I work in the Careers and Employability department as a Graduate Employability Support Specialist. My role means that I interact and support students in their final term and recent graduates up until five years after leaving UAL. The students and graduates are from any college, school and discipline. This means that I am often expected to have knowledge of multiple industries, often switching gears within moments, if I am in one-to-ones or delivering a workshop. As the UAL courses, are so vast, it is not possible to have in-depth knowledge of all the industries graduates and students can pursue. This can at times be quite a vulnerable position to be in, as often there is an expectation that as Employability Specialists, we should have all the answers. So, it is sometimes necessary to reframe and redirect sessions so that students and graduates see that I am there to guide them, as much of my role is to empower students and graduates with the skills, tools and methods for them to navigate and take control of their own careers. As opposed to just regurgitating information I have researched or experienced.
My positionality as a black woman comes with an awareness that I may not be who the students and graduates expect to see when they seek careers advice. This can play out in multiple ways. In the beginning I would feel the need to overcompensate and spoon feed information, in an effort to prove that I was knowledgeable enough, however, this does not serve the students or me. Other times, I find that when I am working with students and graduates who are also ethnic minorities, they are able to be open with me about grievances at work, challenges they have building a network or feeling like they are starting further behind than their peers. I recognise that I am in a unique position to be able to guide them through what they are experiencing and feel privileged to do so.
Stemming from this, I feel it is important to acknowledge that although the graduates and students that do happen to see me and feel comfortable sharing their stories benefit from this experience. This is not the experience for the majority of students and graduates from ethnic minority groups, as they are still underrepresented among the students and graduates that we see. They often do not seek out support from the careers service and what’s more there is ample evidence to show that the patterns evidenced in the awarding gaps, unsurprisingly follow through to graduate outcomes data and similar studies, such as one done by Prospects, the largest U.K. graduate careers website. That found 43% of ethnic minority graduates feel like they are disadvantaged in their jobs (this rose to 51% for black graduates) compared to just 8% of white graduates, (Prospects, 2023).
Another study conducted by the Social Market Foundation, broke down the Graduate Outcomes Data when it comes to earnings by race and found huge disparities.
Figure 1 (Social Market Foundation 2021)
When considering an intervention proposal I had two ideas. The first, was to create a workshop that centred the experience of ethnic minority graduates, as they look to leave formal education and begin their careers. The workshop could highlight the unique problems that graduates from diverse backgrounds may face in the workplace. Offering insights on how they can best prepare themselves for the transition from student to graduate, the importance of understanding and acknowledging their values and finding organisations that share them (where possible), tools they can use to identify a potentially problematic work culture etc. To put together something that is truly meaningful to the cohort I think it would be useful and necessary to try and get input from the target group. Perhaps through a focus group, that gives them an opportunity to voice what they are worried about and or feel that they could benefit from learning.
I think it would also be important to acknowledge the achievements and triumphs of graduates from these backgrounds. Perhaps in the form of a separate panel discussion, featuring alumni from these backgrounds, to tell their own story and give students and recent graduates the opportunity to ask questions and learn from real life scenarios, as opposed to just theory. So that if they were to face similar issues, they could be better prepared.
My second intervention idea is a mentee led micro-mentoring initiative. That is more flexible and less onerous, than conventional mentoring programmes. Traditionally, mentoring programmes need to be applied to, the mentee must prove that they will be fully committed to the programme for the entire duration and then they are paired with a mentor that the programme organisers believe will be of benefit to them. This method is tried and tested, and it works. Indeed, many departments within UAL operate under this model (University of the Arts London 2024).
However, I believe that the expectation of an ongoing commitment and the continuous motivation required as well as continuous capacity, could be excluding those who would benefit from a mentor relationship the most.
The mentee led micro-mentoring initiative I have in mind will be in the form of a guide and will be led by the individual. It will outline to recent graduates and students how to identify and approach many different individuals (hopefully throughout their career) for one-off impactful conversations. There will also be mention of the benefit of seeking out those with shared backgrounds, to help mentees shape their own identity as professionals in their chosen field. (Atkins et al. 2020). This model will give graduates the opportunity to seek out several different mentors without the pressure of maintaining an ongoing relationship or making (outwardly perceived) consistent progress. With the added benefit of expanding their network at a much faster rate.
