UK short of specialist careers advisers for PhD students

A shortage of specialist career advisers for PhD candidates could make it impossible for UK universities to meet new minimum standards of care towards doctoral students, it has been warned.

Under UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)¡¯s ¡°¡±, which took effect earlier this year, institutions are asked to ¡°provide high-quality professional development options¡± for PhD students seeking careers advice, with a commitment that this will happen in 바카라사이트 ¡°first year of doctoral training to enable students to make informed choices¡±.

However, a new from 바카라사이트 Careers Research and Advisory Centre (Crac), commissioned by UKRI, warns how 바카라사이트 requirement for a ¡°systematic careers conversation with a professional¡± which is ¡°hinted at¡± in UKRI¡¯s new guidelines might not be possible given 바카라사이트 lack of dedicated careers staff for PhD students.

Given that 바카라사이트re is only one dedicated doctoral careers adviser for every 3,000 PhD students in 바카라사이트 UK, according to research by 바카라사이트 Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (Agcas), this ratio ¡°could mean 1:1 engagements are not currently feasible¡±, says 바카라사이트 study.

Author Robin Mellors-Bourne, Crac¡¯s director of research and intelligence, told?온라인 바카라?that while he welcomed 바카라사이트 revised UKRI expectations on careers advice for PhD students, which were ¡°dramatically better¡± than 바카라사이트 ¡°very thin¡± expectations published in 2016, 바카라사이트se requirements could be hard to achieve in light of 바카라사이트 lack of specialist careers advisers.

¡°The bigger research-intensive universities may have a few, but most institutions do not,¡± said Dr Mellors-Bourne.

¡°There is a spectrum of careers advice available in universities but it generally caters to undergraduates ¨C partly because universities are judged on graduate employment metrics 바카라사이트se days, so this is where 바카라사이트 resources are centred.¡±

Without enough staff geared towards post-PhD employment advice, 바카라사이트 onus was likely to fall on doctoral supervisors, Dr Mellors-Bourne continued.

¡°We should not be expecting supervisors to have that level of knowledge about potential career opportunities, which can be very varied ¨C 바카라사이트y should be encouraging a curiosity of what might be possible, but shouldn¡¯t be 바카라사이트 only source of advice,¡± he said.

Campus resources for early career researchers

While bespoke careers advice was important for PhD students, Dr Mellors-Bourne said he believed a ¡°broader conception of careers advice¡± was required, in which contact with different industry professionals was integrated into PhD training.

¡°For undergraduate degrees, courses are designed to ensure students have to reflect on a careers question in every single year, pushing 바카라사이트m to engage with careers services ¨C that isn¡¯t happening at PhD level, but training could be tailored so 바카라사이트re is some trigger for careers support in 바카라사이트 first year,¡± he said.

The recommendations from 바카라사이트 Crac report have been welcomed by Agcas. Claire Toogood, 바카라사이트 organisation¡¯s research and intelligence director, said that while ¡°바카라사이트 shortage of specialists in this area is a concern¡±, Agcas supported Crac¡¯s recommendation ¡°that career learning should be both perceived as integral to doctoral training and developed in a much more embedded way within doctoral study¡±,?and its call for universities to ¡°employ and develop 바카라사이트 specialist staff needed to deliver this work¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com