International Pathways Students: professional networking for career readiness

We have a wealth of opportunities on offer on our Pathways programmes through our Career Focus initiative, to help students gain employability skills during their time in our colleges. Given the importance of students gaining transferrable skills during further and higher education in readiness for their next step to get a job with the employers of tomorrow, at Kaplan International Pathways, we strongly encourage students to engage with professional networks in their pre-university courses.  

Our students are in a particularly betwixt-and-between state, something that researchers call liminality (as posited by Van Gennep and Victor Turner in the 1960s). International Pathways students are there between their home countries and the UK, between school and higher education and between the Pathways college and their chosen university. Joining a network can help students build valuable connections, form friendships and make contacts. Given they are particularly far from home and in unfamiliar surroundings, this might offer stability and a new sense of belonging. 

Pathways students can be particularly focused on simply gaining their qualifications. Some aim for this at the exclusion of anything else. This is completely understandable as it’s their Kaplan Pathways Award, achieved at the required level, which means they can progress to their chosen university and degree course. However, as presented by the World Economic Forum in 2020, we know employers are looking for much more, in addition to academic qualifications. The workplace of the future is expected to require so-called ‘hard skills’ including project management, digital literacy and coding, along with more human and communication skills such as active learning and social influence.  Students need to be helped to understand that the achievement of academic goals, alone, is short-sighted.   

How it works is students are introduced to relevant networks in college and can look at materials on the VLE to get a feel for what is on offer. Former students have provided some useful video testimonials and stories about their own experiences; we all know students love to hear from other people like them. One college introduced Networking Awards to reward students for their efforts in this area, to recognise they rose to the challenge of putting themselves out there. Meanwhile, a national coordinator developed relationships with the networks. The number grew from 12 organisations in 2019-20 to 18 in 2021-22 with something on offer for all students. Choices range from the generic, for example, the Association for Project Management or to others that are more discipline-specific like the Institute of Biomedical Science. 

College coordinators make sure students receive appropriate guidance on recommended networks. Tutors use academic subject focus and contact time with students to further promote the relevance and benefits of joining, referencing appropriate materials in formal learning opportunities.   

In 2019-20, one in four students registered with a professional network. Evidence submitted indicates networks have been used to find volunteering and paid employment opportunities and students have taken advantage of in-person events, webinars and online learning materials. Some students received e-Certificates of Achievement on completion of a Kaplan entrepreneurship module and registered with the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IoEE).   

Students submitting outstanding or particularly strong evidence achieved an additional award for their e-Portfolio, which we call  KapPACK. 

Student soundbites 

On attending a networking event, a former Nottingham Trent International College student commented: 

“I didn’t speak very much but I did learn a lot – I took a lot of notes from the speakers which opened doors for me.”