The module will include support sessions developing academic and digital skills such as academic writing, referencing, and avoiding academic misconduct (including the use of AI), as well as understanding and starting their personal development and career planning. The module will give students the opportunity to carry out a self-assessment of current and future personal skills, attend a provided series of workshops on developing academic skills and guide and mentor them through the process of initialising early career plans which connects their studies with future vocations.

The Future directions assessment has 3 parts that focus on employability–

Part 1: Students will be required to complete a skills analysis in order to identify their current opportunities, interests and potential barriers. From this skills analysis students will identify their strengths and skills, their interests and any potential barriers to skill development they feel may exist.
Part 2: Students will identify 3 possible future career directions
Part 3: From the skills analysis (from part 1) and based on the possible future career directions (from part 2) students will produce an action plan. As part of the action plan students will identify opportunities (e.g. volunteering or a relevant short course) that will help them proceed in one of the identified career directions.

Formative assessment will be included in the module. Students will be asked to carry out a series of tasks that relate to analysing their skill set and researching career plans and personal development opportunities.

Sessions will include lectures, seminars, drop-in support sessions and academic mentor meetings. Students will be assigned an academic mentor at the beginning of the academic year and students will receive academic mentoring in line with the academic mentoring policy. Academic mentors will help students develop action plans to help improve assessments and identify life/career plans. There will also be self-directed and guided independent study needed to fully engage with the content and prepare for the assessment.

1. Identify and reflect on three possible future career directions.

Reflection

2. Recognise your academic and personal skills and identify corresponding personal development opportunities (e.g., volunteering, short courses, skill development plans etc) based on career plans.

Personal Development & Entrepreneurship

Students will be given a copy of the ‘HEA Psychology Network Employability Guide for Psychology’ which will support their PDP and career planning (Lantz, C. (2011). Psychology Student Employability Guide. The Higher Education Academy Psychology Network) BPS Careers webpages https://careers.bps.org.uk/

Cottrell, S. (2021). Skills for Success: Personal development and employability (4th Edition). Red Globe Press.
An essential guide that helps students design a personal development programme and build the skills employers value. It takes a step-by-step approach from setting goals and defining success to applying for a dream job.

Legget, R., Waldeck, D. and Burrell, A. (2021). How to make the most of your psychology degree: Study skills, employability and professional development. The Open University Press.
A supportive guide that helps psychology students make the most of their degrees by understanding expectations, setting goals, and developing the right mindset. Drawing on tutors’ experience, it encourages students to take ownership of their studies and career development while exploring the wide range of career paths available to them.

Freeman, F. & Stone, A. (2006). Study Skills for Psychology: Succeeding in Your Degree. UK, Sage.
A practical, accessible guide that introduces the nature of the degree and offers advice for getting organised in the early weeks. It helps develop effective study skills for lectures, exams, and projects and encourages exploration of future career options so they can successfully manage their studies and make the most of their degree.

Kaplan, R. (2012). How to use your degree to secure a job: Kaplan’s guide to core skills and employability. Kaplan Publishing UK.
Identifies the core skills that employers across a wide range of sectors consider essential for employability. Through a variety of practical tools, it enables reflection on existing experience, supports learning from that experience, and helps to build confidence.

This module will be the start of your PDP and career planning process and you will track your development as you proceed through your degree. On this module you will learn and reflect on your academic and digital skill development and the module will act as one of the main academic mentoring support mechanisms at Level 4. Personal development sessions will help you to connect your studies with future vocations, as you will assess your current skills and identify skills for further development based on your identified career plans. Your skills analysis will then be used to enable you to plan future careers pathways that fit your skills set and interests and from this you will explore opportunities that will help you proceed in one of your identified career directions.