Employability Skills

1
Employability Skills

• Session 6
• What do Employers want?

2
What do employers want?

• Is it just about high academic achievement and
  technical skills?

3
What do employers think and want?

• Between June and August 2011 the University of
  Huddersfield and Guangdong Polytechnic Normal
  University surveyed a range of employers to ask
  them their views on employability skills. One
  quarter of the UK employers surveyed were large
  (gt500 employees) employers with three quarters
  consisting of small-medium sized employers. The
  breakdown of Chinese employers was roughly
  similar with around one third of the responses
  coming from large employers.
• 217 responses were received from Chinese
  employers responding to Guangdongs survey with
  61 employers responding to the University of
  Huddersfields survey.
• The results are on the slides following.

4
What do employers think and want?
Personal Skills Difference
Enthusiasm 4.75 4.23 0.52
Reliability 4.72 4.71 0.01
Adaptability 4.66 4.23 0.43
Initiative 4.62 4.40 0.22
Loyalty 4.33 4.23 0.10
Confidence 4.13 4.27 -0.14
Ethical values 4.07 4.46 -0.39
Decisiveness 4.03 3.79 0.24
Tolerance to stress 3.98 4.13 -0.15
Social responsibility 3.72 4.20 -0.48
UK Score /5
Chinese Score /5
Employers were asked to rate the above personal
skills out of 5 when recruiting new graduates.
The greatest differences were in the areas of
enthusiasm, adaptability and decisiveness which
Chinese employers put less importance on, but
they put more importance on social
responsibility, ethical values and tolerance to
stress than UK employers.
5
What do employers think and want?
Chinese Score /5
Professional Capabilities Difference
Self-motivation 4.82 4.16 0.66
Communication 4.74 3.78 0.96
Teamwork 4.52 4.48 0.04
Analytical/Problem solving 4.33 4.32 0.01
Planning/ organisational 4.30 3.79 0.51
Data handling/numeracy 4.15 3.89 0.36
Professional development 4.07 4.08 -0.01
Innovation 3.93 4.03 -0.10
Negotiation/ persuasion 3.44 4.52 -1.08
UK Score /5
Employers were asked to rate the above
professional capabilities out of 5 when
recruiting new graduates. This question revealed
that Chinese employers rated teamwork,
negotiation/persuasion skills as being
more important when recruiting graduates. In
contrast UK employers said that self-motivation
and communication skills were more important when
recruiting graduates.
6
What do employers think and want?
Subject specific knowledge Difference
Logical thinking 4.33 4.01 0.32
Application of Knowledge 4.20 4.25 -0.05
Understanding 3.93 3.90 0.03
Experience 3.93 4.11 -0.18
IT application 3.92 3.71 0.21
Up to date 3.80 3.59 0.21
Breadth of knowledge 3.66 3.91 -0.25
Certification 3.52 3.65 -0.13
UK Score /5
Chinese Score /5
Employers were asked to rate the above subject
specific knowledge out of 5 when recruiting new
graduates. This final question revealed that
subject specific knowledge received less overall
scores than the other two survey categories.
There were only very slight differences between
the importance Chinese and UK employers placed
upon logical thinking, breadth of knowledge and
IT (computer) application.
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What do employers think and want?

• Perceptions of UK higher education
• Chinese employers place importance on rankings of
  UK universities they currently place high
  importance on league tables produced by the Times
  and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
• There is a perceived lack of knowledge of UK HE
  institutions other than Oxford, Cambridge,
  Imperial College and the London School of
  Economics (LSE).
• The general lack of relevant work experience
  amongst UK educated Chinese graduates puts them
  at a disadvantage when returning home.
• In the UK almost any work experience is seen as
  having some value whereas Chinese employers
  mainly value paid relevant work experience.
• Chinese students planning to study in the UK need
  to be made aware of the help UK Careers Services
  can give them in helping to secure relevant paid
  work experience
• Networking or making use of Guanxi was seen as
  the main way of securing work in China.
• UK Universities need to make use of alumni
  networks to help students maintain links with
  Chinese UK graduates.
• Source AGCAS/NASES China Visit report 14-20
  March 2009

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What do employers think and want?

• Further points to note
• Chinese employers also value English language
  skills, particularly large foreign companies
  where English can be the main language spoken.
• UK experience is also valued if it is relevant,
  as is the possession of entrepreneurial skills.
• Possession of a more vocational or job related
  degree is seen as having more value than a non
  vocational degree such as English, Humanities
  etc.
• UK educated Chinese graduates were also seen as
  having gained the following from a UK education
• Broader thinking skills, greater independence,
  more confidence in doing business with other
  cultures, improved creativity, life skills,
  critical analysis, reasoning and self-motivation
  skills.
• Source AGCAS/NASES China Visit report 14-20
  March 2009

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What else are employers looking for?

• And, according to Kimberly Clark a major graduate
  recruiter
• Demonstrating extracurricular activities is
  important .a candidate should be able to
  demonstrate that he or she has wider interests
  and can contribute something more than pure
  intellect or technical skills.

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What else are employers looking for?

• On the subject of the importance of academic
  achievements a major UK graduate recruiter
  Deloitte says
• Obviously academics are important and people
  need to be able to meet the academic criteria but
  were looking for more than that were
  looking for all-rounders, who are good at all
  sorts of different things .

