Employability and Entrepreneurial Skills of Graduates to meet current economic challenges

Transcription

1 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Faculty of Organization and Management Technical University of Lodz, Poland 22 nd April, 2016 Employability and Entrepreneurial Skills of Graduates to meet current economic challenges Elisabeth T. Pereira, PhD Department of Economics, Management Industrial Engineering and Tourism University of Aveiro (Portugal)

2 Current European Challenges : Bologna Process With the Bologna Process reform, employability of graduates is a central concern in Europe and a key objective, reinforcing the HEIs role in the knowledge and skills needed to ensure students and future graduates employability. The employability performance of HEIs graduates is used to Ranking systems of HEIs Promote the university and attract new students. influence the level of HEIs receive funding in some countries (like Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy and Slovakia), or to calculate the number of vacancies of each graduation. So, Employability has become one of the central objectives of the HEIs.

3 Current European Challenges Europe faces a moment of transformation The crisis has wiped out years of economic and social progress and exposed Europe's economy to structural weaknesses. The recent economic crisis has no precedent in our generation. EU GDP fell by 4% in 2009, industrial production dropped and 23 million people were unemployed. (10% of EU active population). In the meantime, the world is moving fast and long-term challenges globalisation, pressure on resources, ageing intensify. The EU must now take charge of its future.

4 Current European 2020 Challenges Overview Europe must improve in the fields of: Innovation: R&D spending in Europe is below 2%, compared to 2.6% in the US and 3.4% in Japan. Europe needs to focus on the impact and composition of research to improve the R&D. EU smaller share of high-tech firms explains half of EU gap with the US. Education, Training and Lifelong Learning: A quarter of all pupils have poor reading competences, one in seven young people leave education and training too early. Around 50% reach medium qualifications level but this often fails to match labour market needs. Less than one person in three aged has a university degree compared to 40% in the US and over 50% in Japan. According to the Shanghai index, in 2015, only 4 European universities are in the world's top Digital Society: Europe is also falling behind on high-speed internet, which affects its ability to innovate, including in rural areas, as well as on the on-line dissemination of knowledge and on-line distribution of goods and services.

5 Current European 2020 Challenges Because we need change in Europe. We are facing considerable challenges challenges too big to be dealt with by any one country acting alone: the economic crisis; unemployment, especially for young people; changing demographics; the emergence of new competitors; new technologies and modes of working. Europe can no longer rest on its laurels. We need to become more outward-looking, more innovative, and to put our societies on a sustainable footing for the future. Androulla Vassiliou European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Youth and Sport

6 Current European 2020 Challenges: Europe 2020 Europe 2020 define the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade and intends to turn the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. To achieve this goal the EC defined seven flagship initiatives that affect direct or indirectly HEIs and their graduates, but 3 of them have a direct impact in HEIs future policies and graduates prospects: - Innovation Union - Youth on the Move - Agenda for New Skills and Jobs.

7 Current European 2020 Challenges: Europe 2020 Youth on the move Youth on the move to enhance the performance of education systems and to facilitate the entry of young people in a global competitive labour market. Importance of International Student Mobility Promotes Employment, Entrepreneurship and Improves Career Prospects, Offers students broader horizons and social links, Is related to the significance of other transnational, cultural, socio-economic and political processes - such as European citizenship and integration, the IT revolution, the use of English as the global academic language In

8 Current European 2020 Challenges : Importance of International Mobility - facts and targets Youth on the move Erasmus+ target is offering opportunities for 4 million people to study, train, teach or volunteer abroad by The EU target for overall student mobility be at least 20% by 2020

9 Current European 2020 Challenges: Europe 2020 Na Agenda for new skills and jobs An agenda for new skills and jobs to modernise labour markets and to stimulate and anticipate changes in the skills needed for the future, as well as to realize a better matching between available skills and those required in the labour market, to bridge the gap between the HEIs and the labour market contributing to a Europe in 2020 more competitive, sustainable and innovative economy. empowering people through the acquisition of new skills to enable current and future workforce to adapt to new conditions and potential career shifts, through labour mobility, reducing unemployment and raising labour productivity. In order to increase flexibility, adaptability, employment and social cohesion And in 2020 at least 40% of the people between years old have a HE qualification.

