Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Right Tracks—Wrong Rails: The Development of Generic Skills in Higher Education

  • Published:
Research in Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Higher education is being encouraged to provide the graduates needed by commerce and industry in order to ensure economic development and enhance competitiveness. Throughout Europe and America, recent findings indicate that employers show a preference for teamwork, communication, and self-skilIs above knowledge, degree classification, intelligence, and reputation of the institution the graduate attended. Progressively less emphasis on traditional degrees and more on the validation of competence is clearly discernible. But the question persists: Are our higher education institutions meeting the challenge? Employing a large-scale extensive questionnaire, this study explores student and academic staff views within a higher education institution in the U.K. Results indicate that while staff and students ascribe equal importance to key generic skills, they differ in their views of the extent to which a number of such skills are currently being developed through course content. It is time for higher education to address explicitly the issue of the place of transferable skis in the curriculum. This problem is not unique to Europe. Indeed, the need for a concerted effort by teachers and policymakers in higher education to help rebuild American workforce competence has been repeatedly highlighted. Development work in this area should be a priority.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Ali, F. (1988). Communication and transferable personal skills for engineering students. Bulletin of Teaching and Learning 1 (September): 19-20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, M. J., and Scrams, D. J. (1991). Careers of Undergraduate Psychology Alumni. Paper presented to the 99th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 16–20.

  • Banta, T. (1991). Critique of a Method for Surveying Employers. Paper to the 31st Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Annual Forum, San Francisco, May 26–29.

  • Barden, L. (1987). Transferable Personal Skills and Value-Added Outcome Assessment. London: Committee of Directors of Polytechnics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barden, L. (1989). UK Polytechnic Higher Education: The essential role of competence. Industry and Higher Education, March, pp. 37-42.

  • Binks, M., Grant, A., and Exley, K. (1993). Assessing the output of institutions of higher education: A pilot study. In L. Harvey (ed.), Proceedings of the Second QHE Quality Assessment Seminar, December 16–17, Birmingham, QHE, pp. 18-28.

    Google Scholar 

  • British Telecom (BT) (1993). Matching Skills: A Question of Demand and Supply. London: BT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, G. et al. (1991). Enterprise in Higher Education (Second Year National Evaluation) Final Report. Slough: NFER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burrows, A., Harvey, L., and Green, D. (1992). Is Anybody Listening? Employers' Views on Quality in Higher Education, 2nd ed. Birmingham: QHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, T. (1986). View from industry. In G. C. Moodie (ed.), Standards and Criteria in Higher Education. Guilford: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and NFER/Nelson, pp. 145-156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleaver, T. (1991). Which do you think are the most important qualities to look for in new graduates? IBM Graduate Recruitment Brochure.

  • Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (1991). Survey of Students' Attitudes: 17 and 18 Year Olds Going on to Higher Education. London: CBI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) (1987). Towards a Partnership: Higher Education—Government—Industry. London: CIHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) (1991). Towards a Partnership: The Business Contribution to Higher Education. London: CIHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, G. (1993). HEFCE quality assessment methodology: How it addresses employer-education links, In L. E. Harvey (ed.), Proceedings of the Second QHE Quality Assessment Seminar, December 16–17, Birmingham, QHE, pp. 32-36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Trade and Industry and Council for Industry and Higher Education (DTI/CIHE) (1990). Getting Good Graduates. London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dineen, L. C., and Blakesly, B. C. (1973). Algorithm AS62: A generator for the sampling distribution for the Mann-Whitney U statistic. Applied Statistics 22: 269-273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, T. (1985). Response of the Standing Conference of Employers of Graduates (SOCEG) to the Green Paper on the Develpoment of Higher Education in the 1990s. London: SCOEG.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (EC) (1991). Memorandum on Higher Education in the European Community, Nov. 5. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities Task Force. Human Resources, Education, Training, Youth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, S. (1990). Analysis of Transferable Personal Skills Requested by Employers in Graduate Recruitment Advertisements in June 1989. Sheffield: University of Sheffield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, R. G., Edge, A. G., and Hodgetts, M. (1987). How do managers rank the characteristics expected of business graduates? Business Education 8(3): 30-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, L. (1993). Quality Assessment in Higher Education: The Collected Papers of the QHE Project. The University of Central England in Birmingham: QHE.

