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Framework for Embedding Employability in Higher Education

Employability, in the higher education (HE) context, is about ensuring that students have the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to be successful in their future, whether that be within employment, enterprise creation, further study or beyond. 

The framework aims to engage and support a broad spectrum of stakeholders involved in fostering employability, including those responsible for developing and implementing policies, designing curricula, providing student support, and enhancing learning and teaching practices. It serves as a guiding tool to integrate employability principles seamlessly into the overall higher education ecosystem, ensuring that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to thrive in the ever-evolving world.

The framework is part of the Essential Frameworks for Enhancing Student Success series.

Request the framework
Framework for Embedding Employability in Higher Education front cover
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Has your institution identified embedding employability as a priority? 

Our expertise and globally recognised standards and frameworks help higher education organisations transform teaching by developing and recognising teaching excellence. We work with you – understanding your context – to embed employability by sharing insight and evidenced-based practice to deliver student success. 

Find out more
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Upcoming events 

New to Teaching

Six-week online course starting 6 October 2025
Book now

Enhancing Programme Leadership

Starts 9 October 2025
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Educational Excellence Symposium 2025

8 December 2025, Virtual
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Employability Symposium 2026

10 March 2026, Virtual
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Inclusive Pedagogy Symposium 2026

19 May 2026, Virtual
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Teaching and Learning Conference 2026

30 June - 2 July 2026, TBC
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Project Success Stories

HEFCW – Employability in the Curriculum

Advance HE surveyed more than 3,000 students and 575 staff at Welsh universities in November 2021 about how their courses had helped students to develop workplace-related skills and prepare for their future careers.

Employability in the Curriculum questioned undergraduate and postgraduate students about the ways in which their degree programmes had included aspects that directly tackled their career prospects, such as leadership and communication skills development, paid work opportunities and application preparation. The study was particularly interested in students’ awareness of how their courses developed their employability.
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Employability strategy and Teaching and Learning enhancement lead to awards and recognition at Abu Dhabi University

To enable the employability pillar of its 2017-2022 strategy, ADU partnered with Advance HE in 2017 to implement its employability strategy. The vision was to develop a culture of learning and teaching excellence in its faculty as the catalyst for improving student outcomes and experience. The approach adopted was a ‘whole-university’ approach to embedding employability into every aspect of the student experience from the lecture theatre to extracurricular activity.
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Meet the project lead

Stuart Norton, PFHEA

Head of Educational Excellence
,
Advance HE
Stuart Norton
Stuart has over 20 years’ experience within higher education with extensive experience in designing and developing strategic, institutional-wide change. In his role as Head of Educational Excellence at Advance HE, he focuses on both thought leadership and providing evidence-based solutions to support institutions, educators and students.
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Request the Framework for Embedding Employability in Higher Education

Complete the form below to receive your copy of the framework, along with some other useful links to support you to embed employability into your practice, courses and strategies.


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