Abstract
Career development is a multifaceted, life-stage-dependant and discipline-specific process that is difference for every decision maker. During their time at university, students are building upon their career choice through discipline-specific activities yet many still find the transition into the workforce problematic, particularly for those in the discipline of IT. With the varied nature of the labour market in Australia, it is more important than ever before for universities to assist students in their career development through various opportunities for career education. With this in mind, this research asked: What career development model, and curriculum recommendations, can support IT students to be better prepared for life after university to achieve their graduate outcomes? To answer this, this research will present how career education has been implemented in undergraduate IT education at Deakin University in Australia. In addition, this paper demonstrates how a career development model together with appropriate curriculum resources can assist in addressing students’ career needs, specifically for the IT context. The model will help educators’ better support students to build their career interest and navigate the changing labour market.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Data availability
Can be provided upon request.
References
Australian Government. (2016). Australian labour market update. Department of Employment. Retrieved 19th February from https://docs.employment.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/almu_january_2016.pdf
Australian Government. (2019). Industry 4.0. Australian Government. Retrieved 24th June from https://www.industry.gov.au/funding-and-incentives/manufacturing/industry-40
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Bennett, D. (2019). Developing Employability Educator Site. Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 20th of February from https://developingemployability.edu.au/
Bennett, D., Richardson, S., & MacKinnon, P. (2016). Enacting strategies for graduate employability: How universities can best support students to develop generic skills: Part A. Retrieved 13th February from http://www.olt.gov.au/project-how-universities-can-best-support-students-develop-generic-skills-enacting-strategies-gradua
Betz, N., & Luzzo, D. (1996). Career assessment and the career decision-making self-efficacy scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4(4), 413–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/106907279600400405
Carbone, A., Hamilton, M., & Jollands, M. (2015). Moving towards the future of teaching pedagogies and learning paradigms: Understanding the 21st century employability challenges in the ICT industry 9th International Conference on Researching Work and Learning RCL2015, Singapore. https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:35469
Crites, J. (1973). Career Maturity. NOME Measurement in Education, 4(2). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED077976
Dacre Pool, L., & Sewell, P. (2007). The key to employability: Developing a practical model of graduate employability. Education + Training, 49(4), 277 - 289. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910710754435
Deakin University. (2010). Improving Graduate Employability: Embedding Career Planning and Development in the Curriculum.
Deakin University. (2018). DeakinTALENT - Graduate Employment Division. Deakin University. Retrieved 23rd January from http://deakintalent.deakin.edu.au/
Deloitte. (2017). Soft skills for business success. https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/soft-skills-business-success.html
Deloitte. (2018). Australia's Digital Pulse: Driving Australia's international ICT competitiveness and digital growth. Australian Computer Society. Retrieved 23rd August from https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/aadp2018.pdf
Deloitte. (2020). Australia's Digital Pulse: Unlocking the potential of Australia's Technology workers. Australian Computer Society. Retrieved 26th of February from https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/australias-digital-pulse.html
Farmer, H. S. (1985). Model of Career and Achievement Motivation for Women and Men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32(3), 363–390
FYA. (2021). The New Work Standard. Retrieved 26th of February from https://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FYA-New-Work-Standard.pdf
Gianakos, I. (1999). Patterns of Career Choice and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(2), 244–258. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1998.1668
Greenhaus, J. H., Callanan, G. A., & DiRenzo, M. (2008). A boundary-less perspective on careers. In C. L. C. Julian Barling (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Behavior: Volume One: Micro Approaches. SAGE.
Hackett, G., & Betz, N. E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18(3), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(81)90019-1
Hall, D. (2002). Career In and Out of Organisations. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Higher Education Academy. (2015). Framework for embedding employability in higher education. Higher Education Academy. https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/framework-embedding-employability-higher-education
Holland, J. (1985). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments. Prentice-Hall.
