Student perceptions of skills and employability.

Abstract

There have been a number of studies into skills gaps and shortages and industry perceptions of graduate skills. Many of these studies have suggested that problems with graduate skills can be ameliorated by the increased use of placement schemes and closer contacts between industry and higher education. One aspect that is frequently omitted from these studies is students' attitudes toward, and perceptions of, the skills needed for success and the value of work placements to future career prospects. The Digital Media Network surveyed 215 students on thirteen digital media courses in three universities in the northeast of England to ascertain students' views on these important issues.

Introduction

There is an on going concern that graduates in the United Kingdom are leaving university without the skills required for success in industry and that this is hampering the country's economic competitiveness. This problem is particularly acute in knowledge-based industries such as digital media. Consequently there have been a number of studies into skills gaps and shortages (Johnson et al 2002, e-business.nto 2000, Parker 1999, Johnson 1999, Dickenson 2000). These studies have a common factor, in that they focus on demand-side issues. Many of the studies recommend an increase in work placements as a means of addressing the skills gaps and shortages reported by employers. This has sparked a debate on the role and purpose of university education (see for example National Committee of Inquiry in Higher Education 1997, Matlay 2000, Harvey et al 2002). Again, increasing the availability of placement schemes, along with efforts to develop students' understanding of the world of work, are cited as ways of reducing skill shortages. The studies cited above have examined the problems surrounding skills shortages from the perspectives of employers and academics; however one crucial group of stakeholders has largely been left out of the debate, namely students. This paper is based on work carded out during 2003 to examine students' perceptions of the quality of their courses; the skills and experience they hope to acquire; which skills they think employers value; their attitudes regarding industrial placements; and their use of, and views on, careers advice services and graduate support organizations.

Method

A questionnaire was developed as the main data collection tool. This approach was used to allow the research team to maximise the number of students surveyed; furthermore the research team felt that the use of more time consuming methods would have reduced the willingness of course leaders to co-operate with the research. A pilot study was conducted to ensure the clarity of the questions and correct any problems with sequencing and routing. A survey of courses available in northeast England was undertaken to identify courses with significant digital media content; these were all at undergraduate level. The courses identified are taught at the universities of Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside; in both design and computing faculties. Examples of the courses that agreed to participate include B.A. (Honors) Animation and Design, B.Sc. (Honors) Broadcast & Multimedia Technology (including Interactive Television Technology), B.Sc. (Honors) Web Development and B.Sc. (Honors) Multimedia Computing. The research team contacted the course leaders of the courses to request their co-operation with the research; the leaders of thirteen courses agreed to assist with the research. The research team saw students during regular classes; this enabled the team to explain the research, ensure that all the students present completed the questionnaire and help clarify any areas of confusion. The presence of the research team at these sessions ensured a high completion rate and reduced the risk of bias in the sample, a total of two hundred and fifteen questionnaires were completed and returned. No inferential statistics have currently been performed on the sample to determine whether these findings can be generalised to all students, this should be borne in mind when reading the findings.

Student Perceptions and Attitudes

Perceptions of Course Adequacy Students on digital media courses in the northeast of England were asked about which methods of assessment were used during their course. When looking at methods of assessment, the purpose was to get an indication of whether current digital media courses are helping to foster the sorts of transferable skills required by employers. The responses show that much emphasis is placed on assessment techniques which help to develop transferable skills, such as the ability to work in a team (group work 73%), communication skills (presentations 72%) and time management and planning skills (project work 98%), as well as the traditional methods of assessment such as essays and examinations. The results indicate that whilst a large number of digital media courses are making use of assessment methods that promote the development of transferable skills required by companies, it should be a cause for concern that methods such as group work and presentations are still not universal.

Practical or Theoretical Students were asked to indicate what emphasis is placed on practical or theoretical elements on their course. Most of the students responding to questions on the emphasis of their course felt that the emphasis was either towards the practical elements of the study of digital media (51% of respondents), e.g. the use of industry standard software packages, or was a balance between practical and theoretical elements (41% of respondents). Furthermore, the majority (78%) felt that this was an appropriate balance. This is interesting in the light of previous research (Johnson et al 2002), which showed that employers were dissatisfied with the level of practical application of new graduates.

