BUSM1048 Professional Careers and Employability Study Notes

Subject Code and Title: BUSM1048 Professional Careers and Employability.
Institution: Western Sydney University (WSU), School of Business.
Accreditation: AACSB Accredited.
Academic Team Members:
- Associate Professor Jayne Bye (Subject Coordinator).
- Dr. Reyaz Jeffrey.
- Tim Dein.
- Kelly Whitney.
- Greg Barker.
- Charmaine Marlow.

Primary Goals:
- Introduction to Professional Careers and Employability.
- Exploring the reasoning behind the focus on careers and employability.
- Providing an overview of the subject design and assessment structure.
- Detailing the design of the curriculum.
- Outlining exactly how students will learn in this subject.
- Focusing on assessment requirements.
- Preparation for Week 2.
Key Questions for the Week:
- Why are we here?
- Why careers and employability?
- Why now?

The 'Noise' Surrounding Graduate Jobs:
- Competition: Described as "brutal" in current media.
- Unpreparedness: Statistics suggest almost one in five ( $20\%$ ) young jobseekers feel unprepared for life after graduation.
- Employer Behavior: Reports of applicants being "ghosted" and entry-level roles vanishing from the Australian job market.
- Labour Market Strength: Despite challenges, labour market conditions in Australia have strengthened substantially over the past year. The unemployment rate has fallen to levels not seen in close to $50$ years.
- Key Cohorts: Young people, women, and the long-term unemployed have experienced robust conditions and improved outcomes, though the Government's Jobs and Skills Summit emphasized that more work is needed for full participation.
Growth in Jobs by Occupation Group (Numerical Data):
- Professionals: $14.7\%$
- Community and Personal Services: $13.5\%$
- Managers: $9.2\%$
- Labourers: $6.9\%$
- Technicians and Trades: $6.1\%$
- Machinery Operators and Drivers: $4.7\%$
The Role of Artificial Intelligence: There is significant focus on understanding the impact of AI on the workplace and what it means for the "artificial future."
Sources of Advice: Students often turn to social media for career advice, such as Instagram (e.g., @workhap with advice to "double down on your talents") or celebrity figures like Reese Witherspoon.

Preparation Timeline: Preparation to ensure graduates are "job-ready" begins as soon as students enroll.
Institutional Support: Staff assist students in navigating subject choices and learning opportunities to prime them for immediate employment upon graduation.
Strategic Philosophy: Employability isn't a conversation reserved for the end of a degree; it is the most important conversation that shapes how students engage with their degree from the very beginning (as noted in the Financial Review, Feb 12, 2026).

Modular Structure:
- Module 1: Understanding Careers and Employability (Weeks 1-3).
- Module 2: Developing skills and capacities for careers and employability (Weeks 4-7).
- Module 3: Getting your plan in place (Weeks 9-13).
The Weekly Learning Cycle:
- 1. Pre-tutorial activities: Reading the overview, watching short videos, and completing set tasks (often follow-up tasks from the prior week).
- 2. Tutorials: These are discussion-based, interactive, experiential, and directly linked to assessments.
- 3. Follow-up: Finishing tutorial work, extension work to deepen understanding (reading/videos), and working on assessments.

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:

Explain the dynamic nature of the graduate labour market.
Identify the skills and capacities that enhance employability and career progression.
Develop reflective practice skills to gain personal insight for professional and career development.
Create a personal employability plan for your graduate career.
Effectively communicate knowledge of graduate employability concepts.

Assessment Item 1: Graduate labour market brief:
- Weight: $25\%$
- Due Date: Friday, March 27th, 11:59 pm.
- Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) Assessed: 1 and 5.
- Threshold/Mandatory: No.
Assessment Item 2: Reflection:
- Weight: $35\%$
- Due Date: Friday, May 22nd, 11:59 pm.
- SLOs Assessed: 2, 3, and 5.
- Threshold/Mandatory: No.
Assessment Item 3: Graduate employability plan and Q&A:
- Weight: $40\%$
- Due Date: Exam period, Weeks 16 and 17 (Times negotiated).
- SLOs Assessed: 2, 3, 4, and 5.
- Mandatory Threshold: Yes.
- Format: Portfolio (completed class activities) + Q&A (face-to-face, interactive oral assessment).
- Length: $1000$ -word equivalent.
- Submission: Planning portfolio submitted via Turnitin.

Supervised Task Requirement: Students must complete at least one supervised task in person to demonstrate individual capability. In BUSM1048, this is the Assessment 3 Q&A.
Performance Calibration: If performance in the supervised Q&A does not match the quality of unsupervised tasks (Assessments 1 and 2), students may be required to meet with the Subject Coordinator to confirm learning outcomes.
Generative AI Use:
- Assessments 1 and 2 are unsupervised, but use of AI is subject to clear instructions.
- Any use of generative AI must be acknowledged according to Library Guides.
- While AI may assist in personal research, the learning demonstrated in the oral Q&A must be the student's own and reflect personal experience.

Group Activity Instructions: Form groups of 3-4 students and introduce yourself (name, major, best/worst experience at Western).
Discussion Points:
- 1. Emotional Projection: How will you feel on graduation day? Project yourself into the near future. What are your specific hopes and what fears might you have?
- 2. Managing the Noise: How do you manage the media noise and differing opinions regarding graduate jobs? What specific information would you like to know?
- 3. Advice Channels: Where do you currently go for career advice?

Weekly Preparation: To prepare for Week 2 (Examining the graduate labour market), students should explore labour market projections for jobs in their specific career interest area.
Recommended Resources:
- Explore Your Career | Your Career website.
- Jobs and Skills Australia website.