Holland, J. (1996). Exploring careers with a typology. American Psychologist, 51, 397–406
Islam, T., Ahmed, I., Khalifah, Z., Sadiq, M., & Faheem, M. A. (2015). Graduates’ expectation gap: the role of employers and Higher Learning Institutes. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 7(2), 372–384. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-05-2014-0056
Jackson, D. (2015). Career choice status among undergraduates and the influence of work-integrated learning. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24(1), 3–14
Jackson, D., & Collings, D. (2018). The influence of Work-Integrated Learning and paid work during studies on graduate employment and underemployment. Higher Education, 76, 403–425. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0216-z
Jackson, D., & Edgar, S. (2019). Encouraging students to draw on work experiences when articulating achievements and capabilities to enhance employability. Australian Journal of Career Development, 28, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416218790571
Janz, B. D., & Nichols, E. L. (2010). Meeting the demand for IT employees: Can career choice be managed? SIGMIS-CPR’10, May 20–22, Vancouver, BC, Canada. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1796913
Jollands, M. (2015). A framework for graduate employability adapted for discipline differences HERDSA Research and Development in Higher Education: Learning for Life and Work in a Complex World Vol. 38, Melbourne, Australia. http://asnevents.s3.amazonaws.com/Abstrakt-FullPaper/22594-Jollands_22594_final.pdf
Jollands, M., Clarke, B., Grando, D., Hamilton, M., Smith, J., Xenos, S., Carbone, A., & Burton, L. (2014). Developing graduate employability through partnerships with industry and professional associations Joint Australian Association for Research Education and New Zealand Association for Research in Education Conference, Brisbane, Australia. http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php/8982/developing-graduate-employability-through-partnerships-with-industry-and-professional-associations
Joshi, K. D., Kvasny, L., McPherson, S., Trauth, E., Kulturel-Konak, S., & Mahar, J. (2010). Choosing IT as a Career: Exploring the Role of Self-efficacy and Perceived Importance of IT Skills International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), St Louis, USA. http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2010_submissions/154
Knight, P., & Yorke, M. (2003). Chapter 1: Higher Education and Employability. McGraw-Hill International.
Koppi, T., Edwards, S., Sheard, J., Naghdy, F., & Brookes, W. (2010, January 18 - 22). The case for ICT work-integrated learning from graduates in the workplace 12th Australasia Computing Education Conference ACE 2010, Brisbane Australia. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1862235
Ferry K. (2018). The Global Talent Crunch: Sector Perspective. Korn Ferry Management Consulting. Retrieved 24th June from https://futureofwork.kornferry.com/sector-perspective/
Law, B., & Gordan, A. (1977). Schools, careers, and community : a study of some approaches to careers education in schools.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Towards a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest choice and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79–122. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027
Lent, R. W., Ireland, G. W., Penn, L. T., Morris, T. R., & Sappington, R. (2017). Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.01.002
Lent, R. W., Jr., Lopez, A. M., Lopez, F. G., & Sheu, H. B. (2008). Social cognitive career theory and the prediction of interests and choice goals in the computing disciplines. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(1), 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.01.002.
Letts, W. (2019). University Employability Agendas, Targets and Strategies. In W. L. Joy Higgs, and Geoffrey Crisp (Ed.), Education for Employability: Learning for Future Possibilities (Vol. 2, pp. 21–36). Brill. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/deakin/detail.action?docID=5884245
LinkedIn. (2020). 2020 Emerging Jobs Report. Linkedin. Retrieved 28th of February from https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/talent-solutions/emerging-jobs-report/Emerging_Jobs_Report_U.S._FINAL.pdf
Lucas, W. A., Cooper, S. Y., Ward, T., & Cave, F. (2009). Industry placement, authentic experience and the development of venturing and technology self-efficacy. Technovation, 29(11), 738–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2009.06.002
Maddux, J. E., Sherer, M., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). Self-efficacy expectancy and outcome expectancy: Their relationship and their effects on behavioral intentions [journal article]. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6(2), 207–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01183893
Marbach, G., Hunt, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2019). Exploring the Values Undergraduate Students Attribute to Cross-disciplinary Skills Needed for the Workplace: an Analysis of Five STEM Disciplines. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28, 452–469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-019-09778-8
MCEECDYA. (2010). Using the Australian Blueprint for Career Development with Adults (Ministerial Council for Education Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, Issue. https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/australian_blueprint_for_career_development.pdf
McIlveen, P., Brooks, S., Lichtenberg, A., Smith, M., Torjul, P., & Tyler, J. (2011). Career development learning frameworks for work-integrated learning. In S. Billett & A. Henderson (Eds.), Developing learning professionals: Integrating experiences in university and practice settings. (pp. 149–165). Springer.
McKenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Palmer, S. (2015). Developing career aspirations of Information Technology students at Deakin University Research and Development in Higher Education: Learning for Life and Work in a Complex World, Melbourne, Australia 6 - 9 July 2015. http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A69153
McKenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Palmer, S. (2017a). Career aspirations and skills expectations of undergraduate IT students: Are they realistic? Research and Development in Higher Education: Curriculum Transformation, Sydney, Australia, 28 - 30 June 2017
McKenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Palmer, S. (2017b). Informing the career development of IT students by understanding their career aspirations and skill development action plans. Australian Journal of Career Development, 26(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416217697972
McKenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Palmer, S. (2018). Understanding the career development and employability of Information Technology students. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 10(4), 456–468. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2018-0033
McKenzie, S., Palmer, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Coleman, K. (2014). Understanding Career Aspirations of Information Technology Students at Deakin University IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment and Learning in Engineering 8 - 10 December 2014, Wellington, New Zealand.
