Graduate Employability Conference 2026

Thursday 18 June 2026
Virtual Conference

The Graduate Employability Conference 2026 will explore how careers leaders and practitioners can design practical, outcome-focused employability strategies that deliver measurable impact in an increasingly resource-constrained environment — improving graduate progression, student success and institutional performance across the student journey.

The Conference will:

  • Explore how to develop employability interventions to drive measurable improvements in graduate outcomes and student progression

  • Provide practical frameworks for embedding employability into curriculum and delivery to reach every student

  • Examine how targeted, data-informed approaches can improve engagement, participation and impact at scale

  • Share applied approaches to preparing students for a more competitive, AI-influenced and less predictable labour market

  • Analyse how employability strategy can support more inclusive outcomes, diverse pathways and long-term career success

Why attend the conference?

Assess how your institution can design interventions that deliver measurable impact on graduate outcomes and student progression

Discover practical approaches for embedding employability across the student journey to reach every student

Develop a roadmap for delivering targeted, scalable employability support that improves engagement, capability and long-term career success

REGISTER NOW

Agenda

09:30 am

Chair’s Welcome Address

09:40 am

What Actually Moves Graduate Outcomes?

  • Where employability efforts are (and aren’t) driving measurable outcomes

  • The moments in the student journey that have disproportionate impact

  • How leading employability teams are refocusing resource to improve progression

AA
AA
AA (invited)

10:10 am

How Do You Evidence Real Employability Impact?

  • Moving from activity reporting to outcome storytelling

  • Using Graduate Outcomes data to influence institutional decisions

  • What credible “impact” looks like in practice

  • Building an evidence base without increasing workload

AA
AA
AA (invited)

10:50 am

Break and Networking

11:05 am

Embedding Employability: What Works in Practice?

  • The gap between ambition and reality in embedded employability

  • Where models break down across faculties and courses

  • How to build sustainable academic partnerships

  • Practical approaches that can scale

AA
AA
AA (invited)

11:45 am

Engaging Hard to Reach Students Practical Strategies

  • Why traditional outreach approaches aren’t working for careers teams

  • Designing employability that meets students where they already are

  • Using data and behaviour to drive targeted interventions

  • Shifting to ‘default’ and built-in participation models

  • What disengaged students are telling us (and what do they want to change)

AA
AA
AA (invited)

12:25 pm

Break and Networking

1:00 pm

AI Overload: Rethinking Applications, Advice and Authenticity

  • How AI is reshaping application quality and employer expectations

  • Where students are losing distinctiveness

  • Coaching for originality and real authenticity

  • What does AI mean for how careers team prepare students for application processes?

AA
AA
AA (invited)

1:50 pm

Break and Networking

2:05 pm

From Skills to Evidence: Helping Students Demonstrate Capability

  • Why students struggle to demonstrate what they can do

  • Designing experiences that generate credible examples

  • Embedding reflection and articulation into delivery

  • Aligning student evidence with what employers actually assess

AA
AA
AA (invited)

2:45 pm

Beyond the Linear Career: Preparing Students for a More Complex Employment Environment

  • Why traditional “graduate pathway” thinking no longer reflects reality

  • How career journeys are becoming more fragmented, flexible and non-linear

  • Supporting students to navigate uncertainty, pivots and multiple entry points

  • Redefining success beyond first destinations and immediate outcomes

AA
AA
AA (invited)

3:25 pm

Doing More with Less (Without Burning Out Your Team)

  • Practical approaches to scaling support without losing effectiveness

  • Where AI and automation can genuinely add value

  • Prioritising high-impact interventions in constrained environments

  • What to stop, start and scale based on real outcomes

AA
AA
AA (invited)

4:05 pm

Conference Close & Key Takeaways

  • The practical shifts that are improving outcomes right now

  • What to start, stop and scale within your employability model

  • How to apply today’s insights within your institution

Audience

This Conference is designed for higher education professionals responsible for shaping employability strategy, delivery and student outcomes. Those in attendance will include:

  • Directors of Careers and Employability

  • Heads of Careers Services

  • Heads of Employability and Skills

  • Graduate Outcomes and Student Success Leads

  • Employability Managers and Careers Consultants

  • Placements, Work-Based Learning and Employer Engagement Managers

Secure Your On Demand Ticket

HE and Public Sector

£195 + VAT

REGISTER NOW

Private Sector

£395 + VAT

REGISTER NOW

HE Team of 3

£526.50 + VAT

CONTACT US

For group discounts and enquiries about your registration please contact us on enquiries@heprofessional.co.uk