The Faculty of Arts Employability Skills Initiative at the University of Alberta is raising awareness among professors, students, and employers of the vital role that employability skills play in getting and keeping a job.

The Faculty of Arts recognizes that while the professional schools such as education, nursing, engineering, and law consciously prepare their students for specific occupations, the arts faculty generally does not. While most arts graduates do find rewarding employment in a wide range of fields, they are more likely to take longer to do so because their skills and knowledge are not as widely recognized as those of graduates of the professional faculties. As a result, they are more likely to occupy a series of temporary positions before gaining permanent employment.

The faculty’s initiative aims to heighten students’ awareness that they can acquire employability skills while pursuing specialized fields of study; encourage faculty members to emphasize to students that employability skills are developed alongside subject-specific knowledge; and increase employers’ recognition that arts graduates are equipped with an impressive range of employability skills.

Specific activities have included encouraging departments to communicate to students how individual courses can enhance their employability skills; promoting the sharing of innovative teaching practices; ensuring that students acquire a wide range of computer skills as part of their academic program; and raising the profile of the Career and Placement Services office among arts students by setting up a drop-in career counselling centre specifically for them.