Views of European Employers on Graduate ICT Skills
Jeff Haywood (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Hamish Macleod (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Denise Haywood (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Rory Ewins (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Pekka Tenhonen (Abo Akademia University, Finland)
Katarina Drugg (Abo Akademia University, Finland)
Barbara Wasson (University of Bergen, Norway)
Rune Baggetun (University of Bergen, Norway)
Egbert Harskamp (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands)
Jelle Brandsma (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands)
Anthony Baldry (University of Pavia, Italy)
Claire Archibald (University of Pavia, Itasly)
Francois Marchessou (University of Poitiers, France)
Cecile Rodriquez (University of Poitiers, France)
Joaquin Garcia Carrasco (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Javier Teira (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Gorka Fernandez (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Fernando Osvaldo Esteban (University of Salamanca, Spain)
Paper: 1/2 hour
Convergence & Continuity
As part of a major European study of undergraduate information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, 70 employers of graduates were interviewed from across the seven participating countries. Evidence from elsewhere in the study (surveying undergraduate experience of, and attitudes to, ICT) suggested that the majority of graduates believed that knowledge of this area would be important in their future careers, and were confident in their ability to use their ICT skills in the workplace setting. The aim of the employer interviews was to assess the perceived match, or mismatch, between the levels and nature of graduate ICT skills and the needs and aspirations of the employing organisations.
In large part employers are satisfied with the levels of ICT skill with which graduates arrive equipped. Large organisations expect to require to train their employees in the use of local and particular software applications, and appear to find graduates ready and able both to assess their own requirements for training, and to master the necessary skills quickly and easily. When asked to comment on any anticipated future skills mismatch however, it was clear that employers are looking to their graduate intake to bring with them a vision for the "bigger picture" of the unfolding potential of ICT, and to help the employing organisation to update itself and to evolve.
Thus there is a very real challenge facing universities and employers to predict the evolving ICT skill set that graduates will need over the next few years. This represents an interestingly recursive picture of "supply and demand" in which universities will have to play a role in raising the awareness among students of the advancing levels of ICT skill imparted and cultivated through their studies.
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