Influencing the undergraduate built environment curricula through stakeholder understandings of built environment employability skills

The aim of this project is to uncover new insights and understanding of Higher Education (HE) built environment employability skills. To assimilate the project findings within a built environment employability skills compass model developed as a key output of this project and promulgate the findings to enrich current thinking between stakeholders and apply this new knowledge within university pedagogy and across a wider community. In particular, reporting the opinions and interpretations of stakeholders surrounding their understanding of employability skills for a built environment undergraduate. Conduct research and literature review on the subject of employability skills. Disseminate findings within industry and academia at regional, national and transnational levels.
The project uses a qualitative dual methodology was adopted; Firstly a phenomenological methodology encapsulating the rich expressive and emotional language. Secondly spirit of action research methodology facilitating numerous access and departure points within the project investigations. Using preliminary research located within various levels and modes of discreet inquiries, incorporating early reconnaissance field work investigations and group forum interventions. At the heart of the project investigation a series of thirty semi-structured interviews undertaken during 2011-2015 with key stakeholders.
Contributions are gathered from a range of key stakeholders; academics, employers, policymakers/politicians, professional bodies, career advisors and graduates predominately but not exclusively within the West Midlands conurbation, with the results identified a disparity and gap in knowledge and understanding surrounding built environment employability skills. In particular, the research located and disseminated novel insights and shared agreements behind how HE curricula can be better informed and how shared ownership can contribute to the design of curricula. Pockets of shared understanding were revealed and an inner core of rich employability skills that external stakeholders believe set individuals apart from others were discovered.
The findings have encouraged rich exchanges and increased levels of engagement between academics, practitioners and stakeholders; removing the fear behind ownership and shared responsibility of built environment curricula design. A key output of the project was the creation and development of a built environment employability skills compass tool and the findings situated within the compass have assisted with the modification and enrichment of HE teaching within architecture and the built environment curricula and have provided meaningful impact, evidenced by feedback received from employers who have commented on the increased levels of employability skills that graduates of (2013-15) possess as they leave the University of Wolverhampton into the world of work.