Page 16 - insights-autumn-2019
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Career Learning Enables Students as they Enter the
Labour Market
Students should have a mindset that enables them to translate skills acquired at the University into skills
adaptable by the labour market. Career advisers from all over Europe met at the University of Southern
Denmark to learn about how the university has integrated career learning into teaching
For several years career advisers at the University We hope that the university teachers will begin to
of Southern Denmark (SDU) have implemented contact us at some point because they realise that
career learning into teaching. The goal is to make they need us,” she says.
students more career-conscious.
Knowledge about career learning is in demand at Practical approach to career
universities, not only in Denmark but throughout
Europe. Recent unemployment rates show that SDU-
graduates who have focused on their careers during
Therefore, Euroguidance Denmark and the
University of Southern Denmark arranged a study their studies find employment faster than those who
have not.
visit in Odense for 16 career advisers from a wide
range of European universities to exchange “Many students approach us to discuss their study
knowledge and learn about the Danish experiences. plan and career opportunities after graduation,”
says Mar�a Dóra Björnsdóttir, Director of the
Student Counselling and Career Centre at the
University of Iceland.
“However, we know that there is a large group of
students that we are unable to reach who could
benefit from the guidance. SDU has an interesting
solution to this problem by implementing career
learning into the teaching.
Fact box: The study visit on career learning
took place on 14-15 May 2019 at SDU in
Career learning helps students Odense. 16 career advisers from Iceland,
Finland, Sweden, Croatia, Estonia and Latvia
The career advisers from SDU informed about how attended. The Danish Euroguidance Centre
they have changed the role from exclusively giving within the Ministry of Higher Education and
guidance to students to work more as a consultant Research and SDU were responsible for the
event.
for university teachers, so that the responsibility for
career guidance is no longer theirs alone. The Fact box: SDU introduced the Career
university teachers are getting a bigger role in Management Skills course into a few
implementing career learning in the programmes. programmes in 2014. The course has since
become ECTS-based and can now be found in
Career adviser Fanny Elheim from Linnaeus 41 programmes. Several thousand students
University in Sweden says it can be a challenge to have taken it.
get university teachers to see the advantage of
talking about careers during teaching.
Stine Charlotte Hansen
“We arrange workshops in the courses for a number
of programmes, but we are always out selling our Journalist at the University of Southern Denmark
services.
