It appears that employers are having a good old whinge about the standard of graduates, again.
The problem, it seems, is said to be based on the following issues, i.e. new graduate seem to have the following shortcomings:
1) Too much time spent working on degrees and not enough joining clubs and societies, where students might work in teams.
2) Not enough experience of giving presentations in tutorials, leaving new graduates unable to communicate ideas in the work place.
3) Poor spelling, grammar and mathematical ability mean that graduates are making basic mistakes, writing illiterate memos and are in need of constant supervision.
I have some sympathy with employers on point three and even then it's all too easy to blame the students and not the system they have been through since the age of 5. However, I would argue that students are given mixed messages, from a number of sources, about balancing academic work with extra-curriculum activity (most of which is a kind of forced employment in a range of jobs unlikely to give students the experience required of managerial positions). I can't help but feeling employers are expecting far too much and giving little themselves. Students are a soft target for employers, but in years to come employers may live to regret such accusations.
See Graduates unfit for work, say top firms by Alexandra Blair of The Times for more details.
The problem, it seems, is said to be based on the following issues, i.e. new graduate seem to have the following shortcomings:
1) Too much time spent working on degrees and not enough joining clubs and societies, where students might work in teams.
2) Not enough experience of giving presentations in tutorials, leaving new graduates unable to communicate ideas in the work place.
3) Poor spelling, grammar and mathematical ability mean that graduates are making basic mistakes, writing illiterate memos and are in need of constant supervision.
I have some sympathy with employers on point three and even then it's all too easy to blame the students and not the system they have been through since the age of 5. However, I would argue that students are given mixed messages, from a number of sources, about balancing academic work with extra-curriculum activity (most of which is a kind of forced employment in a range of jobs unlikely to give students the experience required of managerial positions). I can't help but feeling employers are expecting far too much and giving little themselves. Students are a soft target for employers, but in years to come employers may live to regret such accusations.
See Graduates unfit for work, say top firms by Alexandra Blair of The Times for more details.
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