To advance the employability agenda in higher education, we need new ideas for embedding career skills into university curricula and novel tools for articulating the capabilities of learners. Situated in the discipline of environmental science, the aim of this study was to examine employer perceptions of the skills needed for a career in the…

Do employers prioritize university prestige above an applicant's skills in the hiring process? To distinguish between the effect of human capital in the hiring process from the effect of the name of the graduating university--while controlling for networking effects--2,400 fictitious applications were submitted to IT and accounting jobs in the US,…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) placement is increasingly being prioritized in university course curricula as industry, students and government seek improved employability skills, work-ready graduates and stronger graduate employability outcomes. For disciplines such as business, without industry accreditation mandating WIL placement experiences…

Purpose: A fundamental assumption of the apprenticeship model is that there are benefits to both employers and individual learners. This study offers a broad conceptual interrogation of this inherent assumption underpinning the apprenticeship model. Approach: This study combines analysis of literature and available data and draws upon…

The process of curriculum development can be informed by seeking the views of stakeholders, including employers, academics, students and recent graduates, about the skills, attributes and personal characteristics required by various professions. The views of several stakeholders may also be compared to help ensure reliability of results and…

To gain employment and a fulfilling career, students need to understand the skills and knowledge that are important and how to articulate and evidence their employability. This paper reports on research investigating science students' priorities related to immediate employment versus long-term employability and the factors that students perceive…

Employability has become an important focus for graduates and employers in Australia, as many universities contend with the notion of developing knowledgeable and problem-solving graduates who are workforce ready practitioners. This paper presents an example of how the higher education communication disciplines from across Victoria, Australia,…

Mixed findings characterize the literature on skills and economic distributions within and across countries. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) offers new, internationally comparable data on literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving skills that can be combined with wage information. This paper…

This study of job advertisements extends our understanding of how employers, rather than researchers, describe the specific skills and attributes sought in candidates for employment in graduate marketing roles in Australia. The article presents the findings of a content analysis of 359 marketing job advertisements downloaded in 2016, in two…

This working paper is the first publication coming out of a project investigating the role of vocational education and training (VET) in developing digital skills in the Australian workforce, using two sectors as case studies--Transport and Logistics, and Public Safety and Correctional Services. The study employs a mixed method approach, combining…

There is limited large-scale empirical research into the working lives of adults who have an autism spectrum disorder with no co-occurring intellectual disability. Drawing on data from a national survey, this report describes the employment activities and experiences of 130 adults with Asperger's Disorder (AD) and high functioning autism (HFA) in…

Helping students develop the employability skills and professional capabilities they will need to transition into graduate roles is one of the most important mandates for university study. With this context in mind, this paper analyses the nature and implications of Australian university students' participation in paid work during study. The paper…

This literature review, commissioned by the National Quality Council, provides a historical account of the development of competency-based training in Australia and summarises the issues arising from the range of reviews conducted on elements of the national training system. It also explores the variety of ways in which competence is conceived…

The Career Development Program is a nationally recognised, award-winning student-centred program designed to deal with the three university-wide learning and teaching initiatives: Transitions In; Work Integrated Learning; and Transitions Out. The program is oriented to preparing students for university; planning for and taking advantage of…

One of the challenges facing Australia is the ageing of the population. Of major concern, especially to government, is that the dependency ratio--a measure of the burden that economically active persons carry by supporting dependent persons--will increase significantly unless older people keep working or immigration is used to change the…