10 Current European 2020 Challenges : Importance of Modernisation of High Education Agenda for new skills and jobs

11 An overview of the market labour and employability of graduates : Youth unemployment versus total unemployment (June, 2014)

12 An overview of the market labour and employability of graduates : Table Employment rate (%) by level of educational of young adults (25-29 years) Total Employment rate Less than primary and lower secondary Upper Secondary Tertiary education Year EU-28 75,6 70,5 61,8 51,4 75,7 71,5 84,0 78,5 Belgium 80,1 75,0 55,5 52,6 81,0 75,9 89,1 83,6 Bulgaria 75,0 61,4 47,9 29,4 79,0 64,5 87,3 73,6 Czech Republic 75,8 74,6 49,6 46,0 76,7 75,7 80,2 77,6 Denmark 83,3 72,8 75,2 56,0 85,9 77,0 88,4 79,2 Germany 74,8 77,6 54,4 54,1 75,3 78,9 87,1 86,6 Estonia 78,8 74,3 70,2 61,9 82,4 73,0 77,9 78,9 Ireland 79,6 68,5 56,0 39,9 79,1 65,0 87,5 79,4 Greece 72,9 48,7 70,7 44,1 72,0 46,5 76,0 53,0 Spain 75,2 58,1 68,5 49,7 76,4 58,0 80,3 65,8 France 78,8 74,6 60,2 51,5 79,2 73,1 86,5 83,7 Croatia 76,6 61,5 55,6 37,4 77,0 61,1 84,0 68,7 Italy 64,3 52,7 60,4 47,8 67,6 56,0 61,3 50,2 Cyprus 81,8 71,4 76,7 67,9 77,7 70,1 86,5 72,9 Latvia 79,9 76,3 62,8 60,0 80,3 73,4 89,0 85,0 Lithuania 77,3 77,3 56,0 46,9 73,7 70,5 86,8 88,5 Luxembourg 74,4 76,0 70,9 74,7 72,3 73,3 78,5 78,7 Hungary 70,7 69,0 43,6 37,2 71,5 70,5 83,1 80,8 Malta 80,9 83,3 70,2 71,5 88,7 88,0 94,9 91,2 Netherlands 88,4 81,6 74,2 65,6 89,5 80,6 93,3 88,7 Austria 79,9 80,5 60,9 57,0 82,0 83,1 84,9 84,0 Poland 76,3 73,0 52,5 39,8 73,7 70,7 85,2 80,2 Portugal 78,6 68,0 79,1 63,0 75,1 70,9 81,1 71,0 Romania 69,2 70,1 57,0 56,9 67,7 71,0 85,8 79,3 Slovenia 82,9 70,7 63,3 50,9 82,3 69,3 87,4 76,5 Slovakia 73,7 67,0 27,0 25,7 74,5 68,2 81,8 72,0 Finland 79,3 74,7 69,2 55,1 76,6 73,2 87,6 82,7 Sweden 80,6 77,6 65,7 54,2 82,4 79,8 84,1 82,5 United Kingdom 79,6 77,8 58,1 53,9 80,1 78,3 89,6 87,1 Source: Eurostat, EU Labour Force Survey (2014)

13 An overview of the market labour and employability of graduates : Graduates employability in European Higher Education Institutions Youth Unemployment rate(%) Portuga l Spain Greece Latvia Poland Source: Eurostat

14 An overview of the market labour and employability of graduates : Graduates employability in European HEIs Source: Eurostat ( Although university graduates have a high employment level, it has verified a decreasing trend since 2008 The impact of the worldwide crisis and the persistent high rates of youth unemployment, specifically to those who recently finished their graduation, is a serious problem of EU countries in particular for the South European countries that have recorded alarming rates of youth unemployment.

15 Graduates employability in European HEIs: Concept of Employability The importance of the concept of Employability has increased in the last decade, mainly in accordance with the Bologna Process reform of the European higher education system, the high rate of youth unemployment in some European countries and the new Europe Strategy Employability refers to the quality or possibility of having a job, taken here in the lactu sensu of being an employee or self-employed. In this sense, employability also refers to entrepreneurship and the ability to maintain successfully and create jobs, either for oneself and/or for others. Employability of graduates refers to the graduates abilities to adapt and use their personal and academic skills to more tangible educational outcome measures that associate graduate employability with employment Graduate employability should link graduate skills and competencies to the needs of the labour market

