The Next Normal Episode 11 – Lies, damned lies and… Data

Join Chris Webb (@WorldWebb) and Helen Armitage (@HelenArmitage16) from the Careers and Employability Service at Sheffield Hallam University (@SheffHallamUni) for another foray into the world of work, as told by Covid-19.

This week, we welcome Richard Hewitt (Director for Higher Education at Emsi UK) and Naomi Oosman-Watts (Head of Strategic Projects: Student Services at Newcastle University and Director for Data Insights at AGCAS) to the (virtual) booth, where we discuss some of the common misconceptions associated with the use of data, how HE careers services and other organisations are leveraging data like Graduate Outcomes to enhance their work with students/graduates and what the next normal might look like when it comes to utilising data effectively within the sector.

Further Reading/Listening:

Emsi UK Articles

Emsi UK Webinars – https://www.economicmodelling.co.uk/webinars/

Emsi Skills – https://skills.emsidata.com/

Beer with Emsi – (short, fun videos that show how LMI can be applied across sectors, including Education – US-centric, but still relevant) 

AGCAS Journal – https://www.agcas.org.uk/Phoenix

AGACS Twitter Feed – @AGCAS 

What do graduates do – https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/what-do-graduates-do

Wonkhe: DLHE Archives – https://wonkhe.com/tag/dlhe/

Wonkhe – From work ready to world ready – https://wonkhe.com/blogs/from-work-ready-to-world-ready-why-breaking-down-knowledge-silos-is-the-next-frontier-in-student-development/

Thomas J Bevan: The Tyranny of Numbers – https://thomasjbevan.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-numbers

National Careers Week: The Future of Work Guide 2021 – https://nationalcareersweek.com/2021fow/

Wonkhe Podcast – https://wonkhe.com/podcast/

Harvard Business Review: Women at Work Podcast – https://hbr.org/2018/01/podcast-women-at-work

Chasing Excellence Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/chasing-excellence/id1170629044

Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby: Podcast – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/lets-talk-about-skills-baby-kelly-ryan-bailey-S2zi3RLbTjX/

Preparing for Brexit Podcast – https://www.thetimes.co.uk/podcasts/preparing-for-brexit

Our Presenters:

Helen Armitage – A Senior Employability Adviser for the College of Social Sciences and Arts at Sheffield Hallam University. Helen leads on the Hallam Career Mentoring Scheme and primarily supports the department of Art and Design with in-curriculum careers delivery.

Chris Webb – An Employability Adviser at Sheffield Hallam University, Chris supports the Gradvantage programme for final year students and graduates, as well as collaborating with the College of Business, Technology and Engineering on in-curriculum careers delivery.

Our Guests:

Richard Hewitt – Richard leads Emsi’s engagement with the Higher Education sector in the UK.  Emsi provides labour market data and insight to universities in the UK, North America and Australia, as well as to a range of other organisations.  Richard has a background in Higher Education and recruitment. Having been a senior lecturer and course leader, he crossed into the private sector, where he headhunted senior executives for European blue-chips, and latterly, academic and commercial leadership for privately and publicly funded HE organisations worldwide.

Naomi Oosman-Watts – Naomi is a Director on the Board of the Association of Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), her portfolio covers all aspects of graduate employability and outcomes data including the recent development of a new national graduate destinations survey – the Graduate Outcomes Survey. She represents the UK Graduate Careers Advisory sector on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) national steering group for the continued development and roll out of this new survey.

In her current role at Newcastle University, Naomi is responsible for the delivery of large, complex University-wide student services projects with the aim of enhancing and improving the coherence of the student experience by joining up the academic, personal and professional aspects of the learner journey.

Prior to undertaking this role, she was Assistant Director in the Newcastle University Careers Service she played a key part in the development and delivery of the University’s Employability and Enterprise Strategy, working with colleagues to create a cohesive, institutional approach to student and graduate success. During her time in the Careers Service Naomi was also responsible for the creation and delivery of the Career Insights Programme, an initiative designed to support students from different backgrounds into successful graduate level employment.

She is also heavily involved in the University’s work on Race Equality, she co-chairs the University’s Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team and is vice-chair of the University’s Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network.

If you are interested in any of the discussion points raised in this podcast or have suggestions for future podcast episodes or guest speakers, please contact Chris or Helen on LinkedIn!