Employability is a set of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that make an individual more employable.
Institutions of higher education are examining the methods they use to enhance student employability and are exercising various measures to grow and strengthen this.
University professor Bill Lucas has even detailed a ten-step manifesto to ready learners for the world of work, which considers new research, that brings thinking from a range of disciplines together, for the first time to focus on implications for colleges and providers.
With greater resources and research being put towards improving employability at higher education level, what has led to its prioritization for a high proportion of institutions?
Employers are demanding skills from graduates which are outside the subject area of study in Higher Education. Indeed, some employers have placed less importance on graduates’ actual degree discipline in favor of the more generic skills which they have acquired.
Employers generally see a graduate’s achievements related to the subject discipline as necessary but not sufficient for them to be recruited. Achievements outside the boundaries of the discipline extracurricular activities such as work experience, volunteering, and involvement in clubs and societies are seen as having equal importance in this context as the knowledge and experience acquired through academic study.
