scholarly journals Am I Fit for Tomorrow’s Labor Market? The Effect of Graduates’ Skills Development during Higher Education for the 21st Century’s Labor Market

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7746
Author(s):  
Omar Habets ◽  
Jol Stoffers ◽  
Beatrice Van der Heijden ◽  
Pascale Peters

This study contributes to the employability skills debate by investigating how students’ self-perceived 21st century skills relate to the self-perceived fit between their higher education curriculum and their future labor market for a sustainable entry to this labor market. Survey data from 4670 fourth-year students over a period of four years were analyzed. Furthermore, out of this group, 83 students were monitored longitudinally over their full educational student careers. Results showed a positive relationship between students’ self-perceived 21st century skills and their self-perceived “education-future labor market fit”. Among more recent cohorts, a significant improvement in their self-perceived 21st century skills was found. Overall, this study indicated that in order to deliver “employable” graduates, students need to be thoroughly trained in 21st century skills, and their development should be retained and expanded. This is one of the few studies that uses a vast amount of both cross-sectional and longitudinal data on skills and labor market perspectives among new graduates.

Author(s):  
Le Thai Hung ◽  
Pham Thi Anh Phuong

This study is aimed at evaluating the relationship among students’ skills and their employability based on surveying students using 5 point Likert scale. The survey includes 490 students whose major are foreign languages and the results show that there are differences in the level of awareness between first year students, third year students and last year students. Thanks to the data analysis, it is revealed that most students believe that the university reputation has an important role in their employability (Mean= 3.80), they can do any kinds of work provided that work matches their skills and experience (Mean=3.05); therefore, students need to have some other skills in order to become successful in finding their jobs. Among the skills mentioned in the survey, the skills for working in group, skills for adaptability, skills for listening to others, skills for risk acceptability, skills for public speaking and skills for critical thinking are  more effectively contributing factors to employability in comparison with other skills. Keywords Students, employability, skills, attitude, influence References [1] Bộ Lao động Thương binh và Xã hội. (2018). Bản tin cập nhật thị trường lao động Việt Nam - quý II năm 2018. [2] Đào Đăng Phượng. (2017). Thị trường lao động và sự hình thành nguồn nhân lực ở Châu Âu và Việt Nam. Paper presented at the Hội Thảo Khoa Học Quốc tế "Tăng Cường Cơ Hội Tiếp Cận Thị Trường Lao Động Cho Thanh Niên và Sinh Viên Việt Nam Sau Khi Tốt Nghiệp. [3] Hà, T. T. (2017). Tiếp cận thị trường lao động cho sinh viên Việt Nam trong thời kỳ đổi mới giáo dục. Paper presented at the Kỷ yếu hội thảo khoa học quốc tế Tăng cường cơ hội tiếp cận thị trường lao động cho thanh niên và sinh viên Việt Nam sau khi tốt nghiệp.[4] Andrew Rothwell, Ian Herbert, & Frances Rothwell. (2007). Self-perceived employability: Construction and initial validation of a scale for university students. Journal of Vocational Behavior. [5] Andrews, G., & Russell, M. (2012). Employability skills development: strategy, evaluation and impact. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 2(1), 33-44. [6] Bailin, S. (1987). Critical and Creative Thinking. Informal Logic, 9(1), 23-30. [7] Bénabou;, R., & Tirole;, J. (2001). Seft-confidence and personal motivation. Paper presented at the the Oxford Young Economists’ Conference. [8] Cavanagh, J., Burston, M., Southcombe, A., & Bartram, T. (2015). Contributing to a graduate-centred understanding of work readiness: An exploratory study of Australian undergraduate students’ perceptions of their employability. International Journal of Management Education, 13(3), 278-288. [9] CBI on higher education. (2009). Future Fit: Preparing Graduates for the world of work. [10] Christopher D. Connors. (2017). Five Core Values that Define Success for Every Individual. The Mission Org. [11] Dearing, R. (1997). Higher Education in the Learning Society.[12] Hillage, J., & Pollard, E. (1998). Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis. DFEE Research Report RR85, Department for Education and Employment, London. [13] How to Develop Adaptability - One of the Top 10 21st Century Skills for Graduates. [http://oysterconnect.com/blog/how-develop-adaptability-one-top-10-21st-century-skills-graduates]. [14] Ilieva, D. (2014). Methods for perfecting presentation skills. Paper presented at the 13th international scientific conference Economy and Business, At Elenite, Bulgaria. [15] Joshua J. Jackson, & Dustin Wood. (2010). What do conscientious people do? Development and validation of the Behavioral Indicators of Conscientiousness (BIC). J Rer Pers, 44(4), 501-511. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.06.005[16] Kalfa, S., & Taksa, L. (2015). Cultural capital in business higher education: reconsidering the graduate attributes movement and the focus on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 40(4), 580-595. [17] Katherine Fulgence. (2015). Employability of Higher Education Institutions graduates: Exploring the influence of Entrepreneurship Education and Employability skills development program activities in Tanzania. (PhD degree), University of Siegen. [18] Le Thai Hung, Nguyen Thi Nhu Ngoc, & Duong Anh. (2018). Assessing career adaptability of early childhoodteachers invietnam. Paper presented at the Proceedings of international conference: New trends in education.[19] Lee, S., & Brinton, M. C. (1996). Elite education and social capital: The case of South Korea. Sociology of Education, 69(3), 177-192. doi:doi:10.2307/2112728[20] Mason, G., William, G., & Cranmer. (2009). Employability skills initiatives in higher education: What effects do they have on graduate labour market outcomes? Education Economics, 17(1), 1-30. [21] Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory: New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.[22] Osmani, M., Weekkody, V., Hindi, N., Al-Esmail, R., Eldabi, T., Kapoor, K., & Irani, Z. (2015). Identifying the trends and impact of graduate attributes on employability: a literature review. Tertiary Education and Management, 21(4), 367-379. [23] Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence: Imagination Cognition and Personality.[24] Tom Oliver, & Lievens;, F. (2014). Conceptualizing and Assessing Interpersonal Adaptability: Towards a Functional Framework. Taylor & Francis Group, 52-72. [25] Ward, R., & Watts, A. G. (2009). Personal development planning and employability. York: Higher Education Academy. [26] Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in higher education: what it is – what it is not - Learning and Employability Series. The Higher Education Academy.


