scholarly journals Strategically Addressing the Soft Skills Gap Among STEM Undergraduates

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-46
Author(s):  
Haleh Karimi ◽  
Anthony Pina
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Organizational Skills ◽  
Leadership Support ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Collaboration Strategies

Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that will be needed in the future of work and the soft skills that students are currently missing. These skills include teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, work ethic, persistence, emotional intelligence, organizational skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution. To address this soft skills gap, this paper also explores various collaboration strategies between employers and academic institutions, such as working jointly on curriculum, raising awareness, establishing leadership support, and building communities of success. These can be implemented to enhance the soft skills capabilities of STEM undergraduate students entering the workforce. This qualitative research examined STEM employers’ perceptions of the most essential soft skills needed and missing among recently hired STEM undergraduates. Findings identified the top ten most in-demand soft skills needed for the next five years with leadership and human-connection on the top of the list. Furthermore, the result of this inquiry indicates that the soft skill gap in current STEM undergraduates is not only evident, but it is steadily increasing. To address this problem, this paper suggests that an ongoing synergy is needed between employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to guide students in developing and acquiring these essential skills. This effort will hopefully improve student employability, increase employer outcomes, and ultimately reduce the nationwide soft skills gap. Also, it provides insights into soft skills that organizations and HEIs should invest in the years ahead.

scholarly journals Analisis Kompetensi Softskill Pada Staff Pengajar Perguruan Tinggi Swasta di Kota Medan

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Dhian Rosalina ◽  
Kartika Yuliari
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Purposive Sampling ◽  
Organizational Skills ◽  
Group Skill

Soft skills are interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that can boost individual performance, including the teaching profession. The purpose of this study was to determine the profile of soft skills held by lecturers as teaching staff in tertiary institutions. This research was conducted in Medan, North Sumatra. The research method used is research with a qualitative descriptive approach. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with the number of respondents of one hundred and twenty people. The results of this study are the variables forming soft skills such as leadership, communication, effort, ethics have been perceived well by the respondents, and have become daily behavior, although there are a few behaviors that require improvement, such as discipline in the lecture time, while the soft forming variables are skills such as Organizational skills and group skills are perceived to be lacking in teaching and learning activities by the respondents. Soft skill adalah ketrampilan interpersonal dan intrapersonal yang dapat mengembangkan dan memaksimalkan kinerja termasuk profesi dosen. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengetahui profil softskill yang dimiliki oleh Dosen sebagai staff pengajar di perguruan tinggi. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Medan, Sumatera Utara. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian deskriptif  kualitatif . Teknik sampling yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling dengan jumlah responden sebesar seratus duapuluh orang. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah  Variabel pembentuk soft skill seperti Leadership, komunikasi, effort, ethics sudah dipersepsikan baik oleh para responden, dan telah menjadi perilaku sehari hari, meskipun ada sedikit perilaku yang memerlukan perbaikan, seperti kedisiplinan terhadap waktu perkuliahan., sedangkan Variabel pembentuk soft skill seperti Organizational skill dan  group skill dipersepsikan kurang dilakukan dalam kegiatan belajar mengajar oleh para responden.

scholarly journals Soft skills profile of vocational school students in Yogyakarta City for entering the industrial world

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Tri Wulaningrum ◽  
Samsul Hadi
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Vocational High School ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
School Students ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Organizational Skills ◽  
Yogyakarta City

This study aims to determine the profile and how much the level of soft skills of Vocational High School students in Yogyakarta City. This study is survey research. The population of this study was all students grade XI of State Vocational Schools in Yogyakarta City. The sample of this study was 990 students. The data were collected using a questionnaire. The data were then analyzed and presented in a percentage form. The results of the study present that the percentage gain shows the soft skill profile of Vocational High School students in Yogyakarta City in each aspect, namely communication/persuasion skills of 75.19%; performance management skills of 77.22%; self management skills of 70.27%; interpersonal skills of 78.68%; leadership/organizational skills of 77.85%; and cultural skills of 75.60%. Then, the level of soft skills ability of Vocational High School students in Yogyakarta City is generally categorized in medium, which is in the profile range between M-0.5SD and M + 0.5SD (M - 0.5SD x  M + 0.5SD).

