A survey of Tertiary Education graduates’ competences and ...
|Research Paper |
|A Survey of Tertiary Education Graduates’ Competences and Skills in the Workplace |
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|Ancillia Louis |
|9/15/2011 |
|Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, |
|Division of Teacher Education and Educational Administration |
|St. Lucia |
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Abstract
This study is conducted at a time when two major issues are being discussed; the role and relevance of tertiary education and the needs of the workplace. Both issues have come into sharp focus because they have significant impact on people and country. One of the goals of tertiary education is to prepare individuals for the workplace by equipping them with not only Occupation Specific Knowledge (OSK), but also with Generic Skills and Competences (GSCs) that are relevant for functioning in any workplace. It is hypothesized therefore that individuals who have attained tertiary education will be equipped with these GSCs and that the latter will be demonstrated in the workplace.
It is within this context that this research was conducted. The research is preliminary and the objective was to investigate whether employees who are graduates of tertiary education demonstrate generic competences and skills that are required in the workplace.
The sample was purposively selected and the investigation was conducted within nine (9) Public and Private Sector Organizations in St. Lucia that employ graduates of tertiary education. The sample comprised thirty eight (38) individuals who held managerial and supervisory positions within those organizations, and who by virtue of their position could make an assessment of the skills and competences that the graduates demonstrated in the workplace. The assessment was made of more than two hundred and seventy three (273) employees.
The research instrument was a rating scale that required respondents to rate their level of agreement with whether the subjects under study demonstrated the specified behaviours/competences and skills. Measures of central tendency were used to analyze the data.
The findings of the study revealed the following:
• None of the descriptors for GSCs received a modal score of 5 to indicate strong agreement.
• There was agreement that the employees demonstrated most of the competences related to the following: Interpersonal Interaction; Lifelong Learning Entrepreneurship and Teamwork.
• Employees were deficient in the generic skills of Communication skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving which are valuable to any workplace.
• A comparison between the GSCs demonstrated by employees from the public sector compared to the private sector revealed a similar pattern; in both sectors while there were varying levels of agreement, there was agreement that employees demonstrated most of the GCs
• Employees from both sectors were deficient in problem solving, critical thinking and Communication skills.
Based on the findings the recommendation is for formulating clear policies to guide curriculum development in tertiary institutions to ensure that these curricula are aligned to the needs of the workplace.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank sincerely Dr. Stephen Louis, Managing Director of Business Tech Research Inc. and Ms Valerie Louis of the Office of the Prime Minister for assisting me and encouraging me throughout the duration of this research. Without their input I could not complete the task.
I also gratefully acknowledge the contribution of my colleagues at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia and respondents from the Public and Private Sector Organizations who assisted me by completing questionnaires and in being subjects of the research.
Ancillia Louis
Table of Contents Page
Abstract..........................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................3
Introduction – The Relevance of Tertiary Education.....................................................5
SECTION 1
Tertiary Education for the Workplace................................................................5
The Caribbean Context.......................................................................................8
SECTION 2. Needs of The Modern Workplace............................................................9
The St. Lucia Context...................................................................................... 11
SECTION 3
Research Design................................................................................................13
Sampling............................................................................................................13
Scoring and Analysis Procedures......................................................................13
SECTION 4
Data Presentation and Analysis
Research Question 1.......................................................................................................15
Summary of Findings.....................................................................................................17
Research Question 2.......................................................................................................19
Summary of Findings.....................................................................................................22
Research Question 3.......................................................................................................24
Summary of Findings.....................................................................................................31
SECTION 5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................33
Recommendations..........................................................................................................34
Delimitations...................................................................................................................34
Limitations......................................................................................................................35
References......................................................................................................................35
Appendix........................................................................................................................37
Theme: BENEFITS OF ALIGNING CURRICULA TO THE NEEDS OF THE WORKPLACE
Introduction
The Relevance of Tertiary Education
Whitman (2003) cites an OECD definition which states that tertiary education is the “level or stage of studies beyond secondary education that is undertaken in formal tertiary education institutions but also in a wide variety of other settings...”
“Tertiary education ... means the third stage of education which builds on secondary education. It is seen as voluntary in nature, androgogical and student-centred in orientation; catering to the intellectual, social and occupational needs of young and older adult learners, while preparing them to function as productive and adaptive citizens in a global environment.” Roberts (2003)
Based on these definitions and within the context of this paper, the terms tertiary education and higher education are used interchangeably.
As the United Nations ‘Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014),’ approaches an end, this year 2011 is the most pertinent time to address issues relevant to tertiary and higher education. This time allows policy makers and those with interest to continue to engage in discourse on the subject, to review progress and to make crucial decisions before the end of the decade.
This decade has not been without challenges; UNESCO’s concept for the decade was to seek to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems we face in the 21st century. But for many Caribbean people it is not certain whether this education is accessible to all; how relevant the curricula is; as well as how sustainable it is.
To this end, the World Bank has identified the seven most promising directions for the development/evolution of tertiary education. Of that list, the third is ‘improving the quality and relevance of tertiary education.’ This relevance may best be measured by its ability to adequately equip workers with workplace skills.
SECTION 1: Tertiary Education for the Workplace
In its Annual Report of 1991, the Maryland State Council on Vocational and Technical Education, made a call to establish closer ties of the school curriculum to the needs of the work place. The report stated that “the state would work at its economic peril if it simply pretended that a liberal arts college degree is the answer for all students. It recommended rather establishing tests of skills that are related to workplace success and to completely overhaul public education.
Fallows, and Steven, (2000) support this idea noted that the current economic situation has rendered an academic degree with mere knowledge of an academic subject insufficient for the workplace. The authors propose that students should be taught skills that will enhance their employability in the workplace. They advocated the teaching of employability skills such as:
• Retrieval and handling of information
• Communication and presentation
• Planning and problem solving
• Social development and interaction
Vaatstra & De Vries (2007) concur and indicated further that higher education should provide students with not only occupation – specific competences but generic competences as well to enable them to maintain their position in an ever-changing professional environment. They believe that acquisition of the latter competences depend in part on the extent to which they were stimulated during instruction.
They rationalized that as graduate’s face the continuous changes that occur in the labour market, their generic competencies are less subject to changes than occupation-specific competences. It means therefore that the former are very sustaining for the success of any working environment.
They cite (Eraut 1994; Everwijn 1999) who identify generic competences as knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be used successfully in different working situations and professional contexts. Examples of these competences are in their view,
• cross-disciplinary thinking,
• planning
• co-ordinating and organising
• problem solving ability
• analytic competences
• learning ability
• working independently
• working in a team.
Effective tertiary or higher education has the capacity to develop these competences.
What makes competences an essential aspect of education? The authors cite (Eysenck 1990) and (Scho¨n 1987), who indicate that reflective competences include the
• knowledge,
• attitude
• skills that show that a person has an understanding of his thoughts and actions; reflective competences according to them, are therefore a type of metacognitive competences that show that students are aware of and have an understanding of their own learning process and are able to monitor and control this process.
The authors further cited (Evers et al. 1998; Heijke et al. 2003; Van Loo and De Grip 2003), who agree that it is the generic and reflective competences in particular that benefit graduates in the long term and that render them employable. These skills and competencies can pass the relevance test as they are transferable to different environments (emphasis mine). Most working environments require these skills and competences. Graduates should be capable of applying these skills in whatever environment they find themselves. The authors further cited (Evers et al. 1998; and Mentkowski and Associates 2000) who recommend that the education system should provide students with those generic competences in order to perform properly at the workplace or at any workplace. (emphasis mine)
The authors note that some reflective behaviours in students are manifested as regularly evaluating themselves and asking themselves questions about their behaviour and performance as ‘what did I do wrong’, ‘what went very well’ and ‘how can I improve my behaviour and performance’. It is those shills and attributes that really make graduates employable.
