Communities of Practice are defined as a group of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and want to learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

We are keen to support members to come together to share, discuss and support each other in relation to practice areas of mutual interest. We see Communities of Practice (CoP) as an ideal mechanism to facilitate member engagement around shared challenges, problems, innovations and ideas.

CoPs are completely autonomous and flexible in terms of topics worked on, time commitment and the process of engagement.

Currently, the following CoPs are in operation. All members are welcome to join any CoP, please contact the relevant person directly.

• Employer Engagement – Contact Maire Buckley – maire.buckley@mu.ie
• LinkedIn Learning – Contact Deborah Seddon or Adette Ring – Deborah.Seddon@atu.ie / adette.ring@atu.ie
• Psychometric Assessment – Contact Deirdre Parker or Michael McDonnell – d.parker@ucc.ie/ michael.mcdonnell@ucd.ie
• Healthcare – Contact Niamh Mullen – niamhmullen@rcsi.ie
• Work Placement – Contact Marie Laffey or Oonagh Sweeney – marie.laffey@universityofgalway.ie / oonagh.sweeney@ucd.ie

Points of contact:

Deirdre Parker – d.parker@ucc.ie

Michael McDonnell – michael.mcdonnell@ucd.ie

More updates to follow.

New members are always welcome!

Points of contact:

Deborah Seddon Deborah.Seddon@atu.ie

Adette Ring adette.ring@atu.ie

About LinkedIn Learning CoP:

Its purpose is to support one another to develop proficiency and confidence with ‘Admin Functionality, curate/share careers resources, learning Paths and collections.

Latest updates:

Next meeting:

19^th September 2023 – to review material uploaded to sharepoint on themes covered to date ‘CV’, ‘Interview Skills’ & ‘Maximising LinkedIn accounts’.

Click here to join the meeting

FYI – Previous meetings:

• 2/05/23

Focus – CV

• 15/12/22

Focus – Interview Preparation

• 12/05/22

1. Sabia Teladia Customer Service Manager & Alan Holohan, Account Director LinkedIn: User & Business Summaries.
2. Deborah Seddon ATU Sligo: Are you LinkedIn Event Summary

Playback here.

• 25/4/22

RAG (Red|Amber|Green analysis) regarding:

• Admin Functionality
• Creating Learning Paths
• Curating Material
• Creating Collections

• 13/4/22

Updated ‘Early Careers’ content mapping from LiL: here.

• 5/5/21

Launch – LiL ‘Career’ mapping.

New members are always welcome!

Points of contact:

Niamh Mullen – niamhmullen@rcsi.ie

Latest updates:

The topic for the last meeting was Managing expectations.

Other themes identified for next meetings include:

• Working abroad
• Diversity and inclusion in Healthcare employment
• Engagement strategies
• Sessions delivered to allied healthcare
• Sharing practice/collaboration potential

New members are always welcome!

Points of contact:

Marie Laffey – marie.laffey@universityofgalway.ie

Oonagh Sweeney – oonagh.sweeney@ucd.ie

Latest updates:

The next session which will focus on Supporting International Students. More details to follow.

New members are always welcome!

Overall Goals of the Employer Engagement Community of Practice

The AHECS (Association of Higher Education Careers Services) Employer Engagement Community of Practice serves a dual purpose: fostering peer-to-peer networking among career guidance professionals while also facilitating opportunities to learn from employers in a wide variety of sectors.

This Community of Practice aims to:

• Facilitate collaboration and networking among careers and employability professionals in Higher Education.
• Enhance communication and knowledge sharing among community of practice members through regular meetings to facilitate the exchange of ideas, challenges, and solutions in Employer Engagement in Higher Education.
• Share best practices, innovative strategies and resources related to employer engagement in Irish Universities including strategies for managing employer partnerships, facilitating work-based learning experiences, and promoting career readiness skills.
• Act as a key point of contact and resource for employers who want to connect with Careers and Employability Professionals in Higher Education and share valuable insights, best practices, and industry-specific knowledge.

New members are always welcome!