Overall, graduates gave a “thumbs- up” to work experience as the most useful way to acquire skills (55%), above training in the workplace (26%). What is learnt at school or university is seen as more marginal: only 11% of graduates rated this as the best way to develop skills. This compares to 41% of idealistic undergraduates, who believe study is the best preparation for work.
Samantha Fox, CEO of My Performance Pitstop, warns that today’s students may only be preparing themselves for disappointment if they place too much faith in their degree: “Perhaps university degrees should have some sort of disclaimer, like financial investment products: the value of this degree course may go up or down depending on prevailing market conditions. Students today are still very optimistic about how much value
employers will place on their degree, an optimism which is not borne out once they start to look for a job.
“Graduates need to wake up to the fact that it’s up to them to develop the skills which they need for the job - and it’s good to see many already do. The majority of businesses that I work with are cutting costs and focusing on the absolute minimum which their employees need to be effective in their job. The emphasis has shifted completely away from training and development as an employee retention tool, or to develop a more rounded employee base. This is especially true in the early years when a graduate enters the workplace. Many companies know that graduates will often quickly move from one job to the next, so they are trimming training costs to a minimum at this level. Graduates
will need to take responsibility for building the skills which their next job will demand if they want to ensure they progress up the ladder.”
The student road map for universities
Respondents to the survey identified several opportunities for those universities wishing to help students become more employable, from providing better indication of how different degree courses will lead to a job to compulsory training in workplace skills such as giving presentations and time management. This shows that current students and graduates see scope for university becoming a more rounded development ground for their skills, in particular by introducing mandatory training in core workplace skills such as time management into the curriculum (22%).
Mandatory training in workplace skills such as presentation skills time management and communications Encourage students to work as well as study by offering more study options and better flexibility Mentoring in job search related skills such as interviews and CV writing Build workplace skills into the day to day coursework of degree subjects Provide more information on how different degree courses will lead to employment Make the careers service more accessible Build career focus into the tutorial system
22% 18% 15% 12% 9% 9% 6%
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