Researching on education quality in Malaysia, Abdullah (2009) noted that as the country adapted to the changing times providing quality education to the citizens was critical. This was necessary to improve productivity in the country and to provide for industries, skilled workers of the highest calibre. They advocated the need for higher education institutions to teach practical skills that were required by industry.
In their research to determine whether a gap existed between the tertiary level curriculum and the skills required by the industries, they found for example, that the basic quantitative skills taught in the undergraduate curricula were sufficient to meet that need. But they also found that there were other intellectual skills such as:
• communication and
• problem solving
that are greatly valued by industry, but which the graduates did not have. If these skills had been taught the level of employability of the graduates would have been greatly enhanced and this could have enhanced productivity.
Gannaway (2010) reviewed the present status of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Australia. The author noted that although this degree has been the longest established degree programme in the Australian Higher Education system; its relevance and value to contemporary Australian society and economy are frequently called into question by students, prospective employers and university administration.
The author notes that unlike a medical or education graduate, an arts graduate has no direct link to a particular career. This did not appear to be congruent with the emphasis that recent governments seem to place on higher education; that of preparing graduates for employability and job readiness. In this regard the author cited many agencies who advocated that the new focus for the BA degree should be vocational skills.
Funding regimes arguably were designed to generate a work-ready graduate workforce.
In a study conducted to investigate the impact of globalization on higher education in Hong Kong, Yan Yan Lam (2010) found that although the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI& SD) had the longest records of developing design education, they implemented dramatic changes in design education at tertiary and higher education levels to respond to the impact of globalization. They began to offer diverse programmes to meet the needs of global creative industries which had expanded as a result; and as such they redesigned curricula to provide a new, integrated and multidisciplinary approach to Design education.
Seethamraju (2008) like Vastra and Devries (2007) found that universities in Australia were generally criticized as he notes, for lagging behind businesses in the adoption of new technologies and systems in general, and information technologies, (IT) in particular. A gap existed between theory taught at the universities and the practise in the work place. On that basis, he notes, university graduates were considered to be both unsuitable for and also unable to adapt to the modern workplace.
The situation described provoked the writer to ask critical questions of the business schools; questions such as ‘Do universities prepare graduates with the necessary integrated view of business? Do they offer a multidisciplinary perspective?’ These are both critical for the success of students in modern business organisations today. ‘Are they preparing graduates who are ready for the new workplace that is process-oriented and requires an integrated view of business, rather than functional compartmentalised orientation?
This point is supported by Stone (2010), in her article on ‘Moving Interprofessional Learning forward through Formal Assessment. ’ Stone supports the view that graduates who finish tertiary education with the full complement of skills and knowledge required for their designated profession are not ‘work-ready’ unless (emphasis mine) they also acquire:
• interpersonal skills
• collaborative practice
• team-working capabilities.
Stone (2010) contends that these latter skills and competences are essential to the workplace to the extent that health workers are unable to contribute to organisational culture in a positive way unless they too attain these capabilities. She provides supporting evidence to illustrate that these capabilities have been shown to improve health care in terms of patient safety, worker satisfaction and health service efficiency.
Higher education programs need to prepare their graduates for the practical challenges they can
expect to face upon entering the workforce. Venables and Tan (2009) noted that students themselves view their further studies as part of a transition process from school to work; as a result they are increasingly making pragmatic demands on the education institution for changes in the traditional curriculum to make it more relevant to work.
The authors cite Griffiths, 2001; Krause, Hartley, James &McInnis, 2005 who surmised that these demands have influenced shifts in higher education programmes from primarily disciplinary knowledge to now encompass more work related skills. In support of this the authors cited the case of Australia, where
“graduates’ rankings of program relevance to employability outcomes are one of the key indicators for deciding government funding to universities.
Therefore, it is in the interest of universities to actively promote the development of generic and work-related skills in their graduates and to document such information.
The author recommends that enhancing these skills and capabilities can be supported by a combination of workforce initiatives and tertiary education policy that can be used to specify the capabilities or generic skills necessary for
• effective teamwork and
• collaborative practice.
The Caribbean Context
Awareness of the importance of tertiary education in providing the human capital for the workplace is fully evident in the Caribbean. The College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT) has declared one important step for Trinidad and Tobago if the country is to achieve Vision 2020. “... the private sector and tertiary level institutions (TLIs) must synergise their efforts to create a new class of bold,
• critical-thinking
• technologically advanced entrepreneurs, capable of matching wits with the best anywhere in the world.
While being committed to achieving this goal, they recognized the existence of challenges in tertiary education. To address this, the president of COSTAATT explained that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education had published a Green Paper which identifies five key areas of focus for improvement in the tertiary education system. One of these key areas related to:
• reforming curricula to address innovation
• entrepreneurship
• problem-solving and
• critical thinking skills.
In Puerto Rico the Eduk Group which is a conglomerate of educational institutions, report that their main focus is on offering top-quality careers that respond to market needs; this results in a high level of employability in the country. In a newspaper article written by Nigaglioni (2008) president of EduK Group he emphasized the importance of education in preparing workers for the economy. He reported that the organization focuses on creating curricula with special emphasis on theory and practice, and this is an effective strategy that prepares students to face the real job demands the economy defines.”
In summary, the relevance of tertiary education programmes is determined by its ability to teach the various competences and skills that have been identified.
SECTION 2: The Needs of the Modern Workplace.
Milhauser and Rahschulte (2010), Abaidoo and Wachniak (2007) refer to the workplace as a global workplace, a globalized job market and a globalized workplace that is becoming increasingly accessible. The latter authors define the globalized workplace as follows:
‘The globalized workplace can be defined as one that predominantly operates with
demographically diverse and spatially diffused actors, including collaborating workers and customers with different national and cultural backgrounds. It is also one whose operations are greatly mediated by informational technology, including the rapidly evolving array of social software.’
They believe that globalization has created this new workplace and as it emerges it demands the new skill set that has been identified earlier. Now and in the foreseeable future, tertiary and higher education will continue to be the provider of such skills for the workplace.
The Report of the Maryland State Council on Tech/Voc Education strongly advocated that whatever changes occurred in the American workplace had to be supported by corresponding changes in education. The report recommended that as technology advanced in the workplace it had to be “matched by a corresponding increase in the
• skills and knowledge of workers and their
• ability to solve problems.
Abaidoo and Wachniak (2007), cite Karoly and Panis (2004), who note that The European Task Force Employment Report (2003), Neubert and Gibson (2004) all advocate the need for a combination of workplace skills such as
• interpersonal skills
• communication skills
• life - long learning
• interaction skills
in addition to the specific job related technical competences, to function effectively in the new workplace. They cited Erskine and Spalter –Roth (2006) who indicated that the National Science Foundation reported the need for “soft or relational skills in an increasingly, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and global job market.”
Yan Lam (2010) cited earlier indicated that the report on education reform in Hong Kong recommended the nation should reform education to develop in the citizens the following skills:
• high level of language proficiency that would allow for effective communication of ideas
• sharing of knowledge;
• IT skills;
• critical and lateral thinking skills,
• teamwork, as well as the
• capacity to pursue lifelong learning.
The author noted that all these skills were required if the country had to meet the demands of the burgeoning global creative industries.
In a knowledge based economy skill development, creativity and problem solving skills can no longer be sidelined nor can they be taught or learnt incidentally. It is within the tertiary and higher education curricula that are most poised to teach these skills.
