Graduate Employability Conference 

• Delivering the Future Jobs Roadmap: improving graduate work readiness, adapting to the changing labour market and strengthening university-employer collaboration
• Embedding work-based learning opportunities and practical AI skills throughout the university curriculum
• Addressing regional skills gaps and expanding employment opportunities through graduate schemes and stronger engagement with SMEs

• Using Graduate Outcomes data to identify and close outcome gaps for disadvantaged and disabled students
• Linking access, quality and outcomes across the student lifecycle: what regulators expect from careers and employability services
• Addressing graduate outcomes as a measure for university success

• Embedding work-based learning opportunities throughout the university curriculum
• Aligning courses content and learning outcomes with local skills needs and workforce demands
• The role of Personal Development Plans in tracking progress, building transferable skills and supporting career plans
• Expanding access to internships, work experience and sandwich programmes for undergraduates and postgraduates
• Addressing access barriers created by low-paid and unpaid internships
• Exploring barriers to employment for international, neurodivergent, physically disabled, LGBTQ+ and BAME students
• Strategies for providing students with tailor career guidance and tracking graduate outcomes

• Understanding how AI is reshaping entry-level roles and graduate recruitment
• Embedding AI literacy and practical technology skills across the university curriculum
• Integrating AI training into teaching and assessment: supporting university staff to leverage AI

Hear directly from employers about the key skills and qualities they seek in graduates. Gain insight into the evolving recruitment expectations and discover what makes candidates stand out in today’s competitive labour market.

• Strengthening engagement with local businesses and SMEs to identify emerging skills gaps, address local workforce priorities and establish clear pathways into graduate employment
• Opportunities for collaboration and partnership: networking events, career fairs and workshops
• Providing employers with an overview of students’ work, skills and development
• Sharing best practices and success stories: highlighting effective approaches to university-employer collaboration and improving graduate employment outcomes

• Addressing the barriers SMEs face in recruiting graduates: limited resources, recruitment costs and lack of structured graduate programmes
• Strengthening collaboration between universities and SMEs to connect organisations with graduate talent, address skills shortages and establish pathways into employment
• Aligning regional graduate schemes with local skills priorities across coastal and rural communities
• Supporting SMEs to offer graduate development opportunities such as structured onboarding, mentoring, skills development and career progression
• Identifying workforce needs and shaping graduate employment opportunities through expanded devolution and Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs)

• Strengthening career guidance and employability support throughout the recruitment process: providing support with job applications, interviews, assessment and employer engagement
• Developing effective partnerships with employers to support graduates’ transition from university into the workplace
• Addressing the barriers faced by disadvantaged students and graduates with disabilities during recruitment and early employment
• Tailoring careers service to support graduates’ needs and aspirations: supporting graduate and international students, and providing guidance on securing graduate employment locally or overseas
• Extending careers support: providing students with lifelong access to professional development, upskilling and career guidance

• Boosting employability through combination of learning and practical workplace experience through degree and graduate apprenticeships
• Collaborating with Skills England and navigating the Growth and Skills Levy: implications for funding, employer investment and opportunities for expanding degree and graduate apprenticeships
• Strengthening partnerships between universities and employers to co-design apprenticeships programmes aimed at addressing skills shortages, supporting workforce development and creating clear pathways into skilled employed
• Expanding access to degree and graduate apprenticeships: providing students and graduates an alternative route into employment
• Supporting apprentices through their learning journey and career progression