Are Graduates 26.3

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ndustrial and Commercial Trainingmerald Article: Are graduates equipped with the right skills in themployability stakes?

oanne Raybould, Victoria Sheedy

rticle information:

cite this document: Joanne Raybould, Victoria Sheedy, (2005),"Are graduates equipped with the right skills in the

mployability stakes?", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 37 Iss: 5 pp. 259 - 263

rmanent link to this document:

p://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00197850510609694

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Are graduates equipped with the right skills

in the employability stakes?

Joanne Raybould and Victoria Sheedy

Abstract

Purpose To discuss employability and skills requirements for graduates from a graduate recruiters

point of view.

Design/methodology/approach To look at key graduate recruitment organisations and explain what

skills programmes areavailable to graduates. Also looks at continued development andwhat employers

may be able to do in the future to improve skills?

Findings There are transferable skills that employers like to see in a graduate and these can vary

according to type of role; also, in general, graduates are keen to develop their skills further. There are

organisations to help graduates improve these employability skills like Graduate Advantage and higher

education institutions.

Originality/value Of value to employers looking to recruit graduates, who need to be aware of what

types of programmes are available to graduates. It is valuable to graduates, who need to look at their

own skills and improve their employability.

Keywords Graduates, Skills, Employment

Paper type Viewpoint

I

t is something of a cliche for businesses to note the importance of their human

resource, i.e. their people. But, what is expected from this resource? What skills are

required, particularly from graduates entering employment?This article explores some of these questions and reports on the action that is being taken in

some areas to support business requirements.

The skills required

The emphasis on skills required by employers varies depending on the type of job role to be

carried out within an organisation. However there has been some consensus of opinion on

the importance of transferable or employability skills for employees, particularly for

those in management positions. These skills refer to certain personal abilities of an

individual, which can be taken from one job role to another, used within any profession and at

any stage of their career.

According to Graduate Prospects, the trading subsidiary of the charity HECSU, Nearlytwo-thirds (64 per cent) of vacancies on offer are open to graduates from any discipline. This

reflects the fact that employers are looking for vital soft skills in graduates which are obtained

during study and periods of work experience, rather than degree-specific knowledge.

Peter Knight from the Institute for Educational Technology at the Open University is quoted in

the Hobsons Directory 2005 (www.get.hobsons.co.uk), for graduate-level vacancies,

discussing skills looked on favourably amongst employers: When hiring, employers

generally value good evidence of: ability to cope with uncertainty; ability to work under

pressure; action-planning skills; communication skills; ITskills; proficiency in networking and

DOI 10.1108/00197850510609694 VOL. 37 NO. 5 2005, pp. 259-263,Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0019-7858 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAINING j PAGE 259

Joanne Raybould is Graduate

Employment and Training

Coordinator and Victoria Sheedy

is Marketing Assistant, both at

Graduate Advantage,

Birmingham, UK.


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team working; readiness to explore and create opportunities; self-confidence;

self-management skills; and willingness to learn.

Thus for graduates to be attractive to employers it is important that they are able to show

evidence of having these skills. Statements from employers organisations such as the

Confederation of British Industry and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

include comments on the difficulty employers face in recruiting work-ready individuals.

Therefore it is relevant to consider whether graduates do have the opportunity to develop

these work related skills

What is being done to ensure that graduates are work-ready?

According to the Learning and Teaching Support Network, producing employable

graduates is becoming more complex and more important. Graduate numbers are

expanding faster than the market for traditional graduate jobs; graduates are more diverse in

age, social background and motivations, while the labour market which they enter is more

complex and volatile. As a result, the government and HEFCE have become more interested

in measuring institutions success in this field.

At the same time, Governments concern to develop the skills and knowledge base of the

economy has led to the creation of a network of agencies with interests in graduate skills,

including Regional Development Agencies, Sector Skills Councils and Local Learning and

Skills Councils. In addition initiatives such as Employer Training Pilots have beenimplemented to stimulate both the supply and demand for skills.