The needs of the workplace have been clearly identified; workers who possess a skills and competences that make them functional and employable and productive. It is a combination of occupation specific knowledge and skills (OSKS) that refer to: mainly:
• academic knowledge related to the specific occupation
• technical competence related to the academic knowledge required for the specific occupation
• generic skills and competences (GSCs).
The latter, Generic Skills and Competences (GSCs) represent the traits and abilities that allow a worker to function effectively in any organization by practising skills and competences that would contribute to the success of the organization. GSCs may likewise be demonstrated in the ability of workers to take initiatives to solve problems or make decisions where necessary. They engender in workers a desire to be entrepreneurs even in the workplace; to be creative for the good of both themselves and the organization. Effective communication skills and critical thinking skills are also emphasized as well the need to demonstrate good interpersonal skills within GSCs.
The changing nature of the workplace requires workers who can adapt to this change by seeking out and engaging in opportunities for lifelong learning. This will be accompanied by workers’ openness to change and an acceptance of innovation. A technology dominated workplace increasingly demands problem solving skills, creative thinking and critical thinking skills. These skills should be emphasized in instruction at the tertiary/higher education institutions as part of preparation for the workplace. Teamwork is an effective strategy for improving productivity in the workplace and addressing competition. Teamwork builds on other traits such as cooperation, tolerance, sharing of ideas, respect and diligence in approaching tasks, among others.
Traditionally, OSKSs alone may have been adequate for the workplace. Presently this requirement is inadequate; results of research increasingly emphasize the need for workers to be equipped with GSCs. It is a combination of the two that may produce a ‘well rounded worker’ who can participate in the growth of the organization and the wider society. As providers of education for the workplace tertiary education institutions are charged with the responsibility of meeting those needs.
Figure 1. synthesises the needs of the workplace as described.
[pic]
Figure 1: Mapping the needs of the workplace.
(Created by the author for the purposes of this paper)
Milhauser and Raschulte (2010) express concern that inability to meet these work place demands will present a challenge for companies in taking advantage of global trading in International Business (IB). Currently the authors are of the view that higher education does not satisfy this demand.
They report results from an exploratory needs assessment of a sample of leaders of global Fortune 500 companies. The findings revealed that a gap existed between the topics that were being taught in IB and the skills needed in the workplace of international businesses. The authors concluded that the IB curriculum did not meet these needs. Based on this finding they recommended that any innovations or changes that are to be made in tertiary education must be done in the context of the needs of the workplace. They further suggest with supporting evidence that universities work with global industry leaders to develop effective curriculum that, when executed properly, will develop the
• knowledge
• skills
• abilities of students entering the global workplace.
The St. Lucia Context
Over the years tertiary education in St. Lucia has been provided by a number of institutions both local and foreign based, that conferred degrees and certificates in a wide range of disciplines. The country depended on the recipients of these qualifications to provide human capital necessary for developing the economy. At that time therefore, an academic degree /occupation specific knowledge as has been described earlier in this document was considered ideal and deemed sufficient for the workplace. The issue of the need for workers to be equipped with GSCs was not a major discussion point.
The establishment of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College expanded further opportunities for tertiary education. Employers looked to the College in addition to the other institutions to supply workers for industry. A number of other tertiary education institutions offering programmes via different modalities have since then also provided additional opportunities for tertiary education. This education should prepare a labour force with more employability skills.
Perhaps no one had envisaged that globalization would have so revolutionized industry that the needs of the workplace would then come into sharp focus; that the generic competences and skills would have assumed equal importance with the OSK. Managing and surviving competition in business presently demands a new calibre of worker who in addition to possessing OSK must also possess GSCs. Industry now more than ever relies on workers who can use technology efficiently, think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively, and display interpersonal skills, all which are crucial for success in business.
For small countries like St. Lucia whose only resources available for development are human resources, the challenge is even greater, and the need for workers to be equipped with GSCs is even more crucial.
The 2010 Population and Housing Census reported that about 11.2 % of the population had been educated at the tertiary and higher education levels. One implication of this is that the workplace will depend on those individuals who are employed to demonstrate GSCs, as a means of enhancing productivity in the organization.
The curriculum of tertiary education should among its goals, prepare workers for the labour force. It is in designing the curriculum that the skills and competences required in the workplace should be included; not incidentally but deliberately. This process will enhance the relevance of tertiary education as it equips graduates with workplace requirements.
It is important therefore to investigate whether employees who are graduates of tertiary education institutions demonstrate GSCs in their workplace.
The findings of this investigation may provide a springboard for further discussions on the relevance of the curricula in tertiary and higher education in meeting the needs of the workplace.
The objective of the research is to investigate whether employees who have received tertiary education demonstrate the GSCs in the workplace.
Based on this objective this paper seeks to answer the following research questions:
Research Questions
1. Which GCs do employees who are graduates of tertiary institutions demonstrate in the workplace?
2. Which GS do the employees demonstrate in the workplace?
3. What comparisons can be made between the GSCs demonstrated by employees in the private sector organizations and the public sector organizations?
SECTION 3: Research Design
This study is a survey in which managerial and supervisory personnel within the organizations selected, will be asked to make an assessment of employees who are graduates of tertiary institutions and express their level of agreement with whether the employees demonstrate the GSCs in the workplace. The design is cross sectional as it focuses on organizations that employ a large number of tertiary education graduates.
Sampling
Sampling Type: Purposive Sampling was used to select organizations that the researcher knew employed graduates of tertiary education.
Sample Size: Thirty eight (38) respondents representing eight (9) Public and Private Sector organizations formed the sample; these individuals held supervisory and managerial positions in their various organizations, and as such were in a position to make an assessment of the employees under survey to determine whether the latter demonstrated the skills and competences in question. The assessment was made of more than two hundred and seventy three (273) employees who were all identified as graduates of tertiary education institutions. The exact number is not known as eight (8) respondents failed to record on the instrument, the number of employees they were assessing.
Research Instrument
One Likert scale consisting of two major sections was used to gather data. Section one comprised twenty (20) positive descriptors/behaviours/statements that the literature identifies as manifestations of Generic Competences that are needed in the workplace and that have been recommended by different authors as an important component of tertiary /higher education.
Section two comprised nineteen (19) descriptors identified in the literature that are examples of Generic Skills.
Respondents were required to rate their level of agreement or disagreement to each statement as in the following instructions:
On a scale of 1 – 5, where 5 represents Strongly Agree and 1 represents Strongly Disagree, rate the level of your agreement with whether employees in your organization who are graduates of tertiary education, demonstrate the GSCs listed.
The instrument was put through three phases of pilot testing.
See the Appendix A for the complete research instrument)
Scoring and Analysis Procedures
The data scoring procedures were as follows:
• The descriptors were grouped into the following sub categories as derived from the literature review:
|Generic Competencies Generic Skills |
|Entrepreneurship Communication |
|Interpersonal interaction Problem solving |
|Teamwork Creative thinking |
|Lifelong learning Critical thinking |
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Figure 2: Sub-Categories
• The values on the Likert Scale were: 5 – strongly agree
4 - agree
3 – cannot agree with any measure of confidence
2 –disagree
1 – strongly disagree
• The modal scores were obtained for each descriptor to determine the most popular level of agreement
• for each descriptor.
• The data obtained were represented in tables.
• To present comparative data between public and private sector responses, the following procedure
was employed.
• From the previously analyzed questionnaires a sample was taken to represent
assessment data of fifty (50) employees from each sector.
• To analyze the data obtained, the outer categories of the Likert scale were collapsed to produce
these resulting categories on the scale:
5, 4, - agreement
3 – cannot agree with any level of confidence
2, 1, - disagreement.
