This study proposes a way of evaluating the importance recruiters ascribe to certain social skills. In an increasingly competitive recruitment setting, the qualities employers seek are often psychological and relational and not always associated with applicant's actual education and training. If skills of this kind are to be enhanced in order to…

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…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) funded 46 grantees across the country to expand registered apprenticeship into new sectors, such as healthcare, and to populations historically underrepresented in apprenticeships. DOL commissioned an evaluation of the AAI grants to build evidence about the effectiveness…

This case study examines the ways in which employers recruit undergraduate students on U.S. college campuses for internship opportunities. More students today are completing internships than ever before, and career services offices on college campuses are increasingly partnering with employers to promote these opportunities. For students,…

This study applied a "moves analysis" approach to examine job application letters written by 25 Malaysian graduates obtained from an outsourcing organisation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The letters were analysed as to whether they adhered to the seven aspects of the "moves structure" used to analyse job applications (i.e.…

Starting this Parliament, the United Kingdom (UK) Government is providing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations) for a new National Skills Fund (NSF). This is a significant investment which has the potential to deliver new opportunities to generations of adults who may have been previously left…

Research shows that employers play a key role in work-based learning (WBL) programs such as internships but are seldom involved in conversations around the topic (Greenfield & Stevens, 2018). While the benefits of work-based learning are well documented, employers are often unaware of the benefits they would receive from participating in an…

Higher education continually faces scrutiny regarding the value of a degree and the investment of money and time. Is a college degree worth the cost of attendance? Do graduates face a burden of financial debt that is crippling them and/or society? Should the government limit funding to educational institutions that are unable to establish that…

Contribution: This article details a systematic study to investigate knowledge that graduate students have about reliability and safety engineering (RSE), comparing it with industry expectations. Background: Reliability and safety have always been the main focus while developing safety-critical systems (SCS). An interview study was conducted with…

Debate continues to feature prominently in many countries on such notions as skills, skill shortages and employability. Clearly such notions remain significant internationally in the rhetoric of both economic reform and training policy and practice. However, the problem remains of differing perceptions. The purpose of this comparative study was to…

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the opinion of employers on the factors that are the most important for employers in Latvia in the recruitment process, considering increasingly global and changing labour market. A total of 750 companies participated in this research. A list of 17 skills, competencies and attitudes, important for individual…

Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) are increasingly being used in university degrees to showcase graduate employability. However, evidence on employers' views and use of ePortfolios has not been synthesised. This study aimed to systematically review the evidence on employer, industry representative and university educator views on the use of…

Making the transition from university to employment is a challenging process for many students. One common method used by recruiters to sift through graduate applications is the use of psychometric tests which typically consist of numerical and verbal reasoning tasks. To explore how frequently these tests are used by graduate employers, an audit…

Purpose: This study aims to investigate graduate employer perceptions of determining factors in recruitment decisions and their preferred use of recruitment channels. This study drew on the employability capitals model to interpret findings and identify ways to better prepare higher education students for recruitment and selection. This is…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to report the motivations and perceived benefits of companies that collaborate with universities by offering student work-placement positions. Design/methodology/approach: The study follows a mixed methodology based on (1) a literature review on the topic, (2) a case study survey including companies that…