The acquisition, development and use of generic attributes: perceptions of new university graduates

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.This study explores the perceptions new graduates hold of the acquisition, development and use of a specified set of generic attributes (critical thinking, problem solving, interpersonal understandings and communication). The belief most often espoused in Australian universities, through their policies and practices, is that generic attributes that are useful in the workplace are able to be identified, labelled, taught, and developed over the course of an undergraduate programme. The plethora of literature related to generic attributes has generally supported this view but, for the most part has omitted the student or graduate voice. It has been the views of university staff, employer groups, and government agencies that have created the environment in which students are considered able to leave university with a specified bundle of generic attributes that they can use in the workplace. The approach to this enquiry is essentially a case study. It studies a collection of individual cases - recent university graduates. This research project relies heavily for its data on the technique of interviewing, which includes, an initial interview, and a reflective interview focusing on a critical incident. Follow up communication (via phone and email) continued for up to two years with some of the participants. A number of participants' stories are detailed, and the data suggests that generic attributes can be viewed in three different ways including, a naive view, a sophisticated view, and an antigeneric view. A number of themes are also developed and used to help consider some of the meanings generic attributes had for participants. The findings of this study suggest that the university classroom may not be the environment in which students develop the generic attributes that are useful in the workplace. Furthermore, there is a strong indication that new graduates place a high value on the development and deployment of generic attributes in the workplace - the level at which participants are able to utilise their generic attributes plays an important role in job satisfaction and motivation. The implications for both universities and workplaces as a result of the findings of this study are discussed in the final chapter. Certainly closer relationships between universities and employers would be beneficial in ensuring not only that the voices of students/new graduates are heard but that action is taken so that the most effective and efficient processes are implemented for all parties concerned

Employer perspectives of the current and future value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study

Graduate employability has become increasingly contentious as employers call for greater development, evaluation and benchmarking of student skills and capabilities in university courses. However, the increasing range of graduate attributes and competencies demanded by industry is further pressuring an Australian higher education sector already stretched by greater student numbers and declines in government funding. Given these circumstances, there is a need to better understand employer perspectives of the current and future value of vocational, interpersonal and generic attributes of STEM graduates. A survey of STEM graduate employers showed that vocational skills, such as graduates' abilities to contextually apply and develop knowledge, together with generic skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, were valued most highly. Conversely, self-confidence and independence, along with numeracy and related skills, were valued least by the employers. However, attributes such as flexibility / adaptability, self-confidence, personal planning and organisation and developing knowledge relevant to the position were all predicted to become significantly more valuable in a decade's time. The results of this study suggest that Australian undergraduate STEM curricula, which commonly focus on knowledge acquisition, be redesigned and restructured to provide students with opportunities to apply such knowledge more often, and in real life, industry-based contexts, such as WIL and IBL programs. Through such initiatives, together with greater dialogue and collaboration between academics and employers, employability skills and attributes can be better inculcated in undergraduates, to the benefit of graduates and society as a whole

Coping with cultural differences: the development of generic capabilities in logistics graduates

This thesis investigates development of generic capabilities in an RMIT undergraduate logistics degree program. Generic capabilities are those general graduate attributes that are not specifically discipline-focused, examples being communication and teamwork skills. A major research objective of this thesis is the extent to which graduates perceived that generic capabilities were developed in their RMIT logistics undergraduate program, specifically in a cross-cultural context spanning a range of organisations differing in size and ownership structure. The thesis involves two studies. In Study 1 managers from eight organisations, ranging in size from multi-national to small public and private (family-owned) companies were interviewed to develop a series of qualitative organisational case studies using grounded theory methodology. Study 2 is a quantitative survey of 31 Australian and 25 Asian (Singapore and Hong Kong) logistic graduates from 1996 to 2002. In Study 1, generic capabilities rankings in different organisations varied, depending on whether managers being interviewed were operational or human resource management specialists, but there was general agreement that communication, problem-solving, initiative and enterprise, and teamwork skills were highest priority. Study 2 results indicate that the views of both Asian and Australian graduates are in line with the management rankings, and are consistent with those reported by Australian and OECD government and industry research organisations. Both graduate groups agree that generic capabilities are covered in the RMIT logistic program, but ratings are generally in an 'adequate' to 'good' range, with no outstanding features. Although cultural diversity in the student body is seen as a major benefit, there are little data indicating a high level of Australian and Asian student networking, and a number of respondents are critical of a lack of international focus in the present program. A major issue is a n eed for more emphasis on presentation and problem-solving skills so graduates are able to carry through a project from initiation to completion

