Rod Brazier Programme Manager, Pearson Business School


Universities and FE providers


A DECADE OF SKILLS NEEDED


...Even those graduates with good degree results could have poor communication skills


Each year, over the past decade, the CBI/ Pearson Education and Skills Survey has highlighted the employability and skills needs of UK corporations. The survey asks employers about their levels of satisfaction, and their demand, for certain skills amongst graduates; 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the survey, so it’s an opportunity to look back over the last 10 years and to look ahead, to determine the graduate-level skills that employers may demand, over the coming years.


So, what can we learn from the CBI/ Pearson Education analysis of the last ten years? It is certainly evident that many themes have remained consistent throughout the reports; the need for basic skills within employee and student training, the rise (and potential


24 TheStudentEmployer ise.org.uk


Rod Brazier, Programme Manager of Pearson Business School, conducts a review of the CBI Education and Skills Survey over the past decade, and highlights the skills that employers are seeking in today’s graduates.


replacement) of the university system and the development of employability attributes are all clear to see. However, there is work to be done by those responsible for improving the industrial landscape and the list of those who are responsible is far-reaching and wide- ranging. From parents to teachers, through to employers and employees, it is vital that moves are made to develop and grow, so that the following areas sustain UK business throughout the twenty-first century.


Companies are unsatisfied with the levels of literacy and numeracy within their workforce. However, graduates appear to offer an advanced level of proficiency in these areas, as one would hope and expect. Even those graduates with


good degree results could have poor communication skills, where text speak proliferates, basic spelling and grammar errors occur and completing basic tasks such as writing emails and letters could be problematic. This is something that many employers have found themselves needing to address.


In 2008 one third of jobs required degree- level skills. However, wider employability skills were seen to be most crucial. Employers also took ‘subject studied’ and ‘grade achieved’ into consideration. Soft skills are deemed to be hugely important and businesses want to attract talent with commercial awareness, knowledge of their chosen career and those who have undertaken high quality work experience.


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