Preview

Important Skills That Employers Are Looking for in Graduates

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2892 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Important Skills That Employers Are Looking for in Graduates
Important Skills That Employers are Looking for in Graduates

1.0 Introduction

According to Principal Statistics of Labour Force (2012), the unemployed rate remained at 3.1% in December 2011 in which the number of unemployed are approximately 400,000 people. In the globalisation era, especially in the global market, graduates are evaluated by a combination of skills and knowledge. The trend of globalisation has leaded the graduates to different demand in employee skills especially soft skills. Graduates who full fill the skills and knowledge that required by employers will benefit from integration into global economy while graduates who lack of knowledge and skills are destined to fall further behind. Graduates must be able to apply both skills and knowledge in the workplace environment because both skills and knowledge will change from time to time.

Skills that employers think that it would be a plus point in graduates are interpersonal skills, technology skills, communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and leadership skills. Interpersonal skills are skills that graduates need for continued existence at a working environment that enhance employability. While technology skills are important to graduates because they lead to change in operations and work applications. Communications skills are required for graduates to deal with the information exchange in workplace settings. Nevertheless critical thinking and problem solving skills will help graduates to face the working environment in a more positive way and leadership skill will guide them to more responsible working ethics.

Changes should be made in the part of future graduates, government bodies and educational institution to be more prepared for the employers’ expectation so that more graduates will be employed. These changes will help future graduates to be more prepared for the changes in the working environment and expectation of an organisation.

2.0



References: Andersen, H., & Rasmussen, E. S. (2004). The role of language skills in corporate communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 9(3), 231-242. Barker, S. A. (2002). Utilizing cross-cultural curricula to improve interpersonal job skills training. Journal of European Industrial Training, 26(1), 38-52. Bambacas, M., & Patrickson, M. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organizational commitment. Journal of Communication Management, 12(1), 51-72. Cheng, Y. C. (2004). Fostering local knowledge and human development in globalization of education. The International Journal of Education Management, 18(1), 7-24. Collins English Dictionary (2009). Retrieved: February 26,2012 from http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=soft+skills&ia=ced Kuo, T Lang, J. C. (2001). Managing in knowledge-based competition. Journal or Organizational Change Management, 14(1), 539-553. McLarty, R Michaelson, L.K., & Razook, N.M.. (2003). Making learning groups effective. Retrieved: February 28, 2012, from http://price.ou.edu/ibc/pdf/LearningGroups.pdf. Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.(2006). Development of soft skills module for institutions of higher learning. Universiti Putra Malaysia ,Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Moy, J. W., & Lam, K. F. (2004). Selection criteria and the impact of personality on getting hired. Personal Review, 33(5), 521-535. Nabi, G. R. (2003). Graduate employment and underemployment: Opportunity for skill use and career experiences amongst recent business graduates. Education and Training, 45(7), 371-382. Pool, L. D., & Sewell, P. (2007). The key to employability: Developing a practical model of graduate employability. Education and Training, 49(4), 277-289. Quek, A Raybould, J., & Sheedy, V. (2005). Are graduates equipped with the right skills in the employability stakes?. Industrial and Commercial Training, 37(5), 259-263. Roselina,S.(2009). Soft skills at the Malaysian institutes of higher learning. Asia Pacific Education Review, 10, 309 – 315. Stock, W. A., & Hansen, W. L. (2004). Ph.D. program learning and job demands: How close is the match?. The American Economic Review, 94(2), 266-271. Turner, L. (2005). 20 Technology skills every educator should have. Retrieved: February 27, 2012 from http://www.miracosta.edu/home/sramirez/20TechnologySkills.pdf Watt, W Zinser, R. (2003). Developing career and employability skills: A US case study. Education and Training, 45(7), 402-410.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Graduate Identity Approach The chief proponent of the graduate identity approach, Len Holmes, suggests that “key skills” are inappropriate analytical frameworks for investigating graduate employability. Instead, Holmes argues that the “employable graduate” is a social construct and an understanding of employability requires a detailed investigation into the construction of graduate identities. The graduate identity approach looks closely at the transition from the classroom to the workplace. The successful graduate is an individual who can negotiate the social forces permeating the classroom and the workplace and, thereby, is successful in negotiating the transition from the former to the latter. In the workplace, Holmes emphasize the research…

