Graduates’ Skills and Higher Education: The employers’ perspective

Hernández-March, Julio; Peso, Mónica Martín del; Leguey, Santiago

doi:10.1080/13583880802699978

Cited by 104 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In relation to this, graduate attributes can be categorised as vocational, interpersonal and generic. Vocational attributes are knowledge and practical-related abilities acquired in a specific discipline; generic attributes are transferable across different domains; interpersonal attributes are life skills used to work and interact effectively with others (Hernández-March, Martín del Peso, & Leguey, 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employer perspectives of the current and future value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study

Rayner

Papakonstantinou

2015

JTLGE

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Graduate employability has become increasingly contentious as employers call for greater development, evaluation and benchmarking of student skills and capabilities in university courses. However, the increasing range of graduate attributes and competencies demanded by industry is further pressuring an Australian higher education sector already stretched by greater student numbers and declines in government funding. Given these circumstances, there is a need to better understand employer perspectives of the current and future value of vocational, interpersonal and generic attributes of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates. A survey of STEM graduate employers showed that vocational skills, such as graduates' abilities to contextually apply and develop knowledge, together with generic skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, were valued most highly. Conversely, self-confidence and independence, along with numeracy and related skills, were valued least by the employers. However, attributes such as flexibility/adaptability, self-confidence, personal planning and organisation and developing knowledge relevant to the position were all predicted to become significantly more valuable in a decade's time. The results of this study suggest that Australian undergraduate STEM curricula, which commonly focus on knowledge acquisition, be redesigned to provide students with opportunities to apply such knowledge more often, and in real life, industry-based contexts, such as workintegrated learning (WIL) and industry-based learning (IBL) programs. Through such initiatives, together with greater dialogue and collaboration between academics and employers, employability skills and attributes can be better inculcated in undergraduates, to the benefit of graduates and society as a whole.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employer perspectives of the current and future value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study

Rayner

Papakonstantinou

2015

JTLGE

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“…El vigente modelo educativo del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) se basa en la definición de un conjunto de competencias genéricas y específicas (Pallisera i Díaz, Fullana Noell, Planas Lladó, & Valle Gómez, 2010), entre las cuales la capacidad de trabajar de forma eficaz en el seno de un equipo es una de las competencias profesionales requeridas tradicionalmente por los empleadores (González & Wagenaar, 2003;Hernández-March, Martín del Peso, & Leguey, 2009;Llorens-García, Llinas-Audet, & Sabate, 2009). Es necesario por tanto que la capacidad de trabajar en grupo sea una de las competencias que los estudiantes de las carreras de ingeniería desarrollen a lo largo de sus estudios.…”

Section: Introducción La Competencia De Trabajo En Grupo: Importanciaunclassified

Aprendizaje cooperativo en el ámbito de la Ingeniería: una experiencia de iniciación al Trabajo en Grupo

