Employability Skills for New Graduates - Annotated Bibliography

Jackson, Denise. "Testing a Model of Undergraduate Competence in Employability Skills and Its Implications for Stakeholders." Journal of Education and Work27, no. 2 (2012): 220-42. doi:10.1080/13639080.2012.718750.

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Jackson comprehensively discusses the need for quality skills in workplaces as needed by stakeholders in the article "Testing a Model of Undergraduate Competence in Employability Skills and Its Implications for Stakeholders." He found out that competence was the main requirement for many employers in the business environment. He noted that workplaces are increasingly demanding the ability to apply a wide range of skills in the workplace as opposed to the common thinking of academic expertise of students in their areas of practice. Various students do not meet the expectations of the industry in various skills. In the article, distinct factors are noted, which impact the competence of the new graduates in employability skills and also recommends the methods through which stakeholders can implement to find maximum outcome and take advantage of the skill outcomes. Various changes such as assurance of learning and treatment of institution-specific skill frameworks were noted as generators of workplace challenges such as poor productivity. The focus of the article was the demands of the various stakeholders in many business environments to ensure that the new entrants do not underperform as a result of the challenges of the transfer of the acquired skills across the various environments exposed to. Jackson's information might be useful for further research regarding the challenges associated with the transfer of learned skills between the classroom and the workplaces and the ways that stakeholders can intervene to find perfect solutions.

Lowden, Kevin, Stuart Hall, Dely Elliot, and Jon Lewin. "Employers' perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates." London: Edge Foundation (2011).

Lowden, Stuart, Dely, and Jon similarly address the perceptions of employers regarding the employability skills for new graduates in the global business environment. Some graduates and employers note that they should have been well-equipped with wider skills and attributes as opposed to those which they already possessed. Some of the skills addressed in the article include team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving, which are critical to any business environment. However, these skills are better off practiced than just learned. As referred to employability skills, these qualities are important for any new entrant into a global business environment as there is intense competition especially that the already existing workforce has built upon them. The researchers deeply find out what new graduates and their employers, as well as their previous institutions, think regarding employability skills, and the gap to be filled regarding their development. One of the findings of the articles includes the issue with access to placements, which appears to be patchy for the new entrants. Some others include the various programmers regarding employability, which are catchy and beneficial to graduates and the ignorance of employers by higher education institutions, which makes it difficult for students to be offered skills in line with the demands of various potential employers. The information also includes mitigation of the various challenges experienced by institutions, employers, and graduates. The information is particularly useful for researchers who would want to understand the gap between institutions and employers, which leads to incompetence for new graduates.

Suarta, Made I. "Employability Skills Needed by Higher Vocational Education Graduates to Be Successful in the Workplace." Chinese Business Review 11, no. 07 (July 28, 2012): 639-48. doi:10.17265/1537-1506/2012.07.004.

Suarta noted that various issues arise in the workplace as a result of a worker's competence in either technical or non-technical skills. The article comprehensively notes the effectiveness of the skills learned in theory as well as those learned from experience in employability. Various perceptions of both employers and supervisors are noted regarding the student's level of literacy and education. How competent a worker is at the workplace should be dependent on the previous skills taught and practiced. However, Suarta notes that it is important to prioritize the development of various skills for maximum competence. The article studies graduates at an internship program and compares them to the already existing workforce and analyses the specific data to come up with viable information regarding the employability of new entrants into the market. Suarta mainly considers the workplace health and safety, self-management, and team working in his analysis. He notes that even though these students are not competent because of nil experience, they are still competent in other areas including learning skills and self-management. However, these entrants are still found to be lesser competitive than already-experienced workers in the various workplaces placed who had already developed skills and benefits in computer application programs which are used in the workplaces and taking initiatives in the organization of activities. This information should be useful for research relating to a comparison between new graduates and the already experienced graduates existing in a similar working environment as it comprehensively notes the skills exhibited by each of them.

Wilton, Nick. "Do Employability Skills Matter in the UK Graduate Labour Market? The Case of Business and Management Graduates." Work, Employment and Society25, no. 1 (2011): 85-100. doi:10.1177/0950017010389244.

Nick assesses the degree of importance of employability skills in the UK graduate labor market. His main focus was the rationale of employers regarding the business and management graduates. He associates two rationales - the promotion of Higher Education participation which plays a role in encouraging universities to provide a well-trained workforce and political disclosure that focuses of equal social and life changes - to personal responsibility for individual employability. The article also explores the levels of employability and the influence on productivity as exhibited by the business and management graduates. Even though the graduates are well placed to exploit the various opportunities learned, there is a noted gap in the way they can address employers' demands. Being a competitive environment, the business graduates ought to have various skills that could make them better productive as compared to the already existing workers. The information gathered by Nick is important for researchers who require the two rationales addressed, which can be compared to the employability of a new workforce.

Yuzhuo, Cai. "Graduate employability: a conceptual framework for understanding employers' perceptions." Higher Education 65, no. 4 (2013): 457-469.

Yuzhuo is a China renowned writer concerned with employability and work environment matters. As one of the well-written articles, "Graduate employability: a conceptual framework for understanding employers' perceptions" deeply digs into the minds of employers and notes their perception in the value of graduates with similar educational skills in the workplace. More specifically, the article looks into the similar skills possessed by various workers in the institution and compares their competence in the workplace and bases the same to their experiences. Employers always have different perceptions regarding workers with similar educational qualifications. His main area of interest was the transition of graduates from their learning environments into the labor markets, which was noted as being a complex process as compared to the domestic environment. Therefore, he recommends an understanding of the perceptions of employers on global education output. Some theories and models are discussed in the article including the Bailly's model of employer's belief and the institutional theory. The relates the achievement of competency in organizations to the way policymakers and university leaders acknowledge the role of employers' beliefs regarding educational outputs as well as the understanding of maturation of the various beliefs as exhibited by employers. His information is useful to researchers who need to find how proactive interaction can be enhanced between employers and universities. The suggestions offered can be easily practiced.

Bibliography

Jackson, Denise. "Testing a Model of Undergraduate Competence in Employability Skills and Its Implications for Stakeholders." Journal of Education and Work27, no. 2 (2012): 220-42. doi:10.1080/13639080.2012.718750.

Lowden, Kevin, Stuart Hall, Dely Elliot, and Jon Lewin. "Employers' perceptions of the employability skills of new graduates." London: Edge Foundation (2011).

Suarta, Made I. "Employability Skills Needed by Higher Vocational Education Graduates to Be Successful in the Workplace." Chinese Business Review 11, no. 07 (July 28, 2012): 639-48. doi:10.17265/1537-1506/2012.07.004.

Wilton, Nick. "Do Employability Skills Really Matter in the UK Graduate Labour Market? The Case of Business and Management Graduates." Work, Employment and Society25, no. 1 (2011): 85-100. doi:10.1177/0950017010389244.

Yuzhuo, Cai. "Graduate employability: a conceptual framework for understanding employers' perceptions." Higher Education 65, no. 4 (2013): 457-469.