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Quotation

• According to Anthony Hesketh author of How to get
  the best graduate job
• You need to put yourself in the shoes of the
  selectors. (and ask) Why are they looking for
  these skills? What attributes do I have which
  might trigger employers to think I have what they
  need? Employers are looking for much more than
  the skills they list. They are looking for a
  package. The more perceptive candidates work
  out what this package is and commodify (present)
  themselves accordingly.

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Research

• So, to work out what the package is it is very
  important to do your homework about a company and
  understand the following
• The culture - will you fit in?
• The companys values do they match yours?
• Technical skills needed
• Any academic entry requirements
• Personal skills needed
• The additional contribution you can bring from
  your extra curricular activities and life
  experience.

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What do Employers want?

• Core transferable skills and qualities called
  COMPETENCIES
• Knowledgeable applicants
• Who are able to explain clearly why the job
  interests them, why they are suitable with
  examples of relevant skills, qualities and work
  experience that they have.
• Applicants need to provide evidence for each of
  these requirements when applying for the
  position.

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In summary..

• It would seem that employers are not just
  looking for high academic achievement and
  technical skills. They want the complete
  package which can include these but also
  softer skills, relevant work experience and
  evidence of extra curricular activities.

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What are employers looking for?

• How to find out what skills are required
• 
  
• Organisations website
• See the personal specification for the job
  sometimes employers refer to these skills as
  essentials and desirables.
• Look at the skills required for similar
  vacancies.
• Use Prospects job profiles under types of jobs
  see www.prospects.ac.uk
• Ask yourself what skills would be required in
  that role.
• Will you fit in with the culture/ values of the
  organisation?

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What are employability skills?

• In 2002, according to research carried out by a
  Sheffield Hallam (UK) Universitys Employability
  Working Group employability was defined as
• Enabling students to acquire the knowledge,
  personal and professional skills and encouraging
  the attitudes that will support their future
  development and employment.
• These skills can be used in a wide range of
  tasks/situations within all subject areas, jobs
  and life experiences.
• Consider what you have to offer to an employer in
  a much broader, more holistic way, and which
  reflect what is currently talked about in terms
  of the employability debate.
• Being able to reflect and assess yourself at each
  stage of your career is vital if you are to
  remain employable, and develop your career rather
  
• than simply remain in employment.

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The most commonly sought after skills are .

• Communication
• Self-motivation
• Time management
• Team work
• Leadership
• Problem solving
• Organisation
• Reliability
• Ethical values
• Languages

• Self-awareness
• Social responsibility
• Tolerance to stress
• Application of knowledge
• Commercial Awareness
• Numeracy
• Literacy
• I.T.

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Skills definitions

• Communication - ability to communicate orally, in
  writing, or via electronic means, in a manner
  appropriate to the audience
• Teamwork - being a constructive team member,
  contributing practically to the success of the
  team
• Leadership - being able to motivate and encourage
  others, whilst taking the lead
• Initiative - ability to see opportunities and to
  set and achieve goals
• Problem solving - thinking things through in a
  logical way in order to determine key issues,
  often also including creative thinking
• Flexibility/adaptability - ability to handle
  change and adapt to new situations
• Self-awareness - knowing your strengths and
  skills and having the confidence to put these
  across
• Commitment/motivation - having energy and
  enthusiasm in pursuing projects

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Skills definitions

• Interpersonal skills - ability to relate well to
  others and to establish good working
  relationships
• Numeracy - competence and understanding of
  numerical data, statistics and graphs.
• Reliability can be trusted to complete tasks
  correctly and work co-operatively with others
• Social responsibility being polite, working
  well with members of the team and for the good of
  the company
• Ethical values behaving in a way which reflects
  the values of the company and country
• Tolerance to stress able to work effectively
  and under pressure
• Application of knowledge can use their
  knowledge effectively for the benefit of the
  organisation
• Additionally, private sector employers like to
  see that applicants have some commercial
  awareness - an insight into how firms operate,
  what is happening in the business world and the
  impact this could have on their organisation.

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How do you prove you have these required skills?

• You can use examples from the following
• Your degree course
• Your past/current work experience
• Unpaid or voluntary work
• Extracurricular activities
• Try the Employability checklist - exercise 1 from
  this session. This will help you to produce
  evidence of these employability skills and
  provide you with other examples you can use for
  your future job applications.

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Job vacancies reading between the lines

• Relating skills to opportunities
• How do we know what skills to highlight when
  compiling a CV/Resume, covering letter or
  application?
• Consider how your motivation, personal qualities
  and aspirations reflect the ethos of the
  recruiting organisation and the opportunity on
  offer.
• Understand the skills and competencies required
  for the role. This will be transparent where a
  job specification is made available. It may be
  more difficult when theres only an advertisement
  to look at. The latter is more common with small
  to medium sized employers.
• Try the Exercise Reading between the lines which
  gives you hints on how to analyse job vacancies
  and then try the exercise for yourself.
• Ultimately, you will have to decide on the best
  way to sell your skills. Which CV/Resume format
  will you use? What should you put in your
  covering letter? See session 7 Effective
  applications for more detailed advice on how to
  write CVs and covering letters.