The experience of a government-funded organisation involved with learning and

development, Graduate Advantage, confirms the need for focus and collaboration

amongst organisations to ensure that graduates are developed appropriately and their input

to businesses enhanced. Graduate Advantage as a graduate recruiter has over 25 years

combined experience spread across the team, with graduates being recruited for many

types of roles, for its graduate employment and training programme. Whilst offering a free

recruitment advertising service for West Midlands based businesses it also has a wider

remit, which includes graduate development.

As a result of a collaboration between the heads of careers services in 11 higher education

institutions in the West Midlands, Graduate Advantage recognise that recent graduates may

lack the experience and the awareness of the skills required by employers and seeks to

improve the situation. To enhance employability, graduates are directed to their careers

service for assistance on areas such as:

B completing applications;

B interview techniques;

B assessment centres; and

B personal development.

Graduate Advantage offers graduates and final year students the opportunity to complete a

three-day intensive skills course (GradSkills) to boost their employability. GradSkills

comprises workshops, lectures and group activities. As explained by Joanne Raybould,

graduate employment and training coordinator at Graduate Advantage. The course is aninitiative that helps prepare graduates looking for their first major employment role. Over the

three days the aim is to improve the graduates commercial awareness and to develop their

personal transferable skills. In addition the graduates are given valuable advice from

employers, on what is expected from a graduate level employee. A networking event on

day two enables interaction with graduates and employers. In addition, The Business

Game, delivered by Birmingham Future, who aim to develop the leadership potential of

Birminghams young professionals, enables the graduates to demonstrate their new skills

working in teams under the scrutiny of local employers.

PAGE 260 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj VOL. 37 NO. 5 2005


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Siu Mei Pang, who studied BA Communication, Culture and Media at Coventry University,

commented I gained a lot of useful information and insight into the business industry. I

developed skills which are invaluable to employers.

It is important to allow graduates to see the value of their learning through the eyes of the

employers. As James Morrish, publicity and promotions officer at Rural Stress Information

Network, explains Public speaking and presentation skills are important tools in the world of

business. I was happy to give up my time to providing guidance on the development of these

skills to a very talented group of graduates.

Small- and medium-sized businesses in particular welcome initiatives such as GradSkills asit enables them to access graduates who have had development similar to that offered by

large company graduate training schemes.

Graduates sometimes find that smaller businesses have the opportunity to offer more

responsibility and a wider range of experiences in the early stages of their career. Rudi

Kesic, BA in Law and LLM in International Law at Warwick University, discusses his

experiences: I always used to think it was the large multinational firms in London who

offered diversity but in my experience the opposite is the case. Working in a smaller firm has

definitely given me the opportunity to make a difference. Anything I do immediately reflects

on the whole team and so my actions have direct impact on the future of the firm.

The benefit of a variety of ongoing development opportunities

The importance of ensuring that opportunities to develop continue during employment is

noted by The Association of Graduate Recruiters chief executive Carl Gilleard who states

Employers are looking for a reasonable level of skills to be further developed and the

potential to develop those skills. (source: The Prospects Directory 2004/5,

www.prospects.ac.uk).

Graduate Advantage has found that there is no lack of enthusiasm for further learning

amongst student and graduates and in response, has placed emphasis upon professional

development based around the requirement of graduates, their role within an organisation

and the employer needs. As part of the graduate employment and training programme

(GET), each graduate undertakes a training-needs analysis in relation to the requirements of

the role and the employer. Once completed, a training plan is prepared to assist with

continued professional development.

Enhancement of skills does not come purely from attending training courses. A mix of

learning and development approaches can be beneficial. For example at Graduate

Advantage, some graduates have utilised the traditional method of reading books combined

with the technology based e-learning. Almost all graduates on the GET programme have

attended workshop style courses where there is the additional benefit of networking and

sharing good practice. The in-house training delivered at Graduate Advantage is

summarised below, the strong emphasis upon practical application has been particularly

well received by graduates and employers alike.