McKeown, T., & Lindorff, M. (2011). The graduate job search process – a lesson in persistence rather than good career management? Education + Training, 53(4), 310–320. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911111138479
Nadelson, L. S., McGuire, S. P., Davis, K. A., Farid, A., Hardy, K. K., Hsu, Y. C., et al. (2015). Am I a STEM professional? Documenting STEM student professional identity development. Studies in Higher Education, 30, 701–720. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1070819.
Nagarajan, S., & Edwards, J. (2008). Towards Understanding the Non-technical Work Experiences of Recent Australian Information Technology Graduates Proceedings of the Tenth Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE2008), Wollongong, Australia.
Nghia, T. L. H., Pham, T., Tomlinson, M., Medica, K., & Thompson, C. (2020). Developing and Utilizing Employability Capitals: Graduates’ Strategies across Labour Markets. Taylor & Francis. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=szPNDwAAQBAJ
Palmer, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J., & Campbell, M. (2018). Occupational outcomes for Australian computing/information technology bachelor graduates and implications for the IT bachelor curriculum. Computer Science Education, 28(3), 280–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2018.1541385
Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation. Houghton Mifflin.
Patton, W. (2005). Coming of Age? A review of career guidance policy and practice in Australia. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 5(2), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-005-8801-6
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2006). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice. Sense Publishers.
Pordelan, N., Hosseinian, S., & Baei Lashaki, A. (2021). Digital storytelling: a tool for life design career intervention. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10403-0
Pordelan, N., Sadeghi, A., Abedi, M. R., & Kaedi, M. (2020). Promoting student career decision-making self-efficacy: An online intervention. Education and Information Technologies, 25(2), 985–996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-10003-7
Qenani, E., MacDougall, N., & Sexton, C. (2014). An empirical study of self-perceived employability: Improving the prospects for student employment success in an uncertain environment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787414544875
QILT. (2018). 2017 Graduate Outcomes Survey National Report. Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 27th August from https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/gos-reports/2017/2017_gos_national_report_final_accessiblea45d8791b1e86477b58fff00006709da.pdf?sfvrsn=ceb5e33c_4
QILT. (2020). 2020 Graduate Outcomes Survey: Short-term graduate outcomes in Australia. Australian Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 28th February from https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/gos-reports/2020-gos/2020-gos-national-report.pdf?sfvrsn=be0bec3c_2
Samarasekera, I. (2012). How Can Higher Education Reconcile Its Different Missions and Roles? Conference on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) 17–19 September, Paris.
Scott, A. B., & Ciani, K. D. (2008). Effects of an Undergraduate Career Class on Men's and Women's Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Vocational Identity. Journal of Career Development, 24(263). https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845307311248
Scott, F. J., Connell, P., Thomson, L. A., Willison D. (2017). Empowering students by enhancing their employability skills. Journal of Further and Higher Education 1–16 https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1394989
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., Fotheringham, J. (2017). Towards graduate employment: exploring student identity through a university-wide employability project. Journal of Further and Higher Education 1–13 https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1390077
Smith, S. M. (2002). The role of social cognitive career theory in information technology based academic performance. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, 20(2), 1–10
Suleman, F. (2018). The employability skills of higher education graduates: insights into conceptual frameworks and methodological options [journal article]. Higher Education, 76(2), 263–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0207-0
Super, D. E. (1980). A life-span, life-space approach to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 16(3), 282–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(80)90056-1
Tomlinson, M., & Jackson, D. (2019). Professional identity formation in contemporary higher education students. Studies in Higher Education(Sept 2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1659763
Tonkin, C. (2019). The tech talent shortage is real: Businesses want a very particular set of skills. ACS. Retrieved 2nd November from https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2019/the-tech-talent-shortage-is-real.html?r
U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. (2021). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computing and Information Technology. United States Department of Labour. Retrieved 22nd of April from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm
van der Heijde, C. M. (2014). Employability and self-regulation in contemporary careers. Psycho-social Career Meta-capabilities, 2014(Dynamics of contemporary career development), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00645-1_1
Watts, A. G. (2005). Career Guidance Policy: An International Review. The Career Development Quarterly, 1(September 2005), 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2005.tb00142.x
Watts, A. G. (2006). Career development learning and employability. The Higher Education Academy.
Xu, Y. J. (2013). Career Outcomes of STEM and Non-STEM College Graduates: Persistence in Majored-Field and Influential Factors in Career Choices [journal article]. Research in Higher Education, 54(3), 349–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-012-9275-2
Yorke, M. (2004). Employability in higher education: what it is – what it is not (Learning & Employability: Series One, Issue. http://www.employability.ed.ac.uk/documents/Staff/HEA-Employability_in_HE(Is,IsNot).pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
Deakin University Human Ethics Approval Code: STEC-10–2017-Deakin University.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McKenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J. & Palmer, S. Integrating career development into an undergraduate IT curriculum at an Australian University. Educ Inf Technol 26, 5971–5990 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10567-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10567-3