Assessment of employability constructs embedded in curriculum
By Steven Briggs and Julie Brunton
Introduction
The UK graduate job market is currently ultra-competitive. The Institute for Student Employers (2026) report shows that demand is continuing to outstrip supply – intensifying competition for graduates. This is in a context where the latest High Fliers Graduate Market Report highlights that since 2023 there has been a year-on-year reduction in graduate jobs collectively offered by the UK’s one hundred leading graduate employers. Accordingly, many universities are rethinking how they can best support students to develop the practical skills, industry connections and hands-on experience required to secure a job after graduation. This potentially has significant implications in terms of assessment practices, given assessments are often where students show learning of skills needed for the workplace.
Enhancing student employability – what works?
UniversitiesUK explored how universities have improved graduate employment. Based on responses from career services based at universities that had seen improved outcomes, they found three requisites for improving student employability outcomes:
- Whole university approach
- Work experience
- Graduate confidence
These approaches can be seen increasingly in curriculum and assessment practices that are being adopted across UK universities.
Career Powered Education
By way of a specific example, the University of Bedfordshire has adopted a ‘Career Powered Education’ campaign. Career Powered Education is based on three related approaches that operates progressively at every level of every course
- Structured opportunities built into courses for students to develop their career readiness
- Clearly articulated graduate competencies integrated into learning, teaching and assessment.
- Opportunities for all students to particate in work-related and/or work-based learning, working closely with employers in all courses.
Career Powered Education approaches are central within the University of Bedfordshire’s Curriculum Framework. In academic year 2025/26 the extent to which employability has been adopted in all courses was audited to ensure consistency across all courses. It was pleasing to see that 100% of courses have met the requirements.
Assessment and employability outcomes
Where employability constructs are integrated into the curriculum, consideration will be needed in terms of how to assess student development. External indicators, such as Graduate Outcomes Survey results will provide some insight into the long-term impact of the curriculum. However, given the significant time delay between graduation and outcome data, it would be risky to rely on this metric alone, particularly if the outcomes were poor, requiring a further lag before positive outcomes to interventions were known. Consequently, curriculum-based assessment is also needed. This could potentially be achieved via standalone employability assessment and/or through integrating employability dimensions into course level assessment.
Investigating assessment approaches
Over the next two years, the University of Bedfordshire will be instigating research projects to examine the impact of Career Powered Education on student employability outcomes through assessment. Specific areas of interest are:
- Understanding the effectiveness of teaching and learning on developing graduate competencies
- Monitoring the impact on student confidence from Career Powered Education
- Examining longitudinal changes in student career readiness
Different standalone and integrated assessment approaches will be tested to identify best practices. A call will shortly be made for academic staff to lead research projects across the institution. Projects will be centrally coordinated by our Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence and findings will inform the evolution of institutional career powered education approaches.
Call to the community
We would welcome the opportunity to connect with other practitioners who are investigating the assessment of employability approaches to embedding employability within the curriculum. If there is sufficient interest from the assessment community, we propose that this would be an excellent topic for discussion at a future dedicated Association of Educational Assessment – Europe Special Interest Group webinar.
About the Author
Dr Steve Briggs
University of Bedfordshire
Dr Steve Briggs is Director of Learning, Teaching and Libraries (LTL) at the University of Bedfordshire. He leads strategic and enhancement initiatives across LTL including educational development, academic development, learning development, digital learning and library provision. Steve was previously Co-Chair of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education where he led national work related to professional recognition. He is currently an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Steve is a National Teaching Fellow (2020), PFHEA and a Chartered Psychologist.
Professor Julie Brunton
University of Bedfordshire
Professor Julie Brunton is Pro-Vice Chancellor, Education and Student Experience, at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. Julie is responsible for providing strategic and academic leadership for the education and student experience strategy for the University across all academic provision, UK and global academic partnerships. She is a Principal Fellow of the Advance HE and Professor of Higher Education Teaching and Learning. Julie has extensive experience in leading institution transformation programmes across both academic and professional services areas.
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