Students were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement or disagreement with a number of statements about their course. These arwe: (1) I believe my course keeps up-to-date with technological developments and the pace of change within the digital media sector;, (2) believe my university provides up-to-date and appropriate equipment and resources relevant to the content of my course; (3) have adequate access to this equipment; (4) believe the content of my course is relevant to the needs and wants of the digital media sector; (5) believe that my course provides me with the skills and knowledge needed to gain employment within the digital media sector. The students surveyed were generally happy with the skills and knowledge that their course provides them with: 87% either agreed or strongly agreed with statement 5 above. Students believed that their course is keeping pace with developments within the digital media industry, 92.1% agreeing or strongly agreeing with statement 1. However a substantial minority are unhappy with the training in software and technology they are given (23.7% disagree or strongly disagree), that the equipment that they have to use is not up to date (26.5% disagree or strongly disagree) and that they do not have sufficient access to what equipment is available (19.6% disagree or strongly disagree). Again this is a cause for concern, and ways must be found to provide enough resources to address these issues.

Skills and Experience: Awareness of Needs and Perceptions of Provision When questioned about what they felt employers would require in terms of skills and knowledge, students placed most emphasis on specialist subject skills, followed by business and commercial skills. This would seem to be at odds with the requirements of employers who, as shown in the work by Johnson et al (Johnson et al 2002), feel that what graduates lack are generic skills and practical experience. In responding to views on what skills and knowledge are being acquired from courses, it is clear that the major issue for these students is the provision of business and commercial skills, with 53% feeling that their course does not provide them with these skills, although 55% believe that these skills are important to employers. An interesting paradox becomes apparent when comparing what the students in the sample expect from their courses with their perceptions of what employers want. When asked which skills were most important to them and that they expected their course to equip them with, it is clear that business and commercial skills are regarded as most important, with nearly two thirds regarding these as important or very important, followed by personal skills. Specialist subject knowledge is clearly regarded as least important. However, when asked what skills they thought employers wanted, specialist subject knowledge is regarded as the skill that employers want, with 59.2% believing that this skill is important or very important to employers. As the Johnson (Johnson et al 2002) study showed, employers' requirements are actually closer to the students' viewpoint on skill requirements than students believe. Students were asked to indicate which skills and experience they are acquiring from their courses. When looking at this, it is apparent that there are two areas where there are issues that need addressing. It is clear that not enough of the students questioned feel that they are acquiring business or commercial skills from their studies. (46.5% are happy with provision). This is especially concerning when students gave a clear message that they regard the acquisition of these skills as important. A third of students also felt that they weren't getting any practical experience on their courses. This issue will be dealt with in more depth later in the discussion.

Practical Experience It is clear that employers value graduates who have work experience. In England's northeast region, universities offer a number of ways for students to acquire this experience whilst at university. To examine how aware students are of the opportunities available to them and what advantage they took of these opportunities, they were asked a number of questions relating to any previous experience they had of work, specifically any experience with the digital media sector: whether they knew what opportunities were available to them to gain experience, and if they had taken or were going to take advantage of these opportunities. Those respondents who indicated that they were not taking advantage of work experience opportunities were asked what was preventing them taking up these opportunities. In addition, information was sought about what links university courses have with industry. The majority of students questioned (88%) had no prior experience of the digital media sector prior to starting the university course. Whilst unsurprising, it places added emphasis on the need to acquire some work experience during their studies. Given the desirability of students entering the workforce with some work experience they were asked if they knew whether their course offered any of the following: (1) Sandwich year (The term the universities surveyed use for an internship). (2) Short term placement (i.e. under 3 months). (3) Long term placement (i.e. over 3 months but less than a year). (4) Other opportunity for work experience. Surprisingly, 46% of those students questioned were unaware of any opportunities to acquire work experience through their universities.