Reder

Berdonés

Parada

et al. 2013

REDU

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Aprendizaje cooperativo en el ámbito de la Ingeniería: una experiencia de iniciación al Trabajo en Grupo Cooperative learning in a Engineering Teaching Framework: an introductory experience to Teamworking Ignacio Herrero Reder Carmen García Berdonés Eva González Parada Luis Molina Tanco Eduardo Pérez RodríguezCristina Urdiales García Universidad de Málaga, España ResumenLa enseñanza universitaria en el ámbito de la Ingeniería ha estado tradicionalmente orientada al trabajo individual del alumno, lo cual dificulta la adquisición de una de las aptitudes más valoradas en el mercado laboral, como es la competencia de trabajo en grupo. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo fomentar una componente de esta competencia, como es la interacción entre los estudiantes. Para ello se han diseñado y puesto en práctica una serie de actividades docentes en la asignatura "Microcontroladores", asignatura de 2º curso común a los estudios de Grado en Ingeniería de Sistemas Electrónicos, Sistemas de Telecomunicación, Telemática, Tecnologías de Telecomunicación, y Sonido e Imagen, en la Universidad de Málaga. Asimismo, se ha establecido un conjunto de indicadores que permiten evaluar el grado de consecución de la meta planteada. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto que la interacción entre los estudiantes se puede fomentar mediante el conjunto de acciones planificadas, aunque las mismas requieren un esfuerzo adicional por parte del profesorado. Finalmente, se han propuesto algunas mejoras en el diseño del procedimiento, para mejorar su eficacia. Este trabajo se enmarca en el proyecto ACAI, cuyo objetivo es implementar un diseño curricular para el desarrollo de la competencia de Trabajo en Grupo. Así, se propone continuar la experiencia aquí presentada fomentando, para los mismos estudiantes, otras componentes de la competencia en asignaturas de 3º y 4º de los grados mencionados.Palabras clave: aprendizaje cooperativo, trabajo en grupo, incentivo grupal, currículo, competencias, microcontroladores, ingeniería AbstractHigher education in the area of Engineering has traditionally been oriented towards individual student work, though this attitude doesn't help on the acquisition of one of the most appreciated abilities at the labour market, such as team work competency. In this work we focus on encouraging a key component of team work competency as is the case of "Interaction among Students". In order to do this, we have developed several educational activities focused on the 2nd year subject "Microcontrollers", common to the Bachelor of Science Degrees in Electronic Systems, Telematics, Telecommunications Systems, Telecommunications Technologies, and Audio-Visual Engineering, at the University of Málaga. Additionally, we have established a set of indicators which allow us to evaluate the extent of targets compliance. Results have highlighted that interaction among students can be boosted by means of the proposed measures, despite the extra efforts required on the teacher's part. Finally, some improvements on the procedure design have been ...

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“…Notably, most of the existing research on graduate attributes targets academics and/or employers (e.g. Andrews & Higson, 2008;Barrie, 2006;Harvey, 2005;Hernández-March et al, 2009), with the listed graduate attributes being expectations of academics and employers. However, little has been written on intercultural competence from the graduates' perspectives.…”

Section: Graduate Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘person-in-between’ role of young graduates at INGOs in Vietnam

Lan

2017

JTLGE

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In Vietnam today one of the consequences of globalisation has been a proliferation of international non-government organisations (INGOs). These are intercultural work environments where individuals must seek to understand the culture of others and try to share and find common ground as they strive to fulfil the goals of the organisations. These individuals need high levels of intercultural competence, particularly cultural mediation, important for the role of cultural intermediaries. Drawing on theories of cultural mediation and cultural intermediaries, this research explores the intersection of different cultural worlds in the context of development projects at INGOs in Vietnam. The new graduates in the study reflected on their resources and skills to adapt development models to the local context, thus demonstrating important employability skills. This was particularly challenging given that in organisations such as universities, where the culture was described as rigidly hierarchical, skill training was restricted to following procedures to execute a particular task. However, in organisations like INGOs with high degrees of employee autonomy, decision making is left to the discretion of staff who are required to demonstrate their own means of developing the skills. Based on the findings of the qualitative research into young Vietnamese graduates' experiences of working at INGOs, this paper argues that young graduates play a significant role in disseminating information, and at the same time promoting mutual understanding, forming culturally relativistic attitudes, and demonstrating cross-cultural empathy. They were not just gaining employment, but adding value to an enterprise. Given increasing globalisation, this research makes an interesting argument for the inclusion of cultural literacy as a necessary employability skill for successful engagement in today's world of work.

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Graduates’ Skills and Higher Education: The employers’ perspective

Cited by 104 publications

References 21 publications

Employer perspectives of the current and future value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study

Employer perspectives of the current and future value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study

Aprendizaje cooperativo en el ámbito de la Ingeniería: una experiencia de iniciación al Trabajo en Grupo

The ‘person-in-between’ role of young graduates at INGOs in Vietnam

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