Abstract

My project examines the potential impact of the Employability Hub, at LCC, influencing social justice within the student and industry engagement. Access to employment opportunities remains the focal point of student intentions, whilst studying and post-graduation, particularly for marginalied groups. Thus, understanding the role of the hub (careers divisions) in promoting equitable outcomes is imperative and possibly the most influential factor of student and industry engagement.

Session and activities

A conversation around my ARP’s primary objectives and outcomes: investigating how the Employability Hub can influence social justice outcomes, within employability provisions. Through deliberate training (my intervention), the results should enhance access to employment resources, address systemic barriers and foster inclusivity within student and industry engagement. Due to inadequate preparation, I experienced racial discrimination when an external speaker engaged students in an employability session. Social inequalities persist in opportunities and resource access, despite efforts to improve EDI. Hence, my research approaches the necessity of investigating methods to safeguard stakeholders and lessen discrepancies in industry relationships, whilst advocating for social equity. Adopting a participatory approach, stakeholders engaged in the evaluation of my intervention, alongside the current protocols with externals. My data collection methods included informal interviews and participant observations, to gather insights on the hub’s impact on social justice indicators. Preliminary findings suggest that the hub can play a vital role in promoting social justice; preparing externals for interactions. The intervention of EDI training prior to engagement provided tailored content, facilitated opportunities and advocated inclusion in practices. Challenges related to the duration of the intervention, resource allocation of the organisation and persist systemic barriers, highlighting requirements for ongoing collaboration and advocacy efforts. Implications include consistency of use and the criteria of externals. . This also intervention has the potential to promote equitable access to employment opportunities and advance social justice and inclusion within the industry.