Students were asked if they had undertaken, or were likely to undertake, a placement as part of their studies. Again 40% indicated that they had not done, or were not planning to do, a work placement. The main reasons given for this were a perceived lack of opportunities, an unwillingness to relocate from the northeast region, and a desire to complete their studies quickly. This indicates a need to help resolve some of the problems students have in being able to take up placements. In addition, there is also a need to make students more aware of the value that employers place upon practical experience. Of those who had done a placement, all of those who responded indicated that they had found the placement beneficial. Of the methods of acquiring practical experience, doing a sandwich year is still the most popular method, although short-term placements are not far behind. It should be noted that only 48% of those questioned responded to this question perhaps suggesting a greater degree of apathy in relation to taking up work experience opportunities than is indicated by the 40% who indicated they had no plans to gain practical experience whilst studying. It is important that universities and students are aware of how the digital media sector operates, and what changes are happening in the sector in order to be responsive to the needs of the sector. To that end, students were asked what contacts their courses had with the industry, both directly and through the provision of guest lectures by those working in the industry. It is positive to see that 60% of students are on a course that provides these forms of direct contact with industry.

Career Advice and Support

An important mechanism for assisting the transition from study to work and for creating an awareness of the availability of work in the sector is the university career service. Consequently, it was disturbing to see that only 15% of students said that they had used the career service. It would be expected that students would be more likely to use the career service towards the end of their studies, but analysis of the data showed that there were no significant differences between students' responses in different years. This lack of take-up is in spite of the fact that more than two-thirds of students who had used their careers service rated it as either good or very good. There would appear to be a need for more work to be done on the reasons why students are not making use of the career advice offered by their universities. Further assistance is available to students upon graduation. Traditionally this was in the form of graduate recruitment fairs where major employers recruited students for graduate training courses. Graduate recruitment fairs have been on the wane for a number of years now, although some still occur. However, a number of regional organisations have been set-up to help graduates find employment or set up in business for themselves. The data shows that less than half of students are aware of any form of graduate recruitment fair being available. Even more disturbing is the fact that only 5% of students are aware of the organisations set up to support them find work or start up their own business. This is despite the fact that substantial funds have been directed into this area and there exist of a large number of such organisations in the North East of England, including, but not limited to, Graduate Portfolios, Graduate Enterprise Support Programme, GLEAM.

Conclusion

This research has highlighted a number of issues, which need to be addressed if graduates in the northeast of England leave university with the right balance of skills to make them effective in the workforce The findings of this study present a mixed picture when considered in the light of the requirements mentioned in the above paragraph. Positive findings in the research include:

* Students are generally happy with the support they are getting through their courses

* Assessment methods are now much more geared to developing transferable skills (although there is still room for improvement)

* There appears to be a healthy level of contact between universities and companies in the sector.

There are, however, a number of problems that need addressing. The majority of these seem to be related to student perceptions rather than problems in terms of actual resources (though not exclusively so). The major problems highlighted by the research are:

* The lack of take up of opportunities to acquire relevant experience whilst studying

* Lack of awareness of the organisations present in the region that can support graduates in their transition to work

* A continuing imbalance in students' perceptions of the skills required for success in the digital media sector and work in general and what is actually required.

* Continuing dissatisfaction by a section of students in the quality and availability of equipment in universities and the training provided in its use

References

Dickenson, M (2000) Giving Undergraduates Managerial Experience, Education and Training 42 (4) pp 159-169

Skills Foresight: Setting the Skills Agenda for the IT Services Industry, e-business.nto

Harvey, L., Locke, W, and Morley, A (2002, July) Enhancing Employability, Recognising Diversity: Making links between higher education and the world of work (main report), Universities UK and CSU, London and Manchester 

Johnson, M., Hindmarch, M. Devaney, L. and Cockton, G. (2002) Digital Media Skills in the North East: Final Report of the ESF Skills Project, University of Sunderland, Sunderland

Johnson, S. (1999) Skills Issues for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Skills Task Force Research Group, Sheffield 

Matlay, H. (2000) "Industry-Higher Education Collaborations within Small Business Clusters: Evidence from UK Case Studies", in Industry and Higher Education, December 2000

Parker, M (1999) Skills Requirements in the Creative Industries, Skills Taskforee Research Group, Sheffield

National Committee into Higher Education (1997), Higher Education in the Learning Society HMSO/NCIHE

Mark Hindmarch, University of Sunderland, UK Hannah Warren, University of Sunderland, UK Mark Johnson, University of Sunderland, UK

Hindmarch and Warren are research assistants with the Digital Media Network, part of the School of Computing and Technology. Johnson is Research Manager of the Digital Media Network.