Effectiveness of placement and non-placement work integrated learning in developing students' perceived sense of employability

Engineering employers continue to report dissatisfaction with the skills of new graduates at the same time as employment outcomes continue to fall. Work experience is generally considered the best way to develop employability, but there are too few work placements to meet demand. Non-placement authentic work integrated learning (WIL) is an alternative but there is very little research to show if learning outcomes are equivalent. This paper compares student outcomes from placement and non-placement authentic WIL. The non-placement WIL module used a real project from a local engineering company, jointly scoped, developed, supervised and assessed by engineers from the company and the author. Students also participated in a series of skill based workshops developed and facilitated by the author. At the start of semester non-placement students rated themselves significantly lower than their peers who had completed a 12 weeks of engineering work experience on a number of employability skills. The students also struggled to engage with the WIL project initially. However attendance, participation, and individual assignment submission rates improved with consistent implementation of classroom conditions that simulated the workplace. After completing the WIL module, the gap between non-placement and placement students had all but disappeared. This paper shows that working closely with an industry partner to jointly design, supervise and assess students undertaking an authentic project is effective in increasing students' confidence in their work readiness, to a level similar to students who had work experience. The survey used to assess student perceptions of work readiness and graduate employability is a useful tool for curriculum development.