The value of soft skills : preparing the next generation of workforce for future work

Graduates are not only expected to attain a degree but a range of soft skills. Soft skills such as communication, creativity, and critical thinking are among the most desired skills employers seek. Soft skills are well respected among employers, as they represent an employee's ability to function successfully in life and at work. Evidence suggests the deficit in soft skills is growing; employers find it challenging to hire new graduates with soft skills. As a result, employers have raised concerns about the widening gap between graduates' skills and capabilities to meet the workforce needs. They fear a disconnect between our education system and the labor market. This research paper provides an overview of the growing demands of soft skills in higher education and within the workplace. The report shows that higher education plays a critical role in maintaining our current and future workforce. Research shows universities must integrate soft skill curriculum through work and project-based learning, micro-credentials, and cross-sector partnerships to address the soft skills deficit.Thesis (M.P.A.)Department of Political Scienc

Uncovering the Skillsets Required in Computer Science Jobs Using Social Network Analysis

The rapid growth of technology and computer science, which has led to a surge in demand for skilled professionals in this field. The skill set required for computer science jobs has evolved rapidly, creating challenges for those already in the workforce who need to adapt their skills quickly to meet industry demands. To stay ahead of the curve, it is essential to understand the hottest skills needed in the field. The article introduces a new method for analyzing job advertisements using social network analysis to identify the most critical skills required by employers in the market. In this research, to form the communication network of skills, first 5763 skills were collected from the LinkedIn social network, then the relationship between skills was collected and searched in 7777 computer science job advertisements, and finally, the balanced communication network of skills was formed. The study analyzes the formed communication network of skills in the computer science job market and identifies four distinct communities of skills: Generalists, Infrastructure and Security, Software Development, and Embedded Systems. The findings reveal that employers value both hard and soft skills, such as programming languages and teamwork. Communication skills were found to be the most important skill in the labor market. Additionally, certain skills were highlighted based on their centrality indices, including communication, English, SQL, Git, and business skills, among others. The study provides valuable insights into the current state of the computer science job market and can help guide individuals and organizations in making informed decisions about skills acquisition and hiring practices

Educating 21st Century Technology Career Professionals: Perspectives on Soft Skills

This study used the theories of Pedagogical Constructivism, Transformative Learning, and Social and Cultural Capital to understand better the soft skills competencies that need to be imparted to adult learners to thrive in a technological world. The study was set at Midwest Tech Company, a suburban software technology company located outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The research design was qualitative, using a phenomenological approach. Data were collected within interviews, focus group activities, and from documents. Analysis of the data collected revealed lived experiences of career technology professionals that described effective communication, willingness to learn, and the value of mentorship within technology professional work

Software and Systems Engineers in ICS Security - Graduate Level Curricula and Industry Needs

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CONSTRUCTING A CONNECTED PROGRAM IN IT/IS: A NON-R1 UNIVERSITY CASE

A connected program model is developed in a non-R1 university to address the skill gap in the current Information Technology (IT)/Information Systems (IS) workforce. The program aims to enhance undergraduate IT/IS education and research to equip graduates with employability and soft skills to enable them to meet emerging challenges in an ever-changing global environment. The model integrates six dimensions of connectivity including 1) academia to industry, 2) curriculum over time, 3) students to research projects and researchers, 4) across disciplines and the world, 5) students with students and alumni, and 6) students with faculty. The paper starts with examining what skill gaps are in the current IT/IS workforce, followed by an outline of the primary framework –the connected curriculum. The third section presents a case study illustrating how the authors developed and implemented the program in their university. The discussions and future research directions are included in the last section

Managing Increasing Complexity in Undergraduate Digital Media Design Education: The impact and benefits of multidisciplinary collaboration

Increasing complexity is one of the most pertinent issues when discussing the role and future of design, designers and their education. The evolving nature of digital media technology has resulted in a profession in a state of flux with increasingly complex communication and design problems. The ability to collaborate and interact with other disciplines has recently been strongly articulated as an imperative skill for the future designer. How the education of such a designer is facilitated in practice is less well defined. The implementation of authentic problem-solving processes that introduce design students to workplace realities is often missing in design education. In order to manage the increasing complexities of design problems and technology a learning and teaching approach that facilitates the interaction of multiple disciplines was implemented and trialed over a period of two years in an undergraduate digital media design programme. This approach, known as the POOL model framework, is based on a ‘pool’ of resources and people to be applied as needed when responding to complex design problems. This paper focuses on the extent to which complex interactive design projects can be managed through multidisciplinary collaboration. Feedback from students and educators is presented and which reveals that the framework does provide an opportunity for students to resolve complex design and technological problems and contribute to project outcomes that could not be achieved when working individually

The malleability of disciplinary identity

Master's Project (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This paper tracks the progress of a beginning undergraduate writer's disciplinary becoming. Much research in disciplinary identity focuses on graduate students and advanced undergraduate writers; however, sites of disciplinary identity formation also occur early on during the required first-year writing course. These sites are crucial because they inform the student writer's entrance into the academic conversation, and reveal the extent to which early assumptions about disciplinary roles affects further disciplinary identity formation. Drawing from Ivanič's framework of writer identity, this case study reveals the ever-shifting tensions of "disciplinary becoming." The analysis captures how a writer's discursive self shifts from a static disciplinary identity to a more malleable disciplinary identity through a cross-analysis of two separate writing assignments in order to learn how the student's petroleum engineer identity is performed, contradicted and re-negotiated. I argue that this shift will enable writing knowledge transfer and overall identity formation