Employers’ perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates

Research commissioned by the Edge Foundation and undertaken by Kevin Lowden, Stuart Hall, Dr Dely Elliot and Jon Lewin (SCRE Centre at the University of Glasgow) identifies those skills and attributes that are valued by employers seeking to recruit new graduates.

Rather than try to précis the report of this research (long-term readers will know that I do not rate my skill in this regard) I bring you the introduction and urge you to read the full report (PDF 42pp).

Introduction

This report provides the findings of a study of employers’ perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates conducted by the SCRE Centre. The research was funded by the Edge Foundation.
Main data collection began in 2009 and was completed in October 2010.

The report first highlights key themes in the literature on graduate employability with particular reference to understanding what graduate employability is and goes on to explore whether Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are addressing employability and the perceived needs of employers in their provision.

The report then draws on the qualitative strand of the research to explore the views of groups representing employers, HEIs and recruitment organisations, employers, graduates and students concerning graduate employability. In particular, the research highlights what they believe promotes graduate employability and their own experiences in this process. The final part of the qualitative findings considers the views of those HEI representatives associated with the case studies.

The report suggests that despite UK policy stressing HEIs’ contribution to graduate employability and the existence of examples of good practice in employer-HEI partnerships, there are still considerable tensions and barriers facing this process. The report concludes by examining some of the ways employers and HEIs can better work together to promote graduate employability.

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