An International Perspective on Developing Skills through Geography Programmes for Employability and Life: narratives from New Zealand and the UnitedStates

If there is a universal question that most academic geographers have been a sked by students, it is "What can I do with geography?". We argue in this p aper that an important dimension of quality improvement in geography educat ion is closing the gap between the perceived social usefulness of the subje ct (suggested by evidence to be relatively lo,rt) and the realities of what a subject offers as preparation for workplace roles (rated on evidence as relatively high). A potentially central part of the International Network i n Learning and Teaching (INLT) Geography in Higher Education, therefore, is communicating information about skills for employment and life that are ob tainable from geography-inspired instructional programmes. But behind the s eemingly straightforward task of communicating a message is in fact a much more fundamental issue-getting to grips with socio-economic changes that ar e rewriting the nature and place of geographic learning and teaching. I We suggest that positive outcomes from efforts to improve the quality of learn ing and teaching of geography will depend in part on strengthening and stab ilising geography's image, particularly in the eyes of school and universit y students, We conclude that initiatives, already underway in several count ries to popularise the 'skills profile' of a geography education, offer a f ramework for reimaging the subject.