Percentages were calculated for each category and the data were presented
on bar graphs.
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| |SECTION 4: Data Presentation and Analysis | | |
| |Research Question 1: What GCs that respondents agree are demonstrated in the | | |
| |workplace by employees who are graduates of tertiary education? | | |
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| |Sub Category 1a: – Entrepreneurship | | |
| |Items | | |
| |DESCRIPTORS | | |
| |Modal scores | | |
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| |3 | | |
| |Desire to learn job thoroughly | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |7 | | |
| |enthusiasm | | |
| | | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |11 | | |
| |interest in clients | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |14 | | |
| |Spend extra time on tasks | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |15 | | |
| |Willingly accept tasks | | |
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| |3 | | |
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| |Table 1a: Modal responses | | |
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| |Majority of respondents agreed that except for item 15, employees demonstrated all | | |
| |behaviours 3, 7, 11 and 14 that reflect competence in Entrepreneurship and are all important needs | | |
| |of the workplace. In support of this the literature cites COSTAATT (2010) as indicating that | | |
| |Entrepreneurship is one key area of focus for improvement in the tertiary education system in | | |
| |Trinidad and Tobago. The focus may be similar for tertiary education in other locations. | | |
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| |Respondents could not agree with any degree of confidence that employees willingly accepted tasks | | |
| |that were not part of their regular duties, item 15. | | |
| |This may be because employees are not aware of the importance of being competent in these behaviours. | | |
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| |Sub Category 2a– Interpersonal Interaction | | |
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| |Items DESCRIPTORS | | |
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| |MODE | | |
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| |5. Accept correction from co workers | | |
| |3 | | |
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| |6. | | |
| |Disagree courteously | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |8. respect authority | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |9. pleasant to co workers | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |10. respect colleagues | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |12. tolerance of persons with different ideas | | |
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| |3 | | |
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| |16. participation in non work activities | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |Table 2a: Modal responses | | |
| |Majority of respondents agreed that employees demonstrated competence in all descriptors | | |
| |except items 5 and 12. They respected authority, disagreed courteously, they participated in non | | |
| |work activities of the organization. This is an indication that employees are generally aware of | | |
| |and demonstrate the interpersonal relations that are required for the workplace; their education | | |
| |may have exposed them to instruction in these areas. Respondents could not ascertain that | | |
| |Item 5 ‘employees accepted correction from co – workers, nor ‘demonstrated tolerance for | | |
| |different ideas’ (item 12). It may be that employees do not have confidence in their colleagues. | | |
| |It is also logical to assume that employees who do not accept correction from co-workers would | | |
| |also not be tolerant of differing ideas. | | |
| |Sub Category 3a: Lifelong Learning | | |
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| |ITEMS DESCRIPTORS | | |
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| |MODE | | |
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| |4. develop professionally | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |13. accept criticism | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |17. seek advice | | |
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| |4 | | |
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| |18. try new ideas | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |19. lifelong learning | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |Table 3a: Modal responses | | |
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| |Majority of respondents agreed that employees demonstrated all the behaviours associated with | | |
| |lifelong learning, a possible indication that they are aware of and have been exposed to instruction | | |
| |in that area. Lifelong learning is one of the major needs of the workplace as identified by | | |
| |Abaidoo and Wachniak (2007), Yan Lam (2010). Employees who demonstrate such competence | | |
| |will contribute positively to the organization. The data also indicate that while it was not very | | |
| |evident that the employees accepted correction from co workers possibly due to a lack of | | |
| |confidence in them, they did accept criticism from authority and also sought advice from | | |
| |those who could assist. This supports item 8 in Interpersonal Interaction, that employees | | |
| |respected authority. | | |
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| |Sub Category 4a: Teamwork | | |
| |ITEMS DESCRIPTORS | | |
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| |MODE | | |
| | | | |
| |1. Sharing ideas | | |
| |3 | | |
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| |2. Interest in success | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |3. interest in goals | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |20. work as team member in completion of tasks | | |
| |4 | | |
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| |Table 4a: Modal responses | | |
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| |Majority of respondents agreed that employees demonstrated competence in all the teamwork | | |
| |descriptors except item 1 sharing ideas; this is a good indicator that employees under survey may | | |
| |have been exposed to education in these competences. They could not ascertain with any | | |
| |confidence that employees were competent in sharing ideas that could further assist in team | | |
| |building in the organization. Yan Lam (2010) | | |
| |Stone (2010) supports the view that graduates who finish tertiary education with the full complement | | |
| |of skills and knowledge required for their designated profession are not ‘work-ready’ unless | | |
| |(emphasis mine) they also acquire skills such as collaborative practice (sharing of ideas) and | | |
| |team-working capabilities. While the graduate employees did not share ideas, they demonstrated | | |
| |team working capabilities possibly because team work was required in the workplace. | | |
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| |Data Summary and Findings | | |
| |Research Question 1: Which GCs do employees who are graduates of tertiary institutions | | |
| |demonstrate in the workplace? | | |
| |From the data gathered there were no modal scores representing strongly agree for demonstration | | |
| |of the descriptors presented; an indication that respondents may not have been impressed with the | | |
| |level at which or consistency with which the graduate employees demonstrated the generic | | |
| |competences under study, in the workplace. However graduates demonstrated the following | | |
| |generic competences: | | |
| |Entrepreneurship: Respondents agreed that the employees demonstrated competence in | | |
| |their ‘desire to learn their job’, ‘showing enthusiasm’ and ‘showing interest in clients,’ | | |
| |‘willingness to spend extra time completing tasks’ Vaatstra & De Vries (2007) believe that | | |
| |acquisition of generic competences depends in part on the extent to which they were stimulated | | |
| |during instruction. It can be assumed therefore that the graduate employees had some exposure | | |
| |to developing this competency during their education. The literature also cites COSTAATT (2010) | | |
| |as indicating that Entrepreneurship is one key area of focus for improvement in the tertiary | | |
| |education system in Trinidad and Tobago. The focus may be similar for tertiary institutions | | |
| |in other locations. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Interpersonal Interactions: The data showed that employees demonstrated competence in | | |
| |some forms of interpersonal interactions such as ‘disagreeing courteously’, ‘respecting authority’, | | |
| |‘being pleasant to co – workers,’ ‘respecting colleagues’ and ‘participating in non work | | |
| |activities of the organization.’ These competences are necessary for the proper functioning | | |
| |of any workplace. Fallows, and Steven, (2000) described interpersonal interactions as | | |
| |employability skills. They noted that the current economic situation has rendered an academic | | |
| |degree with mere knowledge of an academic subject insufficient for the workplace. | | |
| |They propose that students should be taught skills that will enhance their employability in | | |
| |the workplace. They advocated the teaching of employability skills such as social development | | |
| |and interaction that will improve employees’ competence. | | |
| |Respondents however could not agree with confidence that employees accepted correction | | |
| |from co workers; neither did they demonstrate tolerance for persons with differing ideas. | | |
| |It is logical to assume that employees who do not accept correction would not likely | | |
| |tolerate persons with differing ideas. | | |
| |Lifelong Learning | | |
| |Respondents agreed that employees demonstrated all the competences associated with life long | | |
| |learning. Employees ‘accepted criticism from authority’ and they demonstrated ‘willingness to | | |