16 Graduates employability in European HEIs Concept of Employability an overview

17 Graduates employability in European HEIs Traditionally HEIs focused only in teaching discipline-specific skills "the employability of graduates should not be seen as the primary focus of higher education ( ) the achievement of learning outcomes in higher education should be regarded as a value in itself" (Oria, 2012: 219). Nowadays the relation between employability and HEIs has changed: the current paradigm (the human capital theory) see education as essential to the knowledge-based global economy. Employability has positive effects at a broader economic level. Just as castles provided the source of strength for medieval towns, and factories provided prosperity in the industrial age, universities are the source of strength in the knowledge based economy of the twenty first century. Lord Dearing, September 2002 author of the Dearing Report into Higher Education

18 Employability and Skills Skills Employability Personal Circunstances Soft Skills Hard Skills Sctrutural Aspects of Employability Conjuntural Aspects of Employability Managing in the Labour Market - Strategic Approach - Presentation (CV, ) - Career Management ans searching Skills

19 The contextualisation of skills and competences: Hard Skills versus Soft Skills Skill, in its broader sense, is the ability to perform certain tasks well. Hard skills are in the domain of formal or technical knowledge, also known as core skills, domain skills, and technical skills. The formal and technical knowledge acquired during graduation. Soft skills, are in the domain of personality, attitude and behaviour, are also called interpersonal skills, life skills or employability skills. Nowadays, both soft and hard skills are essential to be competitive and achieve a successful career in current labour market.

20 The contextualisation of skills and competences: Hard Skills versus Soft Skills Soft skills are of primordial importance to employability. According to Crosbie (2005) 85% of job success is based on individual s soft skills. Soft skill involves personal attributes, like intellectual potential, communication, teamwork, willingness to keep learning, easiness in decision making, flexibility in adapting to change, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, initiative, self-motivation and enthusiasm, stress management, sense of humor, and self-efficacy: If hard skills are considered flexible and developed through training, soft skills tend to be stable in adults. Nevertheless, some believe that their development is a long-term and slow process, that can be developed through individual training and programs that improve skills, in order to change their personal attributes.

21 The contextualisation of skills and competences: Skills Map Source: University of Kent (2011)

22 The contextualisation skills and competences There are Different Perspectives according time evolution and across different cognitive domains or subject areas - Hard skills versus Soft skills; - Transferable skills; - Generic skills; Transversal Skills; - Core skills; - Cross-curricular skills; - Hierarchical classes versus categorical classes.

23 The contextualisation skills and competences Learning and developing activities can be provided from different sources /institutions: Formal education (HEIs); Organising and structured training courses; Personal reading and research; Learning by doing; Learning by observing others around you with experience; Others

24 21 st Century Skills Nowadays most of the persons will be working until they are 70+ years old today s graduates will likely have multiple careers during their working life most graduates will change roles/employers within the first 5 years after graduation the labour market is changing continuously and rapidly many of today's most sought jobs didn t exist 10 years ago technology is changing everything. Careers are a journey, jobs are just places you visit along the way

25 Employability and competitiveness of a graduate in the current labour market In market economies, product markets influence labour demand, and skill requirements are driven by employer choices in designing jobs (e.g. which tasks are delegated, which can be substituted by technology, which rely on non routine tasks). Job candidates and potential employees also come to the labour market with varying knowledge, competencies and abilities that can be broadly defined as skills, or the outcome of individuals choices of education, training and of their work experience, combined with innate abilities and preferences World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Employment (2014:7) in

26 21 st Century Skills Source: Ahonen and Kinnunen (2015:397)

27 21 st Century Skills Table Definition of some of the twenty-first century skills 21st Century Skills Skills Explanation Communication Ability to express oneself clearly and to listen to others Problem solving Ability to perform tasks and solve problems by reasoning and bringing together prior knowledge and experience in new ways Critical thinking Ability to assess and relate received information by using one s own critical faculties Collaboration Ability to work together with others in different groups striving for a common goal Creativity Ability to think differently and create new objects, ideas, and methods Information Ability to receive, utilize, and apply information from diverse media sources literacy Technical Ability to utilize and apply technology and ICT in various everyday life situations Proficiency Cultural Knowledge of one s cultural background and ability to respect and adapt to other awareness cultures Social Knowledge of one s responsibility toward other people and ability to consider and responsibility treat them as equals Source: Adapted from Ahonen and Kinnunen (2015)

28 European Commission (2013), The Employability of Higher Education Graduates: The Employers Perspective, in 21 st Century Skills Trends, skill domains and aspects of the skills

