Do we listen to our students when it comes to employability? An investigation of working early childhood undergraduate students' needs regarding their employability skills

Current research mainly focuses on employers’ perspectives, leaving aside students’ voice. This case study seeks to give a voice to working undergraduate students in early years education about the support they need in developing employability skills for the recruitment process. The sample consisted of 21 Level 6 undergraduate students in early childhood degrees in a university in London, who were working in the sector. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that students valued communication and teamwork as important employability skills and that they had plenty of opportunities to work on such skills through their studies. However, they identified exclusion as a discipline that affected their self-esteem and confidence in participation. Findings showed that students would value arts education in their curriculum so they could have skills to work effectively in the sector.