This document discusses competencies and behaviors that employers expect in students and graduates. It defines competencies as the ability to do something successfully and behaviors as how one acts. It outlines key competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers such as critical thinking, communication, and teamwork. A survey found gaps between the skills employers expect graduates to have and the training provided. Employers rated communication, problem solving, and leadership as most important. The document discusses approaches institutions take to develop these competencies and concludes with examples of programs and courses that aim to enhance relevant skills.

1. Student Competencies and Behaviours:
What Employers Expect
Melanie Parker (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Anthony Arcieri
(Harvard University), and Judith Baines (University of Hertfordshire)

2. The Importance of the Right Competencies

3. Definitions of terms (Oxford Dictionary)
Competency:
• The ability to do something successfully or efficiently
Behaviours:
• The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially
towards others
Or
• The way in which a person behaves in response to a
particular situation or stimulus

4. National Association of Colleges and
Employers Career Readiness Competencies
Critical thinking / problem solving
Oral / written communications
Teamwork / collaboration
Digital technology
Leadership
Professionalism / work ethic
Career management
Global / Intercultural Fluency

5. Association of Graduate Recruiters 2016
Development Survey: Gaps in Skills Training
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Teamwork
Interpersonal communication
Problem-solving
Self-awareness
Business communication
Commercial awareness
Negotiating/influencing
Dealing with conflict
Managing up
Skills training by graduate intake
Trained on this skill once hired Have this skill when hired

6. National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Outlook
2016: Employers Rate Importance of Candidate Skills

7. Burning Glass developed
and manages the
nation’s largest database
of online job postings
Using advanced intelligence
text mining to code 70+ facts
about online job postings
Visit 45,000+
online job
sites daily
Collect &
de-duplicate 1M+
job postings daily
Parse 70 fields to
generate detailed
data for each
individual posting
• Job Title & Occupation
• Employer & Industry
• Technical Skills
• Foundational Skills
• Certifications
• Educational
Requirements
• Experience Levels
• Salaries
• Variantscodedtostandardizedskillstoeasesearchingandenableanalyses
• Tracksdemand,alignprogramswithemployersneeds,givesstudentsa
roadmap
Real-Time Analytics for Competencies and Skills

8. Institutional Approaches
•Embedded or add-on
•Credit bearing or extra-curricular
•Discipline specific vs generic approach
•Employer Responsibility?

9. Table Discussion
~20 Minutes Discussing the
Question(s) at Your Table

10. Increases students’ ability to utilize
spreadsheets for business decision-making
Capstone course, including social,
professional and spiritual development
Career management skills
Communication skills training to prepare
and participate in a case competition

11. • Undergraduate program designed to broaden students’ education, inspire
creativity and enhance professional impact. Over 20 course options.
• Careers Service offers the interactive Professional Skills for Employability
course which includes teamwork, presentation, networking and business
etiquette skills.