Preparing graduates for employment
OUT of 15 employability skills that were examined, it is found that employers expressed dissatisfaction with 12 of them in graduate hires’ capabilities.
The report stated, across the globe, the three most desirable employability skills that are sought after by employer respondents are problem-solving, teamwork and communication skills.
However, there is a clear mismatch between the skills needed by the industry and what students believe “employers value most in new recruits”.
Student respondents regard creativity, organisational and problem-solving skills as the three most important abilities. They believe that employers place the highest premium on creativity, which is, in reality, ranked ninth out of 15 important skills by employers.
Problem-solving is the only skill that features on both the student and employer list of top three priorities.
Resilience in dealing with conflict is the skill that showed the biggest gap. It is ranked the seventh most important skill and yet many employers are not satisfied with it.
The study used two factors — importance and satisfaction — to identify deficiencies in skills.
The importance factor is a measure of employers identifying a skill as important or very important. The satisfaction factor measures how many employers are satisfied or very satisfied with the particular skill in the graduate they hired.
One possible reason for the mismatch is that students’ understanding of important skills necessary for entering employment can be shaped by “multiple influencers” such as their university, school counsellors, parents and friends, the media and, to some extent, the potential future employers. In deciding the skills to prioritise, multiple influencers create confusion.
QS chief executive officer Nunzio Quacquarelli stressed the important role universities play in preparing students for employment.
“It is becoming more and more vital that universities also prepare graduates for the world of work. This means that the development of soft skills, like teamplaying and resilience, often becomes as important as the technical skills and knowledge acquired during a degree course. Opportunities for internships, studies abroad, extracurricular activities and active learning can all contribute to the development of these and other skills universities want.”
ISE chief executive officer Stephen Isherwood said: “The pace of change in the workplace is ever increasing, so graduates need to ensure that they are developing the skills and abilities that will not only empower them to land the job of their choice, but also allow them to thrive as their career develops.”