Universities urged to promote employability skills

Tue, 17 May 2011

Students need to be taught better employability skills at university, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said.

The organisation says that many graduates are failing to fulfill employers expectations when it comes to such competencies, which include skills such as customer awareness, team working and self management, and universities must take responsibility for changing this.

A recent CBI survey found that employability skills are the single most important consideration for 82 per cent of businesses when recruiting graduates.

However, 70 per cent of employers said that university students need to do more to prepare themselves to be effective in the workplace.

The CBI in collaboration with the National Union of Students has now produced a guide for students and universities explaining what employers are looking for in new recruits and provides practical tips to help students meet these requirements.

Susan Anderson, CBI director for education and skills, said: "Competition for jobs is intense and graduate unemployment remains high, so students need to proactively develop relevant employability skills. But at the same time all universities need to explain these skills better and make sure they embed them in teaching." 
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