| |seek advice from those who can assist them’. This supports sub category 2a, item 8 in which | | |
| |respondents agreed that employees respected authority. Employees also showed a willingness | | |
| |to both ‘develop themselves professionally, (item 4) and engage in lifelong learning (item 19). | | |
| |One can conclude therefore that since they respected their colleagues, (Sub category 2 a, item 10), | | |
| |their non acceptance of correction from their colleagues (Sub category 2 a – item 5) meant a lack of | | |
| |confidence in the latter. | | |
| |The importance of lifelong is emphasized byYan Lam(2010) cited earlier, who indicated that tthe | | |
| |report on education reform in Hong Kong recommended the nation should reform educattion to | | |
| |develop in the citizens the capacity to pursue lifelong learning; “this would allow them to take | | |
| |advantage of the burgeoning creative industries.” | | |
| | | | |
| |Teamwork | | |
| |Respondents agreed that employees demonstrated capabilities in teamwork except item 1 ‘sharing | | |
| |ideas on ways they have to improve the organization’. They showed interest in both the success | | |
| |of the organization (item 2) and in the goals of the organization, (item 3); and worked as team | | |
| |member in the completion of tasks (item 20). Gafa, Fenech, Scerri & Price (2005) underscore the | | |
| |importance of team work. They cite Duthie (1999) as stating that teams allow those working in | | |
| |them to use their diverse knowledge, skills and experience to contribute to collective decision-making | | |
| |and problem solving in order to achieve desired outcomes. | | |
| |While employees may work as a team, they may not feel confident to share ideas, or they may not | | |
| |feel they have any ideas to share on ways of improving the organization. (item 1). | | |
| |The absence of a modal score of five (5) for any descriptor is an indication that there is not | | |
| |widespread or frequent demonstration of these competences in the workplace. | | |
| | | | |
| |Research Question 2: What Generic Skills do employees demonstrate in the workplace? | | |
| |Sub category 1 b - Communication | | |
| |ITEMS DESCRIPTORS | | |
| |Mode | | |
| | | | |
| |2 Communicate their ideas to authority | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |4 Using language that clearly express ideas | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |13 Clearly communicate ideas to others | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |18 Ability to make a presentation | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Table 1 b:Modal scores | | |
| |The data reveal from the modal score of 3, that majority of respondents could not ascertain that | | |
| |employees demonstrated any of the relevant communication skills. Effective communication is | | |
| |important in any workplace as it is a prerequisite for problem solving. Fallows and Steven (2000) | | |
| |identify communication and presentation as essential workplace skills. Larkin and Larkin (1994) | | |
| |note three important facts about communication are that employees should be able to communicate directly | | |
| |to supervisors, use face-to-face communication, and communicate relative performance of the local work | | |
| |area. The data presented did not support that employees demonstrated those skills. | | |
| |Sub Category 2b: Problem Solving | | |
| | | | |
| |ITEMS | | |
| |DESCRIPTORS | | |
| | | | |
| |MODE | | |
| | | | |
| |7. | | |
| |Diagnose problems | | |
| | | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |8. | | |
| |Perseverance for solutions | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |3. | | |
| |Offering suggestions for solutions | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |5. | | |
| |Willing to change ineffective practices | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |6. | | |
| |Willing to learn new strategies to improve their performance | | |
| |4 | | |
| | | | |
| |15. | | |
| |Accepting new ideas from others3 | | |
| | | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |Table 2b: Modal scores | | |
| | | | |
| |Apart from item 6, ‘willing to learn new strategies to improve their performance’, respondents | | |
| |could not agree with confidence that employees demonstrated any of the other relevant problem | | |
| |solving skills such as; being able to diagnose problems in the workplace, item 7, perseverance in | | |
| |trying to find solutions to problems, item 8, offering suggestions for solutions, item3, accepting | | |
| |new ideas or suggestions from others to improve their performance. The response for item 6 | | |
| |supports item 18 on table 3 a, in which respondents agreed that employees were willing to try | | |
| |new ideas. Item 15 support The inability of employees to communicate effectively in table 1 – b | | |
| |above is an indication of poor communication skills. | | |
| | | | |
| |. | | |
| |Sub Category 3b: Creative Thinking | | |
| | | | |
| |ITEMS | | |
| | | | |
| |DESCRIPTORS | | |
| |MODE | | |
| | | | |
| |9. offering ideas to increase productivity in the organization | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |11. Welcoming /embracing innovation in the workplace | | |
| |4 | | |
| | | | |
| |13. Taking initiative to start things in the workplace | | |
| | | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |17. Using technology to enhance efficiency in their work | | |
| | | | |
| |4 | | |
| | | | |
| |Table 3 b – Modal scores | | |
| |Majority of respondents agreed to items 11 and 17 respectively. Since there is agreement tha | | |
| |t employees welcome innovation in the workplace, (11) then they would quite likely use new | | |
| |technology that accompanies the innovation, to enhance efficiency in their work, (item 17). | | |
| |Non use of technology may render the workplace non functional. This again supports the | | |
| |previous response that they are willing to try new ideas. Respondents could not indicate with | | |
| |certainty that employees demonstrated items 9 and 13. There was no clear agreement that | | |
| |employees offered ideas to increase productivity in the organization, (item 9), nor did they take | | |
| |initiative to start things in the workplace; probably because they lack the ability or confidence to | | |
| |do so as supported by item 1 table 4 a. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Sub Category 4b: Critical Thinking | | |
| | | | |
| |ITEMS | | |
| |DESCRIPTORS | | |
| | | | |
| |Mode | | |
| | | | |
| |10. Continually evaluating their performance | | |
| | | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |12. Readily accepting challenging tasks | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| |16. Completing tasks independently | | |
| | | | |
| |4 | | |
| | | | |
| |19. Making sound decisions | | |
| | | | |
| |3 | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Table 4 b: Modal scores | | |
| | | | |
| |Majority of respondents agreed that the subjects demonstrated their ability to complete tasks | | |
| |independently, which is an essential workplace skill. This supports sub - category 4 a, item 20, | | |
| |where majority of respondents agreed that employees could work as a team member. This means | | |
| |that employees demonstrated both working independently and working as a team member when | | |
| |necessary. | | |
| |They however could not agree with confidence that employees demonstrated any of the other generic | | |
| |critical thinking skills, such as continually evaluating their performance in the workplace, making | | |
| |sound decisions, or accepting challenging tasks. This response pattern supports the interrelatedness | | |
| |of the generic skills; that deficiency in one critical thinking skill reflects in the other related skills. | | |
| |The data reveal that employees did not readily engage in continually evaluating their performance, | | |
| |item 10. Likewise respondents could not agree definitively that the employees practised sound | | |
| |decision making item 19. Employees who are not able to continually evaluate their performance, | | |
| |will unlikely be capable of sound decision making. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Data Summary and Findings | | |
| |Research Question 2: What generic skills do employees who are graduates of tertiary education | | |
| |demonstrate in the workplace? | | |
| |Communication: Majority of respondents could not agree with confidence that the graduate | | |
| |employees demonstrated any of the communication skills being investigated. Communication | | |
| |is a core skill that facilitates many other skills; it can be assumed that inability to communicate | | |
| |effectively will negatively impact their capacities to demonstrate other workplace skills which | | |
| |may affect productivity in the workplace. There is much support for this assumption. | | |
| |Among the many generic skills that are recommended in education reform in Hong Kong, | | |
| |Yan Lam (2010) cited earlier indicated that the reform should develop in citizens a high level of | | |
| |language proficiency that would allow for effective communication of ideas. | | |
| |Researching on education quality in Malaysia, Abdullah (2009) found that while tertiary education | | |
| |graduates had the basic quantitative skills taught in the undergraduate curricula, they lacked skills | | |
| |such as problem solving and communication that are | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |greatly valued by Industry. Abdullah notes that if these skills had been taught, the level of employability | | |
| |of the graduates would have been greatly enhanced and this could have enhanced productivity. | | |
| |Problem solving: Data obtained indicate that similar to communication, graduate employees | | |
| |did not demonstrate any of the problem solving skills being assessed. As has been noted | | |
| |communication skills and problem solving are closely linked so it is not surprising that the subjects | | |
| |would also not demonstrate problem solving skills. The importance of generic skills in the | | |