Moving the focus away from the mentees for a moment. I also believe the above pressures could impact those who choose to be mentors.
The benefits of mentoring have been widely documented. From the mentee perspective improvements in confidence, knowledge and growth can be seen. Interestingly, there have also been studies done that document the benefits to the mentor. An article published by Psychology Today in 2022 highlighted the wide breadth of benefits that are experienced by mentors. From legacy, to further learning, to their own personal growth and even ‘seeing one’s knowledge deployed in creative new ways’. (Heiser, 2022). This list of pros is powerful and impactful.
However, for mentors and mentees who are unable to commit to such a programme, it means that they are both shut out from this experience. Perhaps if the commitment to the mentee takes on a less structured form it could allow for people who never had the capacity to partake before, a new opportunity to do so. If we consider the compounding issues faced by many professionals from an ethnic minority background e.g. discrimination at work, health issues, financial difficulties etc. then this lighter touch approach, could go a great way in making people from these backgrounds, who at any one time could be facing these issues, more able to participate and more able to reap the many benefits of being a mentor (Cultureshift, 2024).
I will seek council from two working groups within Careers and Employability. Firstly, the EDI working group, then the international Futures working group and perhaps outside of Careers and Employability I will look to speak with Creative Shift, who are part of the Exchange.
My peers and tutor both thought that the workshop and panel talk as well as the mentoring initiative were strong ideas that could have a positive impact on students and graduates from diverse backgrounds. However, they thought they could work well together. So rather than deciding what one would be best to carry forward, they proposed that I do them both. I think this is a good idea, as it will allow for a broader scope of the issues these graduates are facing to be addressed at once. I think the intervention will positively impact inclusive teaching and learning as it not only makes ethnic minorities visible, it also makes the unique challenges they face visible too.
I would like to carry both ideas forward in the as part of the final unit. I plan to seek council from two working groups within Careers and Employability. The EDI working group and the International Futures working group. And perhaps outside of C&E I will look to speak with Creative Shift, who are part of the Exchange.
In conclusion I believe my proposed interventions align with UAL’s Social Purpose objective (University of the Arts London 2024). I believe the two intervention ideas combined will create an inclusive offer that will allow ethnic minority students and graduates to be centred. I want it to make makes ethnic minorities feel seen by their Careers Service but to also make the unique challenges they face visible too.
References
Atkins, K., Dougan, B.M., Dromgold-Sermen, M.S. et al. “Looking at Myself in the Future”: how mentoring shapes scientific identity for STEM students from underrepresented groups. IJ STEM Ed 7, 42 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00242-3, viewed 15 July 2024,
Culture Shift 2024, Workplace racism, Culture Shift, viewed 17 July 2024, https://culture-shift.co.uk/workplace-issues/workplace-racism/.
Heisser, D 2022, ‘The 10 benefits of mentoring others’, Psychology Today, viewed 5 July 2024, https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/blog/the-right-side-of-40/202204/the-10-benefits-of-mentoring-others.
Prospects 2024, Ethnic minority graduates five times more likely to feel job disadvantage than white counterparts, Prospects.ac.uk, viewed 17 July 2024, https://www.prospects.ac.uk/prospects-press-office/ethnic-minority-graduates-more-likely-to-feel-job-disadvantage-than-white-counterparts.
Social Market Foundation 2021, Graduate outcomes in London, Social Market Foundation, viewed 15 July 2024, https://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Graduate-outcomes-in-London-March-2021.pdf.
University of the Arts London 2024, Mentoring, University of the Arts London, viewed 17 July 2024, https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-careers/awards-funding-and-support/mentoring.
University of the Arts London 2024, Social purpose implementation plan, University of the Arts London, viewed 17 July 2024, https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/411486/social-purpose-implementation-plan.pdf.