scholarly journals The Soft Skills of Millenial Generation Orientee Nurses

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Cicilia Nony Bratajaya ◽  
Ernawati Ernawati
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Purposive Sampling ◽  
Personal Skills

Introduction: In doing their work, nurses often deal with other nurses, other health workers, patients, and patients' families. In addition, the job as a nurse in a hospital is related to the ability to be able to work together in teams. Therefore, a nurse is expected to have soft-skill attributes which, in this Millennial era, have different challenges from the previous era. Objective: The purpose of this study is to include soft-skills inherent in self-care nurses who have just connected the workforce from the point of view of senior nurses associated with them in the hospital. Method: Qualitative research involving 7 informants, namely senior nurses in the hospital, the informants were selected by purposive sampling based on inclusion criteria. Results: The results raised the theme of millennial nurses' soft-skills which are grouped into 3 groups of soft-skills, namely: (1) personal skills (personal skills), (2) social skills (social skills), (3) methodological skills (methodological skills), and the theme of soft-skill internalization. Discussion: Can reduce soft skills still need to be internalized for students since the time of education.

THE ANALYSIS OF NURSING STUDENT SOFT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN LECTURE AND PROBLEM BASED LEARNING APPROACHES 2011

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Hilman Syarif
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Nursing Student ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
P Value ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Hard Skills ◽  
Significant Difference

Introduction: Student Centered Learning (SCL) is an effective method to develop student's soft skills and hard skills which are very important to support their successful carrier later. This research was conducted to identify the differences of developed soft skills between students who learn with PBL method and lecturing method. Methods: Descriptive comparative method was used in this study. The samples consisted of 15 students who learned with PBL method and 15 students who learned with lecturing method. The sample for this research was selected by random sampling method. Results: The result showed that the average of student's soft skills score in PBL method was 122.63, while student's soft skills score in lecturing method was 116.27. Discussion & Conclusion: There was significant difference of student's soft skills in PBL method and lecturing method (p value = 0.038; α = 0.05). This study recommends nursing program management, faculty of medicine at the University of Syiah Kuala keeps PBL method running and develops other methods which facilitate hard skills and soft skills are development. Keywords: nursing students, soft skill, PBL

Formation of Universal Competencies of Undergraduate Students of Pedagogical Directions

2021 ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
O. Minina
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Leadership Communication ◽  
Master Degree ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
Teachers Training

The aim of the research was to develop and implement a teachers training master degree program with active integration of soft skills at all the stages to form students’ system and critical thinking, project management skills, teamwork and leadership, communication and cross-cultural interaction skills. To solve these problems, the program included specialized practice-orientated courses based on the principles of pedagogical ergonomics and the latest technologies (ball-rating system, workshop, case study, “agile” principle, pedagogical situations’ modeling and others). The research resulted is a unique, effective and validated program and a set of training materials to develop universal competencies of master degree students.

Factors influencing real estate graduates soft skill gap in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Oluwafemi Ayodele ◽  
Oluseyi Joshua Adegoke ◽  
Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu ◽  
Olaitan Olaoye
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Business Negotiation ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Skill Gaps ◽  
Major Property

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the soft skill gap of graduate employees, as well as the factors influencing the skill gaps of real estate graduates in the employment of real estate firms in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were employed for the study. Close-ended questionnaire served on real estate employers in the two major property markets of Nigeria: Lagos and Abuja. From a total of 343 questionnaires administered, 172 (59.7%) questionnaires were retrieved. While data from the graduate employees were obtained via a web-based survey sent out to a total of 558 graduates, 119 (21.33%) responses were received. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were employed in the data analysis.FindingsThe findings showed that employers had high expectations for soft skillsets relating to responsibility, administrative, listening and communication skills. These have respective mean scores of 6.38, 6.33, 6.31 and 6.31 on a seven point scale. However, the results revealed significant skill gaps with skills such as logical thinking, business negotiation, responsibility and marketing. Further, the analysis revealed that factors influencing the skill gap, in decreasing order of influence, are training/professional mentors/remuneration, personal preferences/industry characteristics and curriculum/faculties.Practical implicationsReal estate graduate soft skills are investigated to uncover areas of emphasis and skill gaps. These outcomes could serve as important feedbacks for stakeholders towards improving real estate teaching and curriculum. The findings could also assist real estate graduates to know employers areas of emphasis in relation to graduate employability skills.Originality/valueExtant studies have reiterated and evaluated the soft skills gaps based on the perceptions of employers, faculties and institutions of higher learning. However, there is the need to investigate the perception of graduate employees, being the recipient and major stakeholders in the training process.