| |workplace has been recognized and emphasized. The Ministry of Science, Technology and | | |
| |Tertiary Education in Trinidad has | | |
| |published a Green Paper which identifies five key areas of focus for improvement in the tertiary | | |
| |education system. Two of these key areas are related to: | | |
| |problem-solving and | | |
| |critical thinking skills. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Creative thinking: The use of technology has revolutionized the work place as innovations that | | |
| |address this technology are implemented. Majority of respondents agreed that employees | | |
| |welcomed this innovation and used the technology in their work. This is important to the workplace. | | |
| |Yan Lam (2010) reported that IT skills should be an important component of education reform. | | |
| |He indicated that these skills were especially important if the country had to“ meet the demands | | |
| |of the burgeoning global creative industries.” | | |
| |Majority of respondents however could not ascertain that employees offered suggestions and | | |
| |ideas to enhance productivity, item 9. This supports the response to item 1 sub-category 4 a to | | |
| |which respondents could not agree definitively, that employees shared ideas, item 1. Venables | | |
| |and Tan (2009) advocate collaborative practice such as sharing ideas, among workers to enhance | | |
| |productivity. Respondents could further not agree definitively that employees took initiatives to | | |
| |start things in the workplace, item 13. | | |
| | | | |
| |Critical Thinking: Respondents could not agree with confidence that the subjects demonstrated | | |
| |skill in any of the other aspects of critical thinking except in item completing tasks independently. | | |
| |Critical thinking skills are all essential workplace skills. Self evaluation of one’s performance | | |
| |is an important workplace skill. Vaastra and DeVries (2007) cited earlier note that during their | | |
| |education, students who regularly evaluate themselves and ask themselves questions about their | | |
| |behaviour and performance engage in self – reflection. They advocate that it is those skills and | | |
| |attributes that really make graduates employable. | | |
| |Although respondents agreed in Sub category 1 a, that employees demonstrated entrepreneurship, | | |
| |their critical thinking capacity could not be ascertained. | | |
| | | | |
| |The absence of a modal score of five for any of the generic skills is a clear indicator that | | |
| |demonstration of these workplace skills | | |
| |is not outstanding. | | |
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| | | | |
| |Research Question 3: What comparisons can be made between the GSCs demonstrated in the | | |
| |private sector organizations and the public sector organizations? | | |
| | | | |
| |Generic Competences | | |
| | | | |
| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 3a: Entrepreneurial competences of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |The data reveal that all respondents (100%) agreed that private sector employees demonstrated | | |
| |competence in the ‘desire to learn the job thoroughly’ compared to 80% agreement from the | | |
| |public sector. 75% of private sector respondents agreed that employees willingly accepted tasks | | |
| |that are not part of their regular duties compared with only 45% public sector agreement. There | | |
| |was 75% agreement of both groups showing interest in clients or customers. Overall, there were | | |
| |slightly higher levels of agreement from the private sector. | | |
| |Both groups demonstrated interest in clients/customers. | | |
| | | | |
| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 4 a: Interpersonal Interaction of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |There was agreement with varying levels, that both categories of employees demonstrated most | | |
| |of the competences except ‘tolerance for persons with differing ideas’ (25%). | | |
| |There was a high level of agreement from both groups to ‘respect for authority; 87% from the | | |
| |public sector, compared to 75% from the private sector. More employees (75%) from the private | | |
| |sector participated in non work activities of the organization compared with 25% in the public sector. | | |
| |Private sector employees showed greater acceptance of correction (75%) from their co workers | | |
| |compared with 50% from the public sector. The latter could be an indication of lack of | | |
| |confidence in their colleagues. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 5 a: Lifelong learning competences of employees | | |
| |. | | |
| |Respondents from both sectors agreed that employees demonstrated most of the five competences | | |
| |under investigation; ‘develop themselves professionally’; accepted criticism from authority’ | | |
| |‘sought advice from those who could assist them’ ,’were willing to try new ideas’ and | | |
| |‘demonstrated other ‘lifelong learning competences’ | | |
| |For the public sector 63% compared to 75% in the private sector agreed that employees | | |
| |accepted criticism from authority; while 75% of responses indicate that employees demonstrated | | |
| |willingness to try new ideas, only 25% agreed in the public sector. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 6 a: Teamwork competences of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |There was an equal level of agreement (75%) to both categories of employees ‘working as team | | |
| |members in the completion of tasks’, this showed the team spirit in both workplaces. There was | | |
| |more agreement to’ sharing of ideas’ among employees in the private sector, 75% compared to | | |
| |60% in the public sector. 60% of public sector respondents compared to 50% from the private | | |
| |sector agreed that employees demonstrated ‘interest in the success of the organization’, and there | | |
| |was equal agreement, 50% to showing interest in the goals of the organization. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 7 b: Communication Skills of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |Employees experienced dificulty with communication as seen with an overall a low level of | | |
| |agreement from both sectors to the demonstration of all the communication skills. Only 60% | | |
| |of respondents in the public sector and 50% in the private sector agreed that employees ‘use clear | | |
| |language to express their ideas’, and only 50% from either group could ‘communicate their ideas | | |
| |to authority’. Employees further could not make a presentation as represented by 60% no | | |
| |confidence in the public sector and 50% disagreement from the private sector. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
| | | | |
| |Figure 8b: Problem solving skills of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |The data reveal a low level of agreement from both groups with evidence of demonstration of | | |
| |problem solving skills; but there was slightly higher agreement from the private sector. For example | | |
| |while 50% of the private sector agreed that employees ‘took time to diagnose problems affecting | | |
| |the workplace’ and ‘also demonstrated’ perseverance in finding solutions to a problem’, 88% from | | |
| |the public sector could not agree with confidence to either of the behaviours. 50% from both | | |
| |groups agreed that ‘employees were willing to change ineffective practices’ and ‘learn new | | |
| |strategies to improve their performance’. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
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| |Figure 8 b: Creative thinking skills of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |In both sectors creative thinking was mostly demonstrated through using technology. In the | | |
| |public sector, 60% agreed that employees ‘used technology to enhance their efficiency in the | | |
| |workplace’ compared with 50% in the private sector. The differences may be reflective of more | | |
| |widespread use of computers or more availability in the public sector. Comparatively, Another | | |
| |important demonstration of creative thinking is taking initiatives; 75% of both categories could | | |
| |not agree with confidence that employees ‘took initiatives to start things in the workplace.’ | | |
| |For both sectors overall, the data show low levels of agreement that employees demonstrated | | |
| |creativity. | | |
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| |[pic] | | |
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| |Figure 9b: Critical thinking skills of employees | | |
| | | | |
| |There was agreement that both categories of respondents could ‘complete assigned tasks | | |
| |independently’, 88% - public sector, 75 % private sector. This is an indication that employees | | |
| |could use some related thinking skills; however ‘regularly self-evaluating one’s performance’ | | |
| |as well as ‘making sound decisions are essential workplace skills which employees in neither | | |
| |sector demonstrated’. Only 12% of public sector respondents and 25% of private sector | | |
| |respondents agreed that employees demonstrated these skills. | | |
| |There was equal agreement to acceptance of challenging tasks, 50%. | | |
| | | | |
| |Research Question 3: What comparisons can be made between the GSCs demonstrated in the | | |
| |private sector organizations and the public sector organizations? | | |
| | | | |
| |Data Summary and Findings | | |
| |Generic Competences | | |
| |Entrepreneurship | | |
| |There was a greater demonstration of a desire on the part of employees in the private sector to | | |
| |learn the job more than those in the public sector. This was also evident as private sector | | |
| |employees more willingly accepted tasks that were not part of their regular duties as well as | | |
| |demonstrated more willingness to spend extra time on tasks. | | |
| |Both groups demonstrated equal interest in clients and customers. | | |
| |Interpersonal Interaction | | |
