Promoting Employability Skills: Making the implicit more explicit

E = Q + WE + C + S

Institute of Directors Skills Briefing, Dec. 2007, Graduate Employability Skills’

According to a survey of 500 directors, when recruiting , 64% said graduates’ employability skills were more important to their firm than the specific occupational, technical or academic skills associated to a degree.

The Problem

It does not follow that our graduates will develop optimal employability skills through mere contact with their academic discipline.

They need help to develop an awareness of their own employability.

Reddy, Lantz & Hulme, 2013

PASS – Part of the Solution?

Skills, Capabilities and Attitudes Mean Ranking

An ability to work collaboratively with teams of people 8.2

Excellent communication – speaking and listening 7.5

A high degree of drive and resilience 5.6

An ability to embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking 5.4

A capacity to develop new skills and behaviours according to role requirements

4.6

A high degree of self awareness 4.4

An ability to negotiate and influence 4

An ability to form professional global networks 3.9

An openness to and respect of a range of perspectives 3.6

Multi-cultural learning ability 2.4

CIHE 2011 Global Graduates into Global Leaders

The Programme

(i) One full day of training and two discipline specific workshops

(i) Two co-curricular modules

(i) Weekly study groups and debrief sessions

Findings

Availing of the opportunity to be a PASS leader demonstrates to future employers that I showed initiative by taking an opportunity to further develop personally and also enhance my employability skills.

The two skills I believe I have developed the most as a result of being involved in PASS are effective communication and self-confidence which will help me greatly when seeking future employment.

Findings

PASS has also helped me develop skills. Although I thought I already had them it made me realise how much more I had to develop on those skills such as working within a team and group activities, learning to include everyone and not try and take on the task entirely myself.

Thank you for listening.