AMBA & BGA EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
Challenges & opportunities Inevitably, there were challenges launching the scheme. Aside from funding, one of the main issues was staff participation. Some academics were resistant to incorporating a PPD unit at every level as “they couldn’t see where their content could be removed”. It was crucial to persuade faculty to make space in their programme design. Initially, the strengths approach was piloted in 2021 with two departments – Strategy, Enterprise & Sustainability and Finance & Economics. Holmes says colleagues were “hugely on board as the idea of continuing professional development was very much second nature”. She continues: “We then used the data to bring others along and it was rolled out in different areas across the business school.” The university is undergoing a curriculum review in 12-18 months and Holmes sees this as an opportunity to talk to other faculties about the approach. She acknowledges that “there’s so much cross- teaching” within business schools, it enables departments to work “as a collective, adopting a set of consistent principles”. It can be harder for other faculties to do this “because they sometimes see their own uniqueness more, whereas we see the strength in our togetherness”. The way forward What does the future hold? Holmes notes that while “the single view of what a graduate looks like has changed”, traditional recruitment methods have not recognised this. The strengths approach offers “a more inclusive view” of graduate employability in her opinion and provides an opportunity to transform graduate recruitment, with “huge potential to get diversity into employment”. As a final point, Holmes emphasises the “kinder message” of the strengths approach. “Any student, no matter how privileged or disadvantaged, is going to respond in a much more positive way if they can see that whatever their strengths are, they have equal value to someone else’s.” This seems especially important in the post-Covid climate, when many of those entering higher education will have faced different challenges from pre-pandemic cohorts.
this decision. The first came about because “only doing something in year one is hugely unhelpful, as students aren’t necessarily in the right mindset to understand the value”. The second driver was the result of realising that “often, students who engage with extracurricular activities are the ones who have the luxury of time and space to do it”. According to Holmes, the students who might benefit most from these activities are often those least able to participate because of caring responsibilities, work commitments or time spent commuting. For Holmes, it was essential that everyone had an equal opportunity to develop their skills. Implementing the scheme The scheme’s success relied heavily on staff buy-in, particularly from personal tutors, with more than 70 employees undertaking a Cappfinity strengths coaching accreditation, enabling them to implement the approach. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, not only for the impact on students, but also because the scheme has given staff an opportunity for self-development. In addition to personal tutoring, students receive timetabled PPD sessions as part of their core studies. In the first year, they are introduced to the strengths approach. In the second year, they take part in a strengths-based assessment centre, where employers act as observers. This has led to many success stories, with employers recruiting students on to their placement schemes. In the final year, every student undertakes an ‘on the job’ module, where they apply their unique strengths to a practical scenario. Also, students are guided through mock application processes. Holmes notes that most employers now use a strengths-based approach to recruitment, meaning that “it is much more aligned in terms of preparing students for what they will face when they seek employment after graduation”. Measuring success The effectiveness of the strengths approach so far has been assessed through various metrics. In 2023, an internal student satisfaction survey revealed that 98.5 per cent of first-year students and 97 per cent of second-year students agreed, or strongly agreed, that the scheme had helped their personal development. Holmes says students have also reported greater satisfaction with personal tutoring. The meetings have been given a renewed purpose as there are substantive issues to discuss, such as what a student is good at, what they enjoy and what motivates them. The number of students securing industrial placements has increased year-on-year, as has the quality of placements. For example, the BA (Hons) in Business Management has gone from just two per cent of students securing placements with The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers in 2021-22 to 30 per cent last year. It’s still too early for meaningful data on graduate outcomes, but the strengths-based approach has transformed standard university career planning processes. MMU students have reported feeling more ‘career ready’; indeed, an internal career readiness survey showed a 67 per cent increase in final-year students declaring themselves as holding the highest level of graduate readiness.
BIOGRAPHY Professor Hannah Holmes is dean of the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Business School and deputy faculty pro-vice- chancellor within the faculty of business and law at MMU. Holmes is a senior fellow of the HEA (Higher Education Academy) and chair of the Economic Review ’s editorial board. She holds several external board and trustee positions, including at the Prospere Learning Trust and on MMU’s board of governors
Ambition | MARCH/APRIL 2024 | 41
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