| |There was agreement that both groups demonstrated some competence in interpersonal interaction. | | |
| |They were pleasant to co workers and respected their colleagues. Both groups demonstrated | | |
| |respect for authority but the level of agreement was greater in the public sector. They both | | |
| |participated in non work activities but the level of agreement was higher for the private sector. | | |
| |Although both groups showed a lack of tolerance for persons with different ideas, employees | | |
| |in the private sector more willingly accepted correction from co workers. | | |
| | | | |
| |Lifelong Learning | | |
| |Although both groups of respondents demonstrated most of the competences, private sector | | |
| |employees demonstrated more evidence of eagerness to try new ideas as well as accepted criticism | | |
| |from authority. | | |
| | | | |
| |Teamwork | | |
| |There was equal agreement that both groups of employees worked as team members in the | | |
| |completion of tasks, and that they both sought advice from persons who could assist them. There | | |
| |was a higher level of agreement that employees from the private sector shared ideas on ways they | | |
| |have to improve the organization. There was equal agreement to employees showing interest in | | |
| |the goals of the organization, but a higher level of agreement to public sector employees showing | | |
| |interest in the success of the organization. | | |
| | | | |
| |Generic Skills | | |
| | | | |
| |Communication | | |
| |Employees from both sectors experienced dificulty with communication skills. There was a | | |
| |moderate level of agreement that employees in the public sector could use language that can | | |
| |clearly express their ideas as well as a moderate level of agreement that while employees in the | | |
| |private sector could communicate their ideas to others and to authority. | | |
| | | | |
| |Problem Solving | | |
| |The data reveal a low level of agreement from both groups with demonstration of problem solving | | |
| |skills; employees in the public sector could not diagnose problems in the workplace or persevere | | |
| |at finding solutions to problems, while there was only 50% agreement that these skills were | | |
| |demonstrated in the workplace in the private sector. There was also moderate agreement that | | |
| |employees were willing to change ineffective practices and learn new strategies to improve their | | |
| |performance. | | |
| | | | |
| |Creative Thinking | | |
| |For both groups there was agreement on using technology to enhance efficiency in their work; | | |
| |but there was a higher level of agreement for the public sector. This could be because of greater | | |
| |availability of computers in the former. There no evidence of | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |employees taking initiative to start things in the workplace. In the private sector 50% of employees | | |
| |welcomed innovation in the workplace, compared to only 37% in the public sector. | | |
| | | | |
| |Critical Thinking | | |
| |There was a very low level of agreement that either group of employees demonstrated their ability | | |
| |to regularly evaluate their performance or to make sound decisions.There was moderate agreement | | |
| |to the groups accepting challenging tasks, but both groups were able to complete assigned tasks | | |
| |independently. | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Conclusion: The literature clearly advocates that the demands/needs of the workplace are for a new | | |
| |calibre of employees who do not only possess occupation specific knowledge, but equally important can | | |
| |demonstrate GSCs in the workplace. This may determine the future success of organizations as well as | | |
| |that of employees.. | | |
| |The research revealed overall, that employees being surveyed demonstrated many of the generic | | |
| |competences, but respondents could not agree with any confidence that employees demonstrated the | | |
| |generic skills. Since tertiary education should prepare employees for the workplace | | |
| |it can be assumed that employees were exposed to the generic competences during their | | |
| |tertiary education. Likewise their exposure to instruction in the generic skills may have | | |
| |been minimal. | | |
| | | | |
| |A comparison of the data from the public and private sectors revealed a similar pattern of demonstration | | |
| |but with varying levels of agreement. Both groups demonstrated teamwork, had respect for authority, | | |
| |and for their colleagues. However both groups failed to show tolerance for persons with differing ideas. | | |
| |Private sector employees more willingly accepted criticism from authority and were more willing to share their | | |
| |ideas on improving the organization than public sector employees. | | |
| | | | |
| |In support of the importance of generic competences Vaastra and De Vries (2000) rationalized that as | | |
| |graduates face the continuous changes that occur in the labour market, their generic competencies are | | |
| |less subject to changes than occupation-specific competences. It means therefore that the former are | | |
| |very sustaining for the success of any working environment. | | |
| | | | |
| |There was less agreement about the demonstration of generic skills by employees in both public and | | |
| |private sector. They both failed to demonstrate most of the communication skills, problem solving skills, | | |
| |creative thinking and critical thinking skills. | | |
| |The findings of this study bring to sharp focus the needs of the workplace and the extent to which | | |
| |those needs are met. At the tertiary level which prepares workers for the workplace GSCs should | | |
| |be part of instruction. The findings further suggest that decisions regarding the content of a | | |
| |tertiary education curriculum can no longer be the privilege of the provider. It can best be determined | | |
| |by a process of consultation with the providers of employment being major partners. This would | | |
| |be an attempt to align the curriculum to the needs of the workplace to ensure that graduates | | |
| |of tertiary institutions develop greater functionality in the workplace. | | |
| |Recommendations: | | |
| |There is the need for clear written policies on the process of designing curricula for tertiary | | |
| |education to ensure that the needs of the workplace are met. | | |
| |The polices must stipulate how the process will be conducted and who the participants should be. | | |
| |To ensure that the content of curricula are aligned to the needs of the workplace, participants should | | |
| |represent both private and public sector organizations. | | |
| |For example in designing curricula for the new Sir Arthur Lewis University College, it is | | |
| |recommended that consultations involving employers from public and private sector organizations | | |
| |are held to decide on the content of the curricula. | | |
| |Instruction in Generic Competences and Skills too often are left as incidental learning during | | |
| |Instruction; they must be taught directly initially until learners have conceptualized the GSCs. | | |
| |It is recommended that the GSCs be presented as independent courses of instruction or as clearly | | |
| |articulated components of new and existing programmes. This will ensure that learners | | |
| |understand the relevance of these GSCs and can demonstrate them to enhance overall productivity. | | |
| |Delimitations | | |
| |This investigation was concerned with only employees who are graduates of tertiary education | | |
| |and it is not intended to make comparisons with employees who are not graduates of tertiary | | |
| |institutions. | | |
| | | | |
| |Limitations: Gathering data from Private Sector organizations was very tedious as in some instances | | |
| |they were not responsive to providing information. | | |
| | | | |
| |The actual number of employees against whom the assessments were made could not be ascertained | | |
| |as eight respondents did not indicate the numbers of employees whom they were assessing. | | |
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| |References | | |
| |Abaidoo, Samuel and Wachniak, Lana Re-Thinking Graduate Education: An Imperative for a | | |
| |Changing Environment | | |
| |The International Journal of Learning,Volume 14, Number 5, 2007 | | |
| |, ISSN 1447-9494 | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Sh. Abdullah , Aishah Siti : Undergraduates’ Quantitative Skills and Industrial Needs. International | | |
| |Journal of Learning Volume 16, Number 7, 2009, , ISSN 1449494 | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Fallows, Stephen and Steven, C. Fallows, (2000) "Building employability skills into the higher | | |
| |education curriculum: a university-wide initiative", Education + Training, Vol. 42 Issue: 2, pp.75 | | |
| |– 83 Retrieved from google. on 8/6/2011 | | |
| | | | |
| |Gafa, M . Fenech, A, Scerri A. C. & Price D. Teamwork in healthcare organisations | | |
| |Pharmacy Education, June 2005; 5(2): 113–119 | | |
| |Retrieved October 15, 2011 from .search.ebsco | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| |Gannaway,*Deanne . Towards a curriculum typology for Australian generalist arts degree | | |
| |programmes Journal of Further and Higher Education Vol. 34, No. 2, May 2010, 149–163 | | |
| |[pic] | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 6/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Gonsalves, Emmanuel E. Towards a Strategic Partnership between Academia & the Private Sector | | |
| |,COSTAATT | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 6/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Guillermo. Caribbean Business Thursday, September 25, 2008 s p Special Report: Conference | | |
| |and Exposition | | |
| |Employability..is Skills, Talent and Practice by president, Eduk Group | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 7/08/11 | | |
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| |Larkin T. J. and Larkin, Sandar. Communicating Change: Winning | | |