  • Harvey, L., Burrows, A., and Green, D. (1992). Criteria of Quality. Birmingham: QHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Her Majesty's Inspectorate (1991). Survey of Employers: A Report by HMI. London: DES (38/92/NS)

    Google Scholar 

  • Industrial Research and Development Advisory Committee of the Commission of the European Communities (IRDAC) (1990). Skills Shortage in Europe: IRDAC Opinion. Brussels, EC: IRDAC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Directors (IOD) (1991). Performance and Potential: Education and Training for a Market Economy. London: Institute of Directors.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Manpower Studies and the Association of Graduate Recruiters (IMS/AGR) (1991). Graduates Salaries Add Vacancies: 1991 Summer Update Survey. London: IMS/AGR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone, D. B. (1994). College at work: Partnership and the rebuilding of American competence. Journal of Higher Education 65(2): 168-182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalkwijk, J. P. (1991). Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Netherlands. Paper presented at the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation International Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Hong Kong, July 15–17.

  • Khawaja, S., et al. (1991). Technical Education: Its Relevance to Job Market. A Research Report. AEPAM Research Study, no. 90. Islamabad, Ministry of Education: Academy of Educational Planning and Management.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, D. A., and Mullen, D. (1990). Developing enterprising graduates. Journal of European Industrial Training 14(2): 27-32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindley, R. (ed.) (1981). Higher Education and the Labour Market. Guilford: Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE).

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchello, J. M. (1987). University and industrial development. Industry and Higher Education, Sept. 10–14.

  • National Advisory Board and University Grants Committee (1984). Higher Education and the Needs of Society. London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Board of Employment, Education and Training Higher Education Council (NBEETHE) (1992). Skills Required of Graduates: One Test of Quality in Australian Higher Education. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (1991). Enterprise in Higher Education: Second Year National Evaluation. Slough: NFER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuttgens, P. (1988). What Should We Teach and How Should We Teach It? Aims and Purposes of Higher Education. Wildwood House, UK: Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE).

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Leary, J. (1981). A crisis of our manufacturing. Times Higher Education Supplement 450: 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxford Centre for Staff Development (1989). Developing Students' Enterprise Skills, A Series of Workshops for Lecturers, Oct–Dec. Oxford, England: Oxford Polytechnic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Policy Studies Institute (PSI) (1990). Britain's Real Skills Shortage. London: PSI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, L. W., and McKibben, L. E. (1988). Management Education and Development: Drift or Thrust into the 21st Century? New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Squires, G. (1990). First Degree: The Undergraduate Curriculum. London: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE).

    Google Scholar 

  • Standing Conference of Employers of Graduates (SCOEG) (1985). What Employers Look for in Their Graduate Recruits. London: SCOEG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart, J. M. (1991). Speech at CBI Conference on Higher Education, November 21, 1991.

  • Szczepura, A. K. (1990). Determining the Skills Training Needs of NHS Graduate General Management Trainees. Health Services Management Research 3(3): 193-207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teichler, U. (1989). Research on higher education and work in Europe. European Journal of Education 24(3): 223-247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. (1993). The enterprise curriculum: Attitudes of graduates and employers to personal skills for the workplace. Irish Business and Administrative Research 14(1): 81-94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trades Union Congress (TUC) (1989). Skills 2000. London: TUC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whetten, D. A., and Cameron, K. S. (1984). Developing Management Skills. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Development Unit, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Shore Road, Newtonabbey, Co, Antrim, BT37 0QB, Northern Ireland

    Janet F. Leckey & Maureen A. McGuigan

Authors
  1. Janet F. Leckey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maureen A. McGuigan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leckey, J.F., McGuigan, M.A. Right Tracks—Wrong Rails: The Development of Generic Skills in Higher Education. Research in Higher Education 38, 365–378 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024902207836

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024902207836

Keywords

Search

Navigation