Creating an employment ready graduate:stakeholder perspectives of internship programmes and their ability to enhance the graduate employability skills set

Purpose: The aims of this research are to examine stakeholder perspectives of the use and usefulness of graduate attributes which are embedded into the curriculum of a UK university and to evaluate the potential of these graduate attributes to go beyond institutional pedagogy and enhance the employability skills set of graduates.Design/methodology/approach: The research used a mixed method to elicit perspectives of a University’s graduate attributes, interviewing employers and surveying students using a self-assessment tool and convenience sampling approach. Findings: The research found that there are key attributes for the success of University-led graduate attributes which include engagement from stakeholders with those attributes, commitment from teaching staff towards the development of identified attributes, appropriate time to align and embed attributes into the curriculum and with the needs of stakeholders and a framework which compliments institutional research and is properly resourced (Al-Mahood and Gruba, 2007). No one graduate attribute works in isolation, they have to be part of a measured and balanced model or framework to address the multi-faceted nature of graduate employability. The research reveals that work-based initiatives were the most valued by graduates and employers alike, which are arguably easier to teach as it is learning by doing as opposed to developing generic softer skills which are not valued highly by graduates in respect to employment. The findings support existing research that graduates value graduate attributes which involve work based learning activities as a means to gain employability skills and employment. Practical and social implications: The research findings should provide Universities and Colleges from both within and out with the UK with a blueprint from which to create or refresh existing University led graduate attributes. Originality/value: The findings from this paper consolidate existing research in the area of graduate employability and take research forward in the areas of graduate attributes, the measurement of these attributes and their currency in terms of employability and employer synergy

Work ready graduates for Australian small and medium Accounting firms

Approximately 40% of graduate recruitment in Australia is by small and medium accounting (SMA) firms, firms which can face different constraints compared to their larger counterparts. Given the attributes of SMA firms it is important to appreciate what they consider makes a work ready graduate. This article reports the findings of a study that explores what makes a graduate work ready when commencing employment within an Australian SMA firm. The findings suggest that a work ready graduate for an SMA firm has a working knowledge and understanding of business accounting software programs, taxation knowledge and tax software skills. Additionally, there is a high emphasis on communication and interpersonal skills. This raises the question as to whether current university degrees are providing adequate technical and generic skill development for those graduates seeking employment with SMA firms

Generic education for specialist information professionals

Debate concerning specialist and generalist education for law librarianship is reviewed

Designing a competency based program to facilitate the progression of experienced engineering technologists to professional engineer status

This paper describes the pedagogical principles that underpin the design of the Master of Engineering Practice, a distance education program offered by the University of Southern Queensland. This innovative program enables experienced engineering technologists to use their workplace learning to assemble portfolios that demonstrate their achievement of many of the competencies defined for a graduate of the program. Students are required to be self-directed learners and to use reflective practices to assess their own learning. Following a self-assessment process undertaken in the first course in the program, each student prepares a Pathway to Graduation Plan which they then follow through to graduation. Graduates of the program are able to become registered as Chartered Professional Engineers

Adopting appropriate teaching models to develop knowledge and skills to academic standards in the accounting discipline

Cooperative learning models of teaching are the most suitable teaching models for the development of professional accounting competencies in the accounting discipline. Currently, the role of accountants has changed from being a technical job to more client-oriented job. The teaching and learning of accounting has been changing to match the challenges of this new accounting role. Universities are searching for a number of strategies to teach the professional accounting competencies that are required. The Australian accounting teaching and learning standards provide a thorough set of criteria for determining what is necessary in accounting education. Joyce, Weil, and Calhoun categorised a wide variety of teaching models into four families including: information processing, behavioural, personal, and social models. This paper applied the Australian accounting teaching and learning standards criteria to the models of teaching by Joyce, Weil and Calhoun to evaluate which teaching and learning model would be most appropriate to teach future accountants. The findings indicate that the social interdependence theory and the cooperative learning model are the most appropriate to test for teaching accounting in the accounting discipline