Author(s):  
Meghan Perdue

In the midst of the current technological revolution, there is a thriving conversation about how society should adapt to the future of work taking place in the national media, universities, policy organizations, think tanks, consulting firms and companies. One such model for work and education under consideration is that of the role of higher education in workforce development. How well does a bachelor’s degree prepare an individual for a career in this shifting landscape of work? What is the responsibility of the university to the student – to prepare them for a career? Or to help them build the intellectual framework to build a meaningful life Incorporating the practice and development of 21st century skills into the higher education classroom does not necessarily require a great rethinking of the education model or content delivery. Rather, it could be as simple as encouraging faculty to use proven educational principles such as active learning and group-based learning into the classroom. This would allow students to practice some of the necessary skills such as communication, respect, teamwork, and problem solving into their higher education curriculum.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-24
Author(s):  
Yuliya Shtaltovna

This paper reviews historic and current definitions of skill as a concept, as well as frameworks that have been applied to analyse levels of skills development across the academic and professional spectrum. The author proposes a 6-level chart of skill development based on the “can-do descriptors” approach by CEFR, also known as the ability assessment approach, for further discussion, development, and application. The proposed chart is based on six levels. These are organized into two Entry levels, two Operational Use levels and two Strategic Vision levels. Further debate on the typology of skills by Deloitte, LinkedIn Research and World Economic Forum is presented as of 2020 documentation. Its dynamic manner of paradigms changing the importance of a wide array of skills (alternatively denominated as employability skills, soft skills and/or 21st Century skills) are analysed, both for educators and employers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Ellen Sjoer ◽  
Petra Biemans

In a rapidly developing labor market, in which some parts of jobs disappear and new parts appear due to technological developments, companies are struggling with defining future-proof job qualifications and describing job profiles that fit the organization’s needs. This is even more applicable to smaller companies with new types of work because they often grow rapidly and cannot hire graduates from existing study programs. In this research project, we undertook in-depth, qualitative research into the five roles of a new profession: social media architect. It has become clear which 21st century skills and motivations are important per role and, above all, how they differ in subcategory and are interpreted by a full-service team in their working methods, in a labor market context, and in the talents of the professional themselves. In a workshop, these “skills” were supplemented through a design-based approach and visualized per team role in flexibly applicable recruitment cards. This research project serves as an example of how to co-create innovative job profiles for the changing labor market.


Author(s):  
Hariklia Tsalapatas ◽  
Olivier Heidmann ◽  
Constantinos Katsimentes ◽  
Spiridon Panagiotopoulos ◽  
Christina Taka ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 223-233
Author(s):  
Hayat Khan ◽  
N.B. Jumani ◽  
Nawab Gul

The emergence of the global economy has changed the demands of citizenship and employment in the new millennium. The world is shifting from an industrial economy to knowledge based economy. Keeping in view these challenges, 21st century society and work sphere require individuals equipped with 21st century skills. Therefore the present study was designed to examine the implementation of 21st century skills in universities of Pakistan. The aim of the study was to examine the existing programs and practices at the universities and their relation with 21st century skills. Learning and innovation skills, also called 4Cs skills, were taken as 21st century skills in the present study. These skills consist of (i) critical thinking and problem solving, (ii) communication, (iii) collaboration, and (iv) creativity. Findings of the study revealed that these skills were not fully developed in majority of the students in universities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document