    • 126 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Soft Skills

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I chose a career in Health services management. During my research of my career, I have found that I already possess some soft skills that will help me in getting a job in my chosen career. The soft skills I already have are: honesty, integrity, dependability, strategic thinking and time management. These are all good soft skills to have and what most potential employers are looking for, but the healthcare industry, especially management, require more soft skills. “Health services administrators need certain soft skills, or personal qualities, in addition to their formal education (Dawn, McKay 2013). The soft skills that are needed in Health management is, professionalism, motivational skills, communication skills,…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peraonal Responsability

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: DeJong, G. F. (2000, March 18). Study: College degree central to career success. New Pittsburgh…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When I think of soft skills, what comes to mind is people skills. To me people skills are customer service skills or communication skills. While reading this article it surprised me when I read that problem solving is a soft skill. Soft skills are important in the problem solving process for reasons such as brainstorming and swapping. Also, as our jobs become more service oriented than goods oriented, it is important to know how to satisfy our customers.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The recent trend for working adults indicates obtaining new employment, maintaining existing employment or climbing the corporate ladder could depend on one’s educational background regardless of one’s skill set. As a matter of fact, according to a CareerBuilder survey the results indicated, “For many companies, an associate or bachelor’s degree is increasingly becoming the new high school diploma.” The survey also indicated “27 percent of employers have increased the education requirements over the last five years.” As employers strive for a greater return on investment, an educated employee willing to adapt to change, with strong interpersonal and technical skills become the most sought out employees. Additionally some employers are indicating that he shift in educational requirements has indicated positives results in regards to employees productivity, work quality, communication, innovation, customer retention, and increased revenue.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    One of my reasons in pursuing graduate studies is for career advancement. Gone are the days, where skills and talents are enough.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, to some extent, work experience is not necessary for future career. If the graduates enrolled at famous universities, they might find a job easily because of the universities’ good reputation. And it is hard to determine whether the graduates have got any useful experience in internship. So many people criticized that work experience could mean nothing. This article will present the current condition of UK graduate market and show how work experience could benefit the future career of graduates by boosting their skills, enhancing the success in the job market and helping them experiencing higher levels of job satisfaction.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Employability Skills P2

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages

    | This will cause less confusion and it will be easier for you to serve…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    employability

    • 1679 Words
    • 7 Pages

    When you complete an application form for employment or a course, or write a CV, you will need to consider your skills (sometimes called employability skills, or competencies). You will need to demonstrate you have the skills required for the job by giving examples of where you have developed and practised those skills, using examples from a range of situations, such as work experience, hobbies and interests, voluntary work, your personal life, or academic study.…

    • 1679 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Definition of Success

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages

    * Fleetwood, C., & Shelley, K. (2000). The outlook for college graduates, 1998-2008: A balancing act [Electronic version]. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 44(3), 2-9…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s higher education landscape, employability of recent colleges graduates is an important topic as colleges and universities are now more than ever being critically evaluated on the relative success of these graduates entering the workforce (Chan & Derry, 2013). Many educators call for conventional career services centers to be more innovative and accountable for students’ college-to-career transition (Grasgreen, 2013). In order to help students better leverage their college degrees into meaningful professions, career centers now look to transform their approach from simply providing a service to students, to focusing on holistic student development that assists them throughout their college years and beyond (Dey & Cruzvergara, 2014).…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    References: Founder David K. Moldoff “Things to Think About.” CollegeTransfer.net 2006 - 2013 Academy One, Inc James Marshall Cottey “60% of College Grads Can 't Find Work in Their Field” Masters in Management Forbes 2013…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Experience vs Education

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages

    This paper will address the issue with which a lot of people have been plagued: “Do I need a degree or experience for employment?” This is a question that is kind of hard to answer. Some job positions require one or both. There are even jobs that you do not really need one or the other, just plain common sense. But employers are supposed to have a process or procedure that they follow in order to hire the best candidate for the job. That process may include: a job opening, a completed application, an interview, reference check, and then an offer for employment. The prospects should be narrowed down according to the person (or people) that meet the requirements, whether it be education or experience (Hughes, 2005).…

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nowadays, more and more university graduates complain that graduation does not equate to employment. They experience great difficulties finding satisfactory jobs. What is the cause of this phenomenon…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Graduate unemployment

    • 704 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The main cause of unemployment among graduates would be the lack of professional connections. (Alyssa Davis, 2014) For a fresh graduate, it is not often easier to find valuable contacts to recommend a job or get recommended. A valuable connection not only guides them in right direction but also helps fresh graduates to step into a job easily. Employers are followers of technology. They are in a constant search for a common connection that can fit in a vacant position in his organisation.…

    • 704 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays