Universities should be required to teach employment skills as part of degree courses because employers believe too many graduates are unfit for the workplace, researchers said today.
They should offer crash courses in communication, problem solving, presentation skills, punctuality and customer relations to get students ready for full-time employment, it was claimed.
They should offer crash courses in communication, problem solving, presentation skills, punctuality and customer relations to get students ready for full-time employment, it was claimed.
Universities were also told to set up more work experience placements and internships for undergraduates — particularly those on social sciences and humanities degrees — to prevent so many being consigned to the dole queue when they finish courses.
Workplace skills have been part of vocationally-oriented degrees such as engineering for several years.
But the latest study commissioned by Edge, the education charity, warned of a systematic failure to “promote employability across higher education”, meaning a “notable majority” of graduates were unable to function in the workplace.
The conclusions follow the publication of alarming statistics showing that graduate unemployment soared to a 15-year high last year.
Figures published in January showed a fifth of former students were out of work in the third quarter of 2010 – double the number when the recession started.
According to the latest study, about one in six employers is dissatisfied with graduates’ “skills and competencies” when they apply for jobs. “The majority of employers are satisfied with their graduate recruits, but there is a notable minority who are not,” the report said.
“Employers expect graduates to demonstrate a range of skills and attributes that include team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and often managerial abilities or potential. Employers are frustrated that higher education courses do not meet their needs.”
Some universities already offer courses in employment skills as part of standard degree programmes, said the study, carried out by Glasgow University.
At least 40 universities run programmes in which students can gain official accreditation for completing around 100 hours of voluntary work, job placements and relevant extra-curricular activities. Others such as Leicester University run tailored training courses.
But the study, which is based on interviews with employers and analysis of existing research, insisted that universities “could do more to address employability across their courses”.
Degrees should be more tailored towards the needs of businesses, the report recommended, and more students should be offered work experience and internships as standard with their courses.
“Some of the more vocational and business-orientated courses already make good use of these approached, but humanities and social science courses should also make greater use of placements and internships,” said the study.
Figures published in January showed a fifth of former students were out of work in the third quarter of 2010 – double the number when the recession started.
According to the latest study, about one in six employers is dissatisfied with graduates’ “skills and competencies” when they apply for jobs. “The majority of employers are satisfied with their graduate recruits, but there is a notable minority who are not,” the report said.
“Employers expect graduates to demonstrate a range of skills and attributes that include team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and often managerial abilities or potential. Employers are frustrated that higher education courses do not meet their needs.”
Some universities already offer courses in employment skills as part of standard degree programmes, said the study, carried out by Glasgow University.
At least 40 universities run programmes in which students can gain official accreditation for completing around 100 hours of voluntary work, job placements and relevant extra-curricular activities. Others such as Leicester University run tailored training courses.
But the study, which is based on interviews with employers and analysis of existing research, insisted that universities “could do more to address employability across their courses”.
Degrees should be more tailored towards the needs of businesses, the report recommended, and more students should be offered work experience and internships as standard with their courses.
“Some of the more vocational and business-orientated courses already make good use of these approached, but humanities and social science courses should also make greater use of placements and internships,” said the study.
7:30AM BST 04 Jun 2011
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