Employers' Ratings of Importance of Skills and Competencies College Graduates Need to Get Hired: Evidence from the New England Region of USA

Autor/inn/en	Baird, Anthony M.; Parayitam, Satyanarayana
Titel	Employers' Ratings of Importance of Skills and Competencies College Graduates Need to Get Hired: Evidence from the New England Region of USA
Quelle	In: Education & Training, 61 (2019) 5, S.622-634 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0040-0912
DOI	10.1108/ET-12-2018-0250
Schlagwörter	Employer Attitudes; Job Skills; Competence; College Graduates; Employment Qualifications; Personnel Selection; Thinking Skills; Problem Solving; Career Readiness; Communication Skills; Leadership Qualities; Teamwork; Critical Thinking; Interpersonal Competence; Professionalism; Motivation; Listening Skills + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Arbeitgeberinteresse; Produktive Fertigkeit; Kompetenz; Hochschulabsolvent; Hochschulabsolventin; Employment qualification; Vocational qualification; Vocational qualifications; Berufliche Qualifikation; Personalauswahl; Personalentscheidung; Denkfähigkeit; Problemlösen; Kommunikationsstil; Führungseigenschaft; Kritisches Denken; Interpersonale Kompetenz; Professionalität; psychologische; Motivation (psychologisch)
Abstract	Purpose: Higher education institutions play an important role in the economic growth of any country, through skills and productivity of their graduates. Employers have some expectations about the skills the graduates possess when they graduate out of universities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the skills employers look for in graduates before they hire them. Design/methodology/approach: Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 50 organizations employing over 50 people. The data consisted of 21 skills the employers rate as important. These skills were categorized into four dimensions: analytical skills, career professional and readiness skills, communications skills, and personality, leadership skills and team/group work. After checking the reliability of the scale, ?2 test and rank correlation were used to analyze the importance of these skills. Findings: The findings from a study of employers in the northeastern part of USA suggest that the top six skills and competencies rated with highest importance by employers were: interpersonal skills/works well with others; critical thinking/problem-solving skills; listening skills; oral/speech communication skills; professionalism; and personal motivation. Of all 21 skills, the highly ranked skills needed were interpersonal skills followed by critical thinking and problem solving and listening. Research limitations/implications: The present research is based on self-report measures and, hence, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, adequate care is taken to minimize these limitations. The research has implications for the higher educational institutions and researches in the field of education. Practical implications: In addition to the employers, this study contributes to higher educational institutions. The study suggests that employers look for interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills before making hiring decisions. Educational institutions need to focus on enhancing these skills in classrooms by emphasizing the teamwork. The implications for both academicians and practitioners are discussed in the paper. Social implications: The findings from the study help in creating a fruitful social environment in organizations. Originality/value: This study provides new insights about the changing pattern of skills students need to secure before seeking employment. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01