Career development and employability

What you will study

This module gives you the opportunity to achieve 30 credits towards your higher education qualification goal using work-related activities as a basis for your studies. You will achieve this by working through resources, activities and assignments with support from your tutor, your work colleagues and your fellow students. There are four study blocks in the module covering learning at work; critical thinking and reflective practice; carrying out research in the workplace; personal, academic and career development planning; and understanding the workplace context and your role within it.

You will learn

This module aims to help you:

• develop your ability to learn from the workplace through reflective practice
• apply your skills, understanding and knowledge within the workplace
• develop your understanding of your work context and your role within it
• gain the skills necessary to carry out research at work
• understand the concept of professionalism and enable you to map your existing skills and knowledge against relevant occupational standards
• evaluate, plan and develop your personal, academic, professional and employability skills and align your own development needs with the business objectives of your organisation.

Vocational relevance

This module allows you to develop, practise and enhance a range of skills, knowledge and understanding that are directly relevant to your work.

Entry

This is a key introductory OU level 1 module. OU level 1 modules provide core subject knowledge and study skills needed for both higher education and distance learning, to help you progress to modules at level 2.

You are responsible for obtaining permission to use your workplace as a basis for your studies prior to registering for this module.

In order to successfully complete the module you must:

• be engaged in suitable full-time or part-time employment – either paid or voluntary
• have permission to carry out work-based learning tasks in your work setting
• confirm that the work you submit is based on your practice in that setting
• have regular access to a computer connected to the internet.

Further detailed information will be sent to you once you have registered for the module.

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.

Study materials

What's included

You will receive a copy of the module reader, The Manager's Good Study Guide. Additional resources and support will be made available from the module website, online forums, The Open University library and selected external websites and journal papers.

Computing requirements

• Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer with at least 8 GB of RAM and a quad-core processor (2.4 GHz minimum speed). It's possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device.
• Peripheral device – Headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone for online tutorials.
• Operating systems – Windows 11 or the latest supported macOS.
• Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.
• Browser – Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are recommended; Mozilla Firefox and Safari may be suitable.
• Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS.
• Software – Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You'll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.

They'll help by:

• marking your assignments and offering detailed feedback to help you improve
• providing individual guidance, whether that's for general study skills or specific module content
• guiding you to additional learning resources
• facilitating online discussions between your fellow students in the dedicated module and tutor group forums.

Online tutorials run throughout the module. Where possible, we'll make recordings available. While they're not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate.

Assessment

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box.

If you have a disability

The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone. The Accessibility Statement below outlines what studying this module involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.