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…

This article shares the findings from a two-year longitudinal study of the employment experiences of entry-level workers in the UK film and TV industries, with particular reference to the value they attributed to their prior education -- or their perception of gaps in that education. Educational institutions were better at delivering…

This article explores the experience of 10 graduate interns employed in an academic development team at a modern British university. The interns came from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds with no previous experience of academic development. We worked intensively with them to build their research and professional capabilities. They learnt to…

The authors examine the issue of employability of university accounting students from the perspectives of accounting firm employers, junior auditors, accounting lecturers, and accounting students. Areas of investigation include perceived importance of employability skills and desirable personal qualities; and early employment problems encountered…

This paper reports on the author's experiences of working with accountancy employers to develop a deeper understanding of skills development and employability in the accountancy profession. It notes that while there is a well-developed literature that examines skills development amongst university accounting students, there is also evidence of a…

Conducted a survey to identify skills and characteristics of high school graduates perceived most valuable by employers. The general skills of reading, listening, and speaking received the highest ratings, whereas specific job-related skills were rated lowest. Attitudes perceived as highly important included being dependable, staying with a task,…

Findings of an exploratory qualitative study of personality characteristics observed to exist among a sample of new "advertising creatives" are presented in this paper. Subjects, 13 copywriters and art directors participating in a training program at an advertising agency with global billings of $4 billion, were interviewed in depth…

A descriptive study documented entry-level licensed vocational nurse (LVN) tasks representing educational competencies as perceived by vocational nursing educators, LVNs, and nurse supervisors. Data were gathered from three samples by mailed survey and analyzed using nonparametric descriptive statistics. The respondents included 83 educators, 148…

Interviews were conducted with employers and military personnel to obtain information regarding basic skills needed in entry-level jobs available to young people with a high school education. Information was also obtained from young entry-level employees and military recruits on the quality of their high school preparation in basic employment…

Developing the productive capacities of students is a valid function of schooling and is not in conflict or competition with other educational purposes, such as academic excellence. Employers and young workers in the San Francisco Bay area noted attributes that workers need for success in entry-level unskilled or junior professional jobs. These…

A study examined innovative workplace practices in companies that employ significant numbers of entry-level workers. Findings were based on a series of personal interviews with human resource directors in 58 companies in the Northwest and the Pacific. Asked about the quality of current entry-level workers, employers reported that a disturbing…

A study was conducted to gather and analyze data that would identify entry-level positions, personal criteria needed for employment, and any differences or similarities between large and small, private and non-profit allied health facilities, which offer numerous job classifications that relate to certificate and associate degree programs offered…

A survey elicited workers' opinions in five areas: (1) essential skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed on the job by entry-level workers; (2) the purposes, content, and delivery of training needed and desired by workers; (3) productivity; (4) workplace environment; and (5) employee benefits. Information was gathered through written surveys of…

Young workers should know what employers' standards are for hiring and job performance and behave accordingly in order to obtain and keep a job. This finding is based on a study that examined the perceptions of high school graduates and their employers' reports of hiring and job performance standards and employment outcomes. High school students…

The Occupational Projection Research Project investigated employer perceptions of the entry level skills, attitudes, and values (SAVs) needed for various occupations as well as employment demands for specific occupational clusters. Using a specially developed interview form, researchers interviewed a stratified random sampling of over 100 business…