Examining graduate skills in accounting and finance

Osmani, Mohamad; Hindi, Nitham; Al‐Esmail, Rajab; Weerakkody, Vishanth

doi:10.1177/0950422217721759

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Gao et al (2014) examined graduate employability across ten higher education institutions in China. In the Middle East, El-Sakran and Awad (2012) investigated the employability skills of engineering students, while Osmani et al (2017) considered the employability skills of Middle Eastern accounting and finance students. Clearly, the problem of employability skills resonates across multiple nations, disciplines and industries.…”

Section: Employability Skills Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business students’ perspectives on employability skills post internship experience

Griffin¹,

Coelhoso²

2019

HESWBL

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Purpose Employability skills of university graduates remain an ongoing topic for discussion and debate. Numerous studies highlight the expressed concerns of governments and industries about higher education’s ability to develop workforce ready graduates. An often cited solution is the use of internships to equip students with necessary employability skills. The purpose of this paper is to assess the status of employability skills from the perspective of students within a United Arab Emirates (UAE) institution based on their completion of a half-semester-long work placement experience. Design/methodology/approach Using a largely qualitative instrument, students reflected on their internship experience to report the essential skills needed in the workplace, classroom activities that most prepared them to use such skills in the workplace and the various challenges they encountered as interns. Findings Overall, students attributed a degree of importance to all skills addressed in the study with the greatest importance being attached to communication, teamwork and time management. Students indicated that most skills were addressed in the classroom; however, there appears to be a lack of awareness in the areas of critical thinking, self-management, intercultural skills and taking initiative. Research limitations/implications The present study only addressed the perceptions of business students at one all-female UAE-based institution of higher learning. Therefore, the data collected may not be representative of students enrolled in other degree programs or institutions. However, the understanding of these participants’ experiences adds to the body of literature featuring business undergraduate work experiences – particularly for the UAE and Gulf region. Practical implications Implications for academic and professional practitioners are discussed. Findings and recommendations are informative for curriculum development as well as economic and workforce development agencies. Originality/value The literature is well documented with studies from the perspectives of multiple entities including employers and university faculty, mostly in the western world. Fewer studies examine the perception of students, and even fewer studies are based on students in the UAE and other Gulf countries.

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Section: Employability Skills Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business students’ perspectives on employability skills post internship experience

Griffin¹,

Coelhoso²

2019

HESWBL

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“…In recent years, critical thinking (CT) has increasingly become an in-demand trait for graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, both locally in Australia and internationally (Flores et al, 2012; Maxwell et al, 2010; Oliver et al, 2010; Osmani et al, 2017; Prinsley and Baranyai, 2015). Recent studies have reported that students (Canadian University Survey Consortium, 2017) and some industries (ABS, 2006, cited in Norton, 2016) view a university education as a means to secure more rewarding and highly paid employment.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking about critical thinking: An industry perspective

Pearl

Rayner

Larson

et al. 2018

Industry and Higher Education

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There has been a drive towards enhancing the critical thinking (CT) skills development of students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, both in Australia and internationally. One debate among CT theorists centres on whether CT comprises a set of generalizable skills or is content- and context-dependent. While previous studies have considered CT skills development and its assessment in pharmacy courses, there appears to have been limited scholarly research within the pharmaceutical sciences discipline. In seeking to address this, it is vital to understand how companies conceptualize CT and its use by Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates. This research identifies five major categories used to conceptualize CT in the companies interviewed: being systematic, having strong business sense, considering multiple solutions, considering implications and identifying problems and potential solutions. The study finds that, while these skills are dependent on the business context, they may be generalizable across a range of industries.

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“…That is, those of commercial awareness, leadership, digital literacy, and 'professionalism'. Human capital theory explains that, on average, the university graduate gains proportionately in income to reflect their accomplishment and potential (Osmani et al 2017;Marks 2017).…”

Section: Higher Education Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triple X superwomen: their post-compulsory education and employability

Attfield

2021

Journal of Education and Work

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The further and higher educational experiences and consequent employability of women with the under-researched Triple X syndrome are arguably unknown. This research study examines their special educational needs (where relevant), and their negotiation of conventional educative systems, throughout the stages of post-compulsory education and into the world of work. The prevalent individualist societal focus means that education bodies promote their qualification offers for students to gain individual employability currency, in order to secure their own futures. Ten women with Triple X were asked to reflect on their post-compulsory education experiences, considering their varying developmental and cultural barriers to access, and their employability skill set against the background of the likelihood of their transferring this to a position of graduate employment. Findings illustrate the significance of socio-economic background and support network, as well as varying individual cognitive capacity and also health status in participants being able to varying degrees, to secure a sense of stability and contentment: yet no woman secured graduate employment. By way of a further conclusion this research discloses the systemic lack of awareness of the existence of Triple X on the part of educational bodies and employers, a problem which further research is needed to address.

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Examining graduate skills in accounting and finance

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

Business students’ perspectives on employability skills post internship experience

Business students’ perspectives on employability skills post internship experience

Thinking about critical thinking: An industry perspective

Triple X superwomen: their post-compulsory education and employability

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