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…

This paper explores the skills that Hong Kong employers and graduates see as important to have in the workplace as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data are interviews with 40 employers and 69 graduates in the territory. Using reflexive thematic analysis, our qualitative findings center around four themes. First, we highlight the necessity…

Purpose: Our work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates' skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond. Design/methodology/approach: Using Q-methodology and the accompanying narrations, we explore German employers' and employees' views (N = 26) on characteristics required at the entry level. Findings: Our findings…

Universities tend to focus on the hard skills required within disciplines, with a general lack of focus on the teaching of soft skills, specifically in the hard sciences, while a graduate with good attributes ought to have both. There is an uncertainty over whose responsibility it is to teach soft skills between industry and universities, with the…

The growth in digitalisation has led to an increasing demand for digital skills in various job sectors. In particular, employers in scientific job areas have shown interest in candidates possessing digital competencies. This study aims to analyse the digital skill requirements for candidates in scientific job opportunities. The content analysis is…

Employees' insufficient soft skills have the potential to lead to collaboration and organizational inefficiency. Business leaders are concerned with the critical issue of insufficient soft skills among information technology (IT) professionals because these skills are essential for the effective functioning of teams and overall organizational…

Purpose: American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study explored employer perspectives on employees' common and specialized skills across industries in the United States. Design/methodology/approach: Employers were…

Co-operative education (co-op) programs enable students to gain real-world experience by alternating work and study terms. Understanding employers' expectations of students in different disciplines is therefore critical for success. To do this, the relationships between co-op job postings, required skills, and academic backgrounds can be modeled…

Literature and research span a multitude of ways to define critical thinking. It is used frequently and interchangeably within academia and the workforce based on the context and experiences of the individual. Amidst the ambiguity and complexity in a composite definition of critical thinking, over the past years, it continues to rank in the top…

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…

Growing concerns about the employability of science graduates has led most Australian higher education providers to incorporate work-integrated learning (WIL) into their science curricula. Project-based learning (PjBL) is a student-centred approach to learning that focuses on the application of discipline specific skills and knowledge in…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how hiring managers describe the importance of education and industry related/real-world experience as criteria in hiring recent business graduates for the Consumer Products Goods industry in the United States. The theoretical foundations for the study were the CareerEDGE Model, and…

An increasing mismatch between the global supply of PhD-qualified graduates with the global demand within the tertiary education sector comes despite academic positions remaining graduates' first choice of future career. The 'silver medal' choice, research work in industry, is increasingly a likelier outcome, leading to a need to understand…

Higher education opens doors to job enhancement and economic benefits to adult learners. Despite facing multiple barriers such as life-work-school time conflicts and financial constraints, adult learners continue to seek higher education and certifications. Rural employers also benefit from supporting degree completion or job-specific…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the skills expected by employers and the skills demonstrated by accounting graduates with data from 160 employers of accounting graduates in Ghana. From the perspective of employers, the authors compare the expected skills to the skills demonstrated by accounting graduates and identify any significant gaps.…