This paper reports on the benefits of integrating industry representative presence in building employment skills, in the context of learning with the aid of emerging video categorisation and annotation technology. An integral part of this process was inclusion of industry professionals, academic colleagues and relevant literature. In a multiple-case study design, a media annotation tool (MAT), was used to ‘bring’ the expert to the novice via video presence, video scripting, skill analysis feedback, and/or other learning support collaborations. Three case studies, out of nine that were examined using MAT for developing employability skills, are presented. Each involved industry input from commencement of the learning design processes to video production and to providing student feedback in MAT. These three cases, one postgraduate (Juris Doctor), and two undergraduate cohorts (Chiropractic; Medical Radiations), are presented along with their employability skills targeted for development, the specific industry input, and stakeholder feedback. Each case involved videos produced in-house based on real-life workplace scenarios, to tease out the respective employability skills of: communication and advocacy skills; clinical thinking skills; medical image evaluation and quality control skills. Data collection for all cases involved teacher observation and interviews, and artefact analysis. Additionally, the undergraduate cases included student data of pre- and post-surveys, observation and interviews, while the postgraduate case included industry representative observation and interview. Findings indicated that students largely valued the access to experts in their chosen field and appreciated the structuring of analysis categories by the teachers and/or experts within MAT to help them develop their thinking like an expert. Additionally, the teachers and industry representative interviewed noted the positive impact on developing employability skills and student engagement with key concepts for professional practice. Findings across the cases offered insight for next steps, such as offering additional cases for comparison to further consolidate skill building.

Keywords: Video annotation, community of practice, employability skills