| |Employee Support for New Business Goals. New York: | | |
| |McGraw-Hill, 1994. | | |
| |Retrieved from search.ebsco., 10/16/2011 | | |
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| |Lam Yan Lam Impact of Globalization on Higher Education: AnEmpirical Study of Education Policy & Planning of Design Education in Hong Kong International Education Studies Vol. 3, No. 4; | | |
| |November 2010 | | |
| |Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 73 | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 6/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Little , Brenda and Harvey Lee b UK Work Placements: Choice Too Far? Tertiary Education and Management, Vol. 13, No. 3, September 2007, pp. 227–245 | | |
| |[pic] | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
| | | | |
| |Milhauser Kathy L., Rahschulte Tim. Meeting the Needs of GlobalCompanies Through Improved International Business Curriculum Journal of Teaching in International Business, Teaching in | | |
| |Vol. 21, No. 2, Apr 2010: pp. 0–0 | | |
| |Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
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| |Roberts, Vivienne. Overcoming Barriers to Access and Success in Tertiary Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean . ISEA • Volume 31, Number 3, 2003 Tertiary Level Institutions Unit, | | |
| |The University of the West Indies, Barbados. | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
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| |Seethamraju, Ravi. Enterprise Systems Software in the Business Curriculum:Aligning Curriculum with Industry Requirements The University of Sydney, Australia Copyright © 2008, IGI Global | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 29/08/11 | | |
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| |Stone , Judy. Moving Interprofessional Learning Forward Through | | |
| |Formal Assessment. Medical Education 2010: 44: 396–403 | | |
| |Retrieved from search., 15/08/11 | | |
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| |Strands of opportunity, Webs of Hope: Weaving a seamless Education System for Workplace needs 1991Annual report of the State Council on Vocational and technical Education. | | |
| |Retrieved online 7/8 2011 | | |
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| |Vaatstra, Rina . De Vries, Robert. The Effect of the Learning Environment on Competences and Training for the Workplace according to Graduates. Higher Education (2007) 53: 335–357 _ | | |
| |2007, Springer | | |
| |Retrieved August 07, 2011.search.ebsco | | |
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| |Venables, Anne . Tan, Grace. Realizing Learning in the Workplace in an Undergraduate IT Program. Journal of Information Technology Education: Volume 8, 2009 | | |
| |Retrieved August 07, 2011.search.ebsco | | |
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| | | | |
| |APPENDIX | | |
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| |A survey of tertiary education graduates’ skills and competences in the workplace. | | |
| | | | |
| |Dear Respondent, | | |
| |The modern workplace demands more than Occupation Specific Knowledge (OSK); it also needs employees to demonstrate generic skills and competences (GSCs) that can enhance productivity. | | |
| |One of the main goals of tertiary education is to prepare persons to enter this workplace and as such this level should teach the GSCs in addition to OSK. | | |
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| |The purpose of this phase of my research therefore is to investigate whether employees who are graduates of tertiary institutions demonstrate GSCs in the workplace. | | |
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| |On a scale of 1 – 5, where 5 represents Strongly Agree and 1 represents Strongly Disagree, rate the level of your agreement with whether the graduate employees in your organization | | |
| |demonstrate the GSCs. | | |
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| |Kindly place a check mark (x) in the box that expresses the level of your agreement. | | |
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| |I will present the findings of this study at the Annual Conference of The Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI) in Grenada. | | |
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| |Kindly note that your identity is not required. | | |
| |I am indeed grateful for your participation. | | |
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| |Ancillia Louis | | |
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| |Senior Lecturer, | | |
| |Sir Arthur Lewis Community College | | |
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| |Number of employees in the department you head -------- | | |
| |Number of them who are tertiary education graduates --------- | | |
| |Generic competences | | |
| |Rate your level of agreement with whether graduates of tertiary education in your organization demonstrate the following competences: | | |
| |5 | | |
| |4 | | |
| |3 | | |
| |3 | | |
| |1 | | |
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| |1.Sharing ideas they have on ways to improve the organization | | |
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| |2.Showing interest in the success of the organization | | |
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| |3Showing a desire to learn their job thoroughly | | |
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| |4Showing a willingness to develop themselves professionally | | |
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| |5Willingly accept correction from co-workers | | |
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| |6Disagreeing with others, c7ourteously | | |
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| |7 Approaching their tasks with enthusiasm | | |
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| |8Demonstrating respect for authority | | |
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| |9Being pleasant with co - workers | | |
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| |10Demonstrating respect for colleagues | | |
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| |11Showing interest in clients/customers | | |
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| |12. Displaying tolerance for persons with different ideas | | |
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| |13.Accepting criticism from authority | | |
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| |14.Willing to spend extra time to complete tasks | | |
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| |15Willingly accept tasks that not part of their regular duties | | |
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| |16. Participating in non work activities in the organization | | |
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| |17. Seeking advice from those who can assist them | | |
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| |18.Are eager to try new ideas | | |
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| |19. Showing a desire to engage in lifelong learning | | |
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| |20.Working as team member in the completion of tasks | | |
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| |GENERIC SKILLS: | | |
| |Rate your level of your agreement with whether graduates employed in your organization demonstrate these skills: | | |
| |5 | | |
| |4 | | |
| |3 | | |
| |2 | | |
| |1 | | |
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| |Showing interest in the goals of the organization | | |
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| |Communicating their ideas about the organization to authority | | |
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| |Offering suggestions for solutions to problems in the organization | | |
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| |Using language that can clearly express their ideas | | |
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| |Willing to change their practices that are ineffective | | |
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| |Willing to learn new strategies to improve their performance | | |
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| |Taking time to diagnose problems affecting the workplace | | |
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| |Perseverance in trying to find solutions to a problem | | |
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| |Offering ideas to | | |
| |increase productivity in the organization | | |
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| |Continually evaluating their performance in the workplace | | |
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| |11.Welcoming/embracing innovation in the workplace | | |
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| |Readily accepting challenging tasks | | |
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| |13. Taking initiative to start things in the workplace. | | |
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| |Ability to clearly communicate their ideas others | | |
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| |15. Accepting new ideas or suggestions from others. | | |
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| |pleting assigned tasks independently | | |
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| |17. Using technology to enhance efficiency in their work | | |
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| |18. Ability to make a presentation to a group | | |
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| |19.Ability to make sound decisions | | |
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-----------------------
Needs /demands of The Modern Workplace for
Employability and Productivity
Occupation specific:
Knowledge (OSK)
Technical competences
Competences
Generic skills:
Critical thinking, problem solving, communicating, creative thinking, decision making
Generic competencies: Teamwork, interpersonal relations, entrepreneurial skills, life- long learning
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