29 Graduates employability in five European HEIs: #EuropeanHome project : some results The #EuropeHome project involving 5 European universities from Greece, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Spain, identify the main skills of their graduates as well the lacks and the needs identified by three target groups Three target groups: Employers, Students and Academics Fields of Business, Economics and Engineering/Computing The project is addressed to the challenge of student employability and the need to increase the relevance of education based on 4 main pillars: Employability and entrepreneurial education; Relevance of education; Employability and mobility; Employability and internationalisation at home

30 #EH - Graduates employability in European HEIs Some Results Top five essential skills and Top three of lacking skills according to all the respondents (students, employers and academics) Source: Own elaboration Top five essential skills and Top three of lacking skills according to all the respondents (students, employers and academics)

31 #EH - Graduates employability in European HEIs Some Results How should universities improve the employability of future graduates? Provide on-going collaboration with the labour market actors Provide post-graduation support (facilitate relations between graduates and companies) 1,34 1,38 4,11 4,19 3,94 4,29 Include sector specific work placements as an integral part of the study programme Include practical tasks and assignments in the courses 2,25 2,49 4,04 4,28 4,42 4,45 Prepare courses more relevant to the labour market 2,54 3,97 4, Employers Academcis Students (answers according to a likert scale, where 1 corresponds to not important and 5 to very important). Involving labour market actors in the design and delivery of programmes at universities, and including practical experience in courses will help to attune the curricula to current and emerging labour market needs and foster entrepreneurial awareness.

32 Some conclusions Graduates employability in European HEIs In the last decade, employability of graduates has assumed a central role in scholars concerns and discussions. This was mainly motivated by the Bologna Process reform of the European higher education system, by the high rate of youth unemployment in some European countries, and by the new Europe Strategy 2020 which aims a higher education based in New Skills and Jobs. The impact of the crisis and the persistent high level of youth unemployment have increased the need to a better understanding of future skills in the EU. With this purpose the EU Strategy 2020 intend to mitigate the current skills mismatches in EU labour market by stimulating and anticipating the future skills needed and by empowering people with this right mix of skills. The International Student Mobility reinforce the employability of graduates in the current economic European Context Anticipate future skills is a considerable challenge, due to the rapidly-changing skills needed, and the persistent skills mismatches in EU labour market.

33 Some conclusions Graduates employability in European HEIs Increase Competitiveness in the Current Labour Market Competitiveness of graduates in labour market obtain and maintain a competitive advantage in labour market where only the most able adapt and survive successfully The development of skills and competences are importance to increase graduates employability, should start early and be continuously developed who goes to war prepares well before at home The adaptation and anticipation of acquisition of new skills enable current and future workforce to adapt to new conditions and potential career shifts, in order to increase flexibility, adaptability, employment.

34 Some conclusions So, the importance of the improvement of skills, competences and other ways to increase and promote employability are relevant in the transition and competitiveness of the graduates from the HEIs to the labour market. And HEIs should have an important role in this transition. Universities /HEI s Labour Market (different sources/institutions) Knowledge, skills Employability Interdisciplinarity The skills needed in the labour market must be in accordance with education taught in HEIs but also gained outside formal education. These include transversal skills that are highly valued by employers, such as communication, a talent to work on projects and in teams, analytical abilities, intercultural competences,...

35 Some conclusions Campus Europae To increase the employability of their graduates, HEIs have to decrease the gaps between the academia and the labour market, providing training to teachers in nontechnical skills (soft skills) to they transmit to their students. Traditionally universities focus more in hard skills and the current educational paradigm focus is now directed by the needs for employability skills (soft skills as learning, thinking, and communication skills). Studies show that hard skills represent only 15% and individual s soft skills have a primordial importance in employability with 85% of job success. So, hard and soft skills should be embedded in course curricula and considered in their design and implementation. The changes of curricula upon HEIs' views and priorities, should be done in cooperation with all the involved stakeholders - teachers, university governors, alumni, students, administrative staff, employers, public administration, trade unions...- with different roles, in a dynamic process of exchange of information to identify needs and assess their satisfaction.

36 Some conclusions Skills and competences that allow increasing the competitiveness of a graduate in the current labour market Competitiveness in labour market G l o b a l i s a t i o n Labour Market Context HEIs => GRADUATE Hard skills Soft skills (knowledge and training) Crisis, Economic Fluctuations New Jobs, New Environments (politics,...), New Technologies, New Market Perceptions, ( ), New Challenges New Qualifications New Skills and Competences Creativity Innovation Entrepreneurship appropriate decisions and future career development Graduate Employment and Employability over Time Students and Graduates Perceptions and Approaches to Future Employment and Employability

37