wasn’t just about placing students into roles — it was about transforming the curriculum to better reflect the world beyond the classroom.

Sonia reminded us that employability starts with student agency: helping learners build identity, resilience, and the skills to navigate complexity. Assessment, she argued, should move beyond grades to include authentic, performance-based tasks that reflect real-world challenges. Inseparable from "career development learning", Sonia stressed that work-integrated learning should be personalised, interdisciplinary, and transformative—encouraging creativity, critical thinking, and resilience.

From Theory to Practice - and Back Again

The sessions that followed brought this vision to life. We heard from Mary McCarthy and Daniel Blackshields about UCC’s Applied Economics degree, which embeds employability across four years through consultancy projects, employer panels, and reflective practices. Daniel highlighted the importance of supporting students to explore their authentic voice to help align their evolving personal identities with their career aspirations. Students experience growth opportunities of “structured uncertainty” which serve to reframe uncertain situations from potentially threatening to creative and developmental spaces.

During a lively panel facilitated by Clodagh Kerr, Amy McMullan, Aileen Waterman, and Ruth Mac Conaill shared how storytelling, peer learning, and scaffolded assignments are reshaping the way UCC prepares students for placements — from Arts to Finance to postgraduate Business degrees. Frameworks such as the Hero’s Journey are used to guide students in crafting meaningful narratives, fostering self-awareness, confidence, and the ability to connect personal experiences to professional.

In the afternoon, participants benefitted from hearing about embedded employability modules taught by careers colleagues at the University of Limerick and Smurfit College Dublin.

• Brendan Lally outlined the Mastering Your Employability module which provide Experiential Learning through Virtual Assessment Centres (VACs) which include authentic, feedback-driven simulations such as individual and group exercises.

• Bernie Burke spoke about developing the MBA Leadership & Employability Advancement Programme, the new in-curriculum module as part of both its Global and Executive MBAs in Smurfit, UCD.

Collaboration in Action

What made this event special was the way careers professionals, academics and students came together to collaborate. In our afternoon “hackathon”, groups co-designed a new employability module from title to content to assessment. The energy in the room was palpable, and if we hadn’t needed dinner, we might still be debating assessment strategies!

The Recognition Gap - and How UCC is Bridging It

Day 2 took us deeper into micro-credentials, digital badges, and the power of co-curricular recognition.

David Jones told the story of the EmployAgility Awards, a multi-pathway, digitally-integrated framework, offering digital badges that are shareable on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Students can now gain recognition across six pathways (e.g., Student Life, Volunteering, Research), with tiered awards (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on participation.

Mags Arnold introduced UCC MicroCreds, which are designed with enterprise in mind: short, skill-based, flexible, and delivered in line with employer needs.

And Alan Reidy demonstrated how he has leveraged digital and AI tools to optimise all aspects of Careers work from work placement logistics to digital badge administration to 24/7 skill development and career learning.

Before lunch, we also made time for a facilities tour of the podcasting studio, Immersive Suite - iGloo and surgical skills lab in the Assert Building, affording us a fascinating insight into the authentic learning environments for health professionals there.

AI-Literate, Human-Centred Graduates

As AI reshapes graduate recruitment, Ronan Carbery shared his research on this topic and challenged us to stay ahead. Career services must now help students to be resilient, ethical and human-first in how they engage with technology. Traditional services must expand to include AI literacy training, ethical guidance and support for continuous learning. Career services should also advocate for transparency, equity, and sustainability in AI adoption.

Inclusion, Identity and the Power of Mentoring

We also got to hear from pioneers of some of the most innovative initiatives in UCC:

• The Odyssey Programme, led by Mary O’Regan, is currently being rolled out nationally across 19 universities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Since its pilot in 2018, over 700 PhD and PostDoc researchers have completed the programme, with 58% securing roles beyond academia. Its success lies in its practical, time-efficient format (2-day workshop + 1:1 sessions) and its focus on "mindset shift" rather than skills training.

• The Employability Programme led by Shay Nolan has placed hundreds of students with disabilities into meaningful internships, supported by both employer training and student mentoring. Employers receive training on inclusive recruitment practices, including accessible applications, interviews, onboarding, and reasonable accommodations. It has led to tangible changes in employer recruitment practices 

• And the student-led structured Alumni Mentoring Programme led by Clodagh Kerr and Deirdre O’Shea, continues to prove that transformational impact can come from just three conversations with the right person. Mentors are sourced through Alumni & Development, while mentees are selected by Career Services, creating a bridge between current students and experienced graduates. 

A Shared Journey

This event reminded us that employability isn’t a checkbox or a destination. It’s a journey — messy, evolving, deeply personal — and all the richer when supported by educators who listen, challenge, and walk alongside.

• Employability is more than the ability to secure employment — it's about adaptability, self-sufficiency, and lifelong career resilience.

• Employability is a personal, reflective journey, not merely a set of outcomes.

• Learning for employability requires intentional, authentic, and assessed experiences that integrate theory and real-world practice.

• Co-creation by a wide range of relevant stakeholders produces the best outcomes.

• Best practices involve a blend of academic, practical, and digital approaches.

To everyone who joined us in Cork — thank you for the passion, the ideas, and the vision. 

Let’s keep working together to explore and develop meaningful opportunities for students to develop employability within and alongside the curriculum.

Image: keynote speaker Sonia Ferns