21st Century Skills development among young graduates

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the project “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education”, which was funded by the Erasmus+ programme between 2019 and 2021. The study involved seven institutions coming from different parts of Europe; mainly these were universities, but there was also one not-for-profit organisation, and one SME. Past and present-day initiatives and studies relating to the development of soft and digital skills among university students are investigated, with particular regard being paid to their perspective when they first have to face the job market. The study design is threefold, involving firstly desk research, where major documents were collected in Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Italy; then market research, where a sample of corporate professionals and university representatives were interviewed in order to gather additional information relating to the level of development of these skills among young graduates and employees; and lastly, a comparison between two questionnaires filled in by students before and after completing the courses established by the project. Research stages one and two are briefly introduced, with the main focus of the paper being on stage three and a discussion in which the results from various European countries are compared. The results reveal that some European countries prioritise some skills more than others. In addition, in the examined countries, it can be seen that 21st Century Skills are still not widely developed by young graduates and there is a mismatch between the value attributed to the improvement of competencies and the actual content of training provided by European universities. In summary, employers and academics have provided key information relating to the most needed skills in the market today. In addition, they have testified that attention should be paid to university projects, such as internship programmes and advanced English courses in order to better prepare young people for the marketplace. Furthermore, students should be more involved in activities aimed at improving their level of 21st Century Skills, with courses specifically designed to address this need and make them more aware of their current skill level and the abilities they are expected to have. Currently, these courses are rarely organised by Higher Education institutions and even when they are, they are not always effective.

Setting Students up for Success

“…Finally, the findings reiterate the importance of addressing students' skill development in higher education and specifically in graduate medical science programs through an explicit and intentional approach (Carpenter et al, 2022;Claydon et al, 2021;Crosta et al, 2023;Demaria et al, 2018;Gross & Sohl, 2021;Hart & McKinney, 2020;Jahn & Kenner, 2018;Pitan, 2017). The results also emphasize the importance of engaging students in reflective practise on their skill development (Carpenter et al, 2022;Minott, 2011).…”

“…At the same time, the extent to which university graduates are equipped with 21st-century skills to enter the job market is questionable. For instance, Crosta et al (2023) highlight a mismatch between the actual value of these skills and the level of training provided by European universities to their students in this regard. Similarly, Grayson (2021) reports on low skill levels among university students and graduates in Ontario, Canada.…”

Employability Skills

“…As part of a European research project, through interviews and online surveys with labour market actors and academics in five countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, and Turkey), Crosta et al (2023) found that the two most important employability skills were communication skills and collaboration with some differences between the countries However, with the help of questionnaires, they also identified the lack of competency-based assessment in tertiary education: 63% of the 156 higher education students from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Turkey stated that they had never been evaluated using competencies as a framework (Crosta et al, 2023, p. 48). It was particularly salient in the qualitative summary of expert responses in Spain that "higher education tends to assess students based on content rather than competencies" (Crosta et al, 2023, p. 46) which is not an uncommon feature of programmes in HEIs in Europe.…”

Differences in the Implementation of Physical Education (PE) Learning Management Based on Years of Work: Analysis of Differences in the Quality of Quality Assurance Culture

“…Apart from that, PE activities in schools can also be used to develop 21st century skills. The aspects of 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, teamwork and digital literacy have a significant positive impact on the career readiness of young graduates (Crosta & Bakay, 2023). Forms of 21st century skills include; Critical thinking, cooperation, com-munication and creativity are considered important in today's education.…”