“We need carrots and sticks”: How to enhance student engagement with career learning in Higher Education

Although students, parents and universities are increasingly concerned about employability, student engagement often remains low. The question is why and what can be done? This reflective paper addresses these questions by sharing the recent experience of designing and delivering a credit bearing employability module. It demonstrates that the combination of rewards and punishments (carrots and sticks) can successfully enhance student engagement within and beyond the module. It benefits academics, career practitioners and higher education institutions by offering a range of practical and straightforward solutions that can be scaled and transferred across disciplines, institutions and learning contexts.