scholarly journals Teaching strategies: promoting the development of moral competence in undergraduate students

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 4) ◽  
pp. 1650-1656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cleci de Fátima Enderle ◽  
Rosemary Silva da Silveira ◽  
Graziele de Lima Dalmolin ◽  
Valéria Lerch Lunardi ◽  
Liziane Iturriet Avila ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Clinical Reasoning ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Moral Competence

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify strategies and spaces used by professors to promote the development of the moral competence of nursing undergraduate students. Method: Qualitative research, developed with 20 nursing professors, through a semi-structured interview, from July to October 2016. Data were submitted to discursive textual analysis. Results: Three categories were constructed: Active methodologies as strategies for the development of moral competence; Knowledge and development of clinical reasoning as motivating spaces of moral competence; Attitude of professors as a strategy for dialogue, empathy, recovery of moral values and development of caring skills. Final considerations: The use of strategies and spaces to develop pedagogical actions favors the search for knowledge, clinical reasoning and the approach of ethical and moral aspects that collaborate for the development of the moral competence of nursing undergraduate students.

scholarly journals Soft Skill Appraisal for Dentistry: A Tool for Positive Practice Management

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 475-478
Author(s):  
Nadeem Husain ◽  
Vikas Bendgude ◽  
Piyush Tandon ◽  
Bhushan Arun Jawale ◽  
Nilima Thosar
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Significance ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Practice Management ◽  
Positive Energy ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Doctoral Level ◽  
Dental Practices

ABSTRACT Soft skills adoption is a learning experience for every practitioner and every academician. Author has expressed his opinion for success through educational and real values of soft skill. Soft skills behavior of individual and institution help in achieving desirable goals in general and specialty practices. Author also focused on some realistic soft skill methods for improvisation of practices for all doctor. Conclusion These skills indulge positive energy in human relationship for working in symbiosis and explore infinite capabilities at institutional and doctoral level. Here, some optimistic suggestions are given for improving dental practices and academic fulfillments. Clinical significance These soft skills help to organize, plan and manage, and track changes during the course of the growing dental practices. However, understanding of the soft skills in practice management, its simplicity and complexity and also, its contributing factors, helps practitioners to understand the dynamic, social and complex contexts of practices. It is really helpful to all practitioners to grow their practices using soft skills. How to cite this article Jawale BA, Bendgude V, Husain N, Thosar N, Tandon P. Soft Skill Appraisal for Dentistry: A Tool for Positive Practice Management. J Contemp Dent Pract 2011;12(6):475-478.

scholarly journals Adolescent Interpersonal Communication Patterns

Curationis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Grobler
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Communication Patterns ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Psychiatric Problems

Adolescents are admitted to psychiatric wards presenting with psychiatric problems which are essentially secondary to problematic interpersonal relationships. Successful interpersonal relationships however depend on effective interpersonal communication. Therefore the aim of research on adolescent interpersonal communication was to explore and describe the interpersonal communication patterns of adolescents and to develop an interpersonal communication skills approach to facilitate adolescent interpersonal communication skills within a training programme for adolescents. In this article however attention will be given to the description of the interpersonal communication patterns of adolescents. The target population of the research was 17 year old adolescents. The research consisted of a pre-phase where two contextual scenarios were formulated within group discussions with adolescents. During phase one of the research these scenarios were used to obtain video taped role plays from pairs of adolescents of the target population which were transcribed for data gathering purposes. Written dialogues were also obtained from each pair of adolescents on the same scenarios used for triangulation purposes. During phase two of the research the data was analysed according to Tesch’s method and a literature control was done to verify the results. Guba’s model for the trustworthiness of qualitative research was used.

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