The Employability Challenge…

‘Youth unemployment and underemployment have reached critical levels and are expected to continue to rise in most G20 economies. Yet many employers cannot find enough people with the skills they need to grow their business and enable the economy to recover. This is threatening the global economic recovery and could lead to a “lost generation” of young adults.’ ‘Unfortunately for many young people, education is not providing the skills they need to gain the employment they aspire to. The World Economic Forum report, Global Risks 2014, notes that: “Many current graduates are discovering that despite their academic qualifications – often gained at significant expense –they lack the specific technical and professional skills demanded by the ever-changing jobs market.”’

Source: CGMA Report – Addressing the Employability Crisis, 2016

Addressing the Employability Gap…

Enabling students to achieve their full potential and develop the skills required to thrive in the workplace, means more emphasis needs to be placed in developing ‘employability’ skills. Graduate skills and attributes that are valued by employers:

• Team working
• Problem-solving
• Self-management
• Knowledge of the business
• Literacy and numeracy relevant to the post
• ICT knowledge
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to use own initiative but also to follow instructions
• Leadership skills where necessary

Source – ‘Employers’ perception of the employability skills of new graduates’, Edge Foundation 2011

Possessing these skills is a key factor for recruiters when considering job applicants. This has never been more important than in the current difficult climate

What is CatapultEmployability?

People – CatapultEmployability is a specialist business intelligence tool-set specifically designed to support educators, students and potential recruiters with accurate, objective and current information about the employability attitudes, skills and talents a student possesses., Further, it provides rich data regarding how to bring out the best in the individual along with any risk factors that might need to be addressed and skills that need to be developed.

The approach that we use to help raise self-awareness and employability skills is:

• Objective and ‘ungameable’
• Measurable
• Future-focused
• Communicable
• Accurate and detailed,
• A tool for development and progress

CatapultEmployability is underpinned by Axiometrics® profiling which was developed from the value science work of the Nobel-nominated Dr. Robert S. Hartman. Unlike typical methodologies that claim to highlight strengths and rely on self-reporting, Axiometrics® profiling enables us to identify the internal valuing system (how we think) and the associated thinking patterns that influence our attitudes, decisions and consequent actions; it determines why we do what we do and how we are likely to act in any given situation.

After more than 40 years of development, Axiometrics® scientists have refined Hartman’s mathematical modelling to measure real-life variables with remarkable accuracy and precision.

What does CatapultEmployability do?

Axiometric profiling is widely used to recruit, onboard, coach and develop people in organisations worldwide. It is viewed as complementary to other approaches in human resource management, such as those delivered by psychologists, anthropologists and neuroscientists. It provides accurate, objective feedback on strengths, areas of risk, across the following competencies:

• Managing Others
• Managing Problems
• Managing Activities
• Planning and Organising
• Getting Things Done
• Managing Self

It can also identify:

• Learning Style
• Communication Style
• Leadership Style

How is CatapultEmployability delivered?

CatapultEmployability is based on a simple, 15-minute, online statement-ordering exercise undertaken by designated students. It is non-invasive, ethically robust and demonstrably reliable. The profiling methodology:

• Is based on values, identifies how we make sense of our experiences and, consequently, how we are likely to behave
• Makes no attempt to classify or categorise individuals
• Does not discriminate for age, gender, creed or culture and is validated by the EEOC in the US
• Is able to predict future performance based on current attributes
• Has 6.4 quadrillion different possible outcomes helping each individual understand their uniqueness and develop their competitive advantage
• Is a repeatable profiling service that shows ‘distance travelled’ or the impact of development interventions on thinking and, therefore, potential performance

Outputs from the online assessment are presented in a range of reports and can be used as a foundation for oneto-one feedback, team dynamic workshops, coaching and learning need analysis – all delivered by qualified and experienced Axiometrics® analysts, coaches and facilitators.

What value is added by CatapultEmployability?

CatapultEmployability services help educators and training providers ensure they meet their targets for:

• Destinations of students six months after completing their course (e.g. employment or further study)
• Proportion of students employed in a full-time ‘graduate’ job six months after completing course
• Salary for course six months after graduating
• Salary for that subject across all institutions six months after graduating
• Salary for that subject across all institutions forty months after graduating

And provides feedback to course developers on where and how curriculums can be developed to meet student and employer needs.

CatapultEmployability services provide students with:

• an awareness of the skills they will need to secure and thrive in an organisation
• insight into their strengths and areas of risk
• insight into their preferred learning style and how they can use this information to enhance their development of employability skills
• coaching-style questions to help focus thinking on development of employability skills

“Although one tool amongst several identified, the students have found the Axiometrics process intriguing, frustrating and puzzling as it goes beyond the individual’s self-perception to the core of what is actually happening. It provides a more accurate picture of where they are in their working environment as opposed to where they thought they were. This in turn helps them reflect on their circumstances more fully and provides a stronger foundation for self-development.”

FET Professional and Workforce Development Director, University of the West of England