Workshop on Skills, Entrepreneurship and Employability

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Workshop on Skills, Entrepreneurship and
Employability
Plan of the Session

• Survey evidence
• Presentation on two LSE mini-projects
• PBL and employability
• The use of PDPs
• Discussion on integrating career skills
• into the Economics curriculum

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Employment Prospects of Economics Graduates

• John Sloman
• Director, Economics Network

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Overview

• Views of graduates
• Some findings of the Economics Network Economics
  graduates survey
• Views of employers
• What employers feel about Economics graduates and
  what employers want from new employees

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Views of Economics Graduates in Employment
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Survey of Economics Graduates

• Year of graduation
• 1980s 29 1990s 30 20003 41
• Employment
• Full time 72 Part time 15 Education 7
• Current salary
• gt40K 37 20K40K 26 lt20K 26

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How did the following influence your decision to
take your current job?
Source Economics Alumni Survey, Economics
Network, 2005
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How do you rate your study of Economics in
developing skills for your current job?
Source Economics Alumni Survey, Economics
Network, 2005
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How well did your degree course help you
to develop generic skills suitable for your
current job?
Source Economics Alumni Survey, Economics
Network, 2005
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How do you rate your own generic skills now?
Source Economics Alumni Survey, Economics
Network, 2005
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Looking back on your time as a student and
knowing what you do now about careers and the
workplace, would you still choose to study
Economics at degree level?
Source Economics Alumni Survey, Economics
Network, 2005
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Views of Employers
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Australian employers of Economics Graduates
Questionnaire
Source P. Hellier, M. Kenley, R Carr and B
Lynch, Towards a Market Oriented Approach
Employers Requirements and Implications for
Undergraduate Economics Programs
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Strengths of Economics Graduates

• Analytical way of thinking
• Problem-solving
• Recognition and clarifying
• Problem analysis
• Identifying and comparing alternative solutions
  to problems
• Scepticism over possible misuse of data

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Australian employers of Economics Graduates
Looking for skills that can be transferred
to various applications Public-sector organisation
Many applicants and recruits appear to have less
exposure to the application of economic theory to
policy issues within their degrees Private-sector
organisation
Economic theory must be balanced i.e. business
reality Private-sector organisation
Practical work experience is very important
e.g. vacation periods or placements Private-secto
r organisation
Cannot emphasise too highly the value placed on
(1) the capacity to write succinctly for an
audience without formal economics training (2)
to speak clearly logically and articulately in
conveying assertions, analysis and conclusions
(3) knowledge of data sources and the weaknesses
of and limits to uses of different types of
data Private-sector organisation
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UK employers of Economics Graduates
What we are looking for in Economics graduates is
how they apply economic theory to real-world
problems, find the theory and the evidence to
support it and dissect the problem before looking
for its solution. HM Customs and Excise
Economics graduates have an advantage in content
knowledge, but they need to be careful not to
concentrate too much on the theory, when applying
for jobs. We would accept someone if they didnt
have economics. Private-sector consultancy firm
We are looking for Economics graduates ability
to apply economic theory to policy in practical
situations. They have to know enough of the
theory to be able to extract it. Thats what we
are looking for in selection, people who are able
to apply economics to real-life issues. GES
Economist Group Management Unit
In problem-solving we are looking to see if
applicants are able to quickly recognise
problems, clarify the problem, analyse the
problem, come up with different options and solve
the problem effectively. Private-sector
consultancy firm
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UK Employers Views on Graduate Skills (all
graduates)
problem-solving to be a very important attribute
but one with which they are only moderately
satisfied because of graduates' lack of
real-world application.
Most employers consider
that understanding of core principles, technical
ability, potential and willingness to learn and
continually updating knowledge are more important
than a stock of knowledge.
that graduates are not particularly good at
applying knowledge or understanding to practical
work situations because of (i) inability to
improvise, (ii) lack of commercial awareness and
(iii) lack of appreciation of the human or
cultural context within which they are working.
Employability Backpack (U of Central Lancashire)
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Weaknesses of Economics Graduates

• Communication skills
• written oral empathising
• Ability to work effectively in teams / groups
• lack of group work in many traditional degrees
• Problems in applying theory to real-world
  situations
• Lack of understanding of the requirements of
  employers