A summary of the Graduate Advantage workshops is shown in Table I.

How do employers identify whether graduates have the appropriate skills?

The desire for motivated staff is nothing new; it links to the employers notion that they like to

recruit people who have chosen to work for them. Recruiters know that in reality most

Graduates are more diverse in age, social background andmotivations, while the labour market which they enter is morecomplex and volatile.

VOL. 37 NO. 5 2005 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj PAGE 261


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Table I A summary of the Graduate Advantage workshops

Name of course Content

Project management What is project management?The purpose of projectsPhases and checkpointsProject directionTracking and controlCheckpoint reviewsProgress monitoring and reporting

Report writingRisk assessmentCost benefit analysisTask activity managementAction planningGant charts

Time management Time thievesReactive and proactive workTime management modelDelegationTips on altering the way we do things nowEffective meetings

Commercial awareness The functions of managementThe decision-making managerOrganisational structureOrganisational culture

Links between structure and culture and their effects on businessThe business environment

Team-work and team-building Understanding the teamTeam dynamicsGroup developmentTeam communicationMotivationManaging teams

Presentation skills Your stylePreparationVisual aidsActive listeningQuestionsEnvironment

Effective communication Communication in teamsCommunication in meetings

Communication by telephoneActive listeningQuestioningThe agreement staircase

Negotiation The negotiation processPreparation checklistWhen not to negotiateWho wins?Pitching the first bidDeadlockQualities of a negotiatorNegotiating teams

Financial business analysis Sources of capitalIntroduction to accountsWhat is a cash flow forecast?How do budgets link to cash flow?

The balance-sheet and its partsBreak-even

Customer service The quality improvement cycleWhy do we lose customers?Exceeding customer expectationsPrevention is better than cureSolve the problem before it occursAnalysis toolsCommunication with your customersCustomer relationship building

PAGE 262 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj VOL. 37 NO. 5 2005


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graduates make more than just one job application, but nevertheless they expect to see

reasons why a graduate has chosen them. Through all levels of the selection process, theyexpect a graduate to demonstrate an understanding of what the business is about and an

enthusiasm to be part of it.

Competence based questions have become increasingly prevalent over the past 10 years.

There is focus upon the all round skills such as team-working, leadership, problem solving as

well as technical abilities. The online application forms used on www.graduateadvantage.

co.uk have the facility for employers to add their own competency-based questions. Give

and example of when you have shown initiatives? Describe a time when you had to work

effectively with peoples whos views differ to your own. How did you management the

situation?

What about the future?

In conclusion it seems that the general consensus from higher education institutions is that

the current and future employment market requires graduates to be equipped with a range

of skills. Applicants need to be able to demonstrate their core transferable skills in addition to

their academic success.

Students and graduates need to be willing to develop their personal and professional skills

relevant for the world of work to improve their chances of employment success. In addition

they need to take advantage of opportunities to develop relevant skills for example during

work experience and part-time employment.

However, there is also a responsibility for employers who are demanding the skills. In a

market economy, employers are often reluctant to invest in employee development due to

perceived uncertainty about the return on this investment of time and money. Some critics

are going as far as to say that a training levy system should be introduced, as in France, but

such regulation is unlikely to be forthcoming in the UK where employers and government are

more committed to a more voluntarist system with limited state intervention and regulation.

Thus employers will benefit from actively looking for available assistance in the area of

learning and development, and initiatives such as Graduate Advantage will continue to

deliver an integral part of the support needed by West Midlands business.

Graduates sometimes find that smaller businesses have theopportunity to offer more responsibility and a wider range ofexperiences in the early stages of their career.

VOL. 37 NO. 5 2005 j INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAININGj PAGE 263

Are Graduates 26.3

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