Practera

08/09/2026

What would it take for every student to graduate with meaningful industry experience?

Most universities want to guarantee exactly that. The challenge is that traditional placements, the year-long, single-employer, highly coordinated kind, cannot scale to every student in every cohort. The institutions making progress in this area are not attempting to replicate the same model at a larger scale. Instead, they are developing a more comprehensive system that includes curriculum-embedded employer projects, engaging entire classes rather than focusing on individual students. Diverse employer networks that go well beyond large corporations to include SMEs, charities, start-ups and public sector organisations. Remote and hybrid opportunities that remove geographic and financial barriers. Flexible formats that serve students with caring responsibilities, visa constraints or timetable conflicts. A realistic guarantee is not that every student gets the same placement. It is that every student completes a substantial, supervised, career-relevant work-based experience before graduating, and that the system is designed to make that possible for all of them, not just those with the most flexibility.

Practera works with universities across Australia and the UK to design this kind of layered, scalable approach to work-based learning. More on this below 👇

07/09/2026

AI-driven change increasingly affects graduate employability, but the institutions responding well are not just adding AI modules to their curriculum.

A systematic review of 107 studies published in February 2026 found that automation and AI heighten demand for digital literacy, adaptability and cross-cultural competencies, while global competition complicates workforce entry. Institutions closing that gap align curriculum with industry needs, strengthen industry partnerships, and integrate real-world learning alongside skills development. Practical experience is not an add-on to addressing the AI challenge. For graduates entering an AI-shaped labour market, the ability to apply knowledge in a real environment, working with incomplete information, actual clients and genuine consequences, is what builds the adaptability that employers are looking for. Practera works with Australian universities to deliver exactly that. Have a look below 👇

Source: Graduate Employability in the AI and Globalisation Era, ResearchGate, February 2026 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/401311545_Graduate_employability_in_the_AI_and_globalisation_era_implications_for_higher_education_institutions

04/09/2026

A recent Times Higher Education piece argues that career development should run through the whole student journey. It should not sit as a final year service tacked on before graduation. Students build confidence when careers learning starts at orientation and continues every year. That is the model Practera supports, real projects and mentor contact woven through a degree. It is not saved for the end. If your careers team is rethinking when this work should start, we would welcome the conversation.

Instead of a stand-alone service, career support should be part of a larger academic ecosystem that begins at orientation. Here’s how to implement it

04/09/2026

What does real industry experience actually look like? International business strategy. Sustainability projects with NGOs and renewable energy teams. Investment analysis alongside finance professionals. AI and digital marketing briefs built with real technology experts. Our students work across all of it, with real partners, on real challenges. Real projects, real industry partners, real experience.

03/09/2026

The OECD published a skills-first labour market report in June 2026, and the implications for UK higher education are significant. The question is no longer whether a degree matters. It is whether students can make their skills visible to employers who are increasingly looking past qualifications.

76% of UK employers report difficulty filling vacancies because candidates lack the required skills. The challenge is not only one of shortages, but it is one of visibility. Skills acquired at university, in the workplace and through short-form learning are scattered across transcripts, CVs and certificates, leaving employers piecing together an incomplete picture. Students who complete real industry projects walk away with something concrete to point to. A deliverable, feedback from an actual client and a record of capability that does not need to be inferred. Practera works with UK universities to help students build exactly that. Full article below 👇

Source: Times Higher Education, July 2026. OECD: A Skills First Labour Market, June 2026

Degrees are not disappearing, but employers increasingly want evidence of capability, challenging universities to make graduates' skills more visible

03/09/2026

Access to work-integrated learning in Australia is not equal, and the data is clear about who misses out.

A study drawing on responses from over 151,000 recent Australian graduates found that participation in different types of WIL varies significantly across student backgrounds. Students from equity deserving groups, international students and those with caring or financial constraints are consistently less likely to access the placements that produce the strongest employability outcomes. The implication for institutions is straightforward. Embedding diverse forms of WIL, including virtual and short-form industry projects, is not just a program design choice. It is an equity decision. Practera works with Australian universities to deliver accessible, structured industry experiences that reach the students who need them most. Full article below 👇

Source: Studies in Higher Education, Equity and Inclusion in WIL, Tandfonline https://hubs.li/Q04wsMv90

02/09/2026

LinkedIn's 2026 Skills on the Rise research places AI capability next to communication, relationship management and people management. It does not replace them. AI is rising, and so are the human skills that decide whether someone can use it well. That shows up in a team, a client meeting or a difficult conversation. Practera's industry briefs are built to develop both sides at once, technical output and the communication needed to explain it. If your program wants to build both, we would welcome the conversation.

LinkedIn just released its annual list of Skills on the Rise — featuring the fastest-growing skills in the U.S. in areas from AI engineering to executive communication.

02/09/2026

A graduate can be highly capable and still invisible to the system meant to recognise them.

New research (Li et al., 2026) compares how employability gets recognised in Australia vs. China.

Australia: capability is proven through personal narrative, your story, your network, your visibility.

China: capability is proven through credentials, institutional prestige, and relational fit; guanxi does the talking.

Same skillset. Two completely different "proof" systems. And the researchers found a real gap in outcomes, even when graduates felt equally confident.

For anyone working across borders:

✅ Learn to read the regime you're being judged by
✅ Don't assume one CV format travels everywhere
✅ Build credibility with institutions and mentors, not just self-narration

Employability isn't just what you can do. It's whether the system in front of you knows how to see it.

Source: Li, W. et al. (2026). Employability Reimagined: The Role of Recognition Regimes. CSHE Studies in Higher Education.

Full article below. 👇

01/09/2026

The Study Canberra Industry Experience Program just wrapped its first-ever cohort.

Thank you to our Executive Director of Programs, Katrina Greig, for capturing these moments so beautifully. 60 students from the University of Canberra and The Australian National University. 10 Canberra organisations. Four weeks of real client work, real challenges and real outcomes. Clients left with practical insights and recommendations they could take straight back into their organisations. Students left with skills they will carry well beyond the program. A huge thank you to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA, Study Canberra, the ACT Government and every organisation, mentor and partner who made this pilot possible.

Image credit: Katrina Greig, Executive Director Programs, Practera

31/08/2026

"The best model is not the one with the biggest promise. It is the one the institution can run next term again."

That one line cuts through a lot of the noise around scaling work-based learning in UK higher education right now. Ambition is rarely the problem. Delivery infrastructure is. Traditional placements remain valuable, but there are not enough seats for every student, the coordination load is heavy, and access is uneven in ways that consistently disadvantage the students who need experience most.

The question worth sitting with is not how to find more placements. It is what delivery model lets more students complete meaningful, assessable, industry-connected work without the institution having to rebuild the whole approach every cohort. Repeatable briefs, structured learner workflows, clear partner roles, feedback loops, and evidence of skills students can actually use in a career conversation. A focused pilot that proves the model works and can be run again next term. Full article below. 👇

🔗 https://hubs.li/Q04vQxgw0

Curriculum design for employability means structuring a degree so that career-relevant capabilities are built progressively throughout a student's studies, not added on at the end. Universities that embed this approach from year one consistently see stronger graduate employment outcomes than those r...