Core skills in higher education: the student perspective

Abstract

Although BTEC has considerably refined its approach to the development and embedding of common skills (core skills) within its Higher National Programmes in recent years, argues that there are still a number of problems associated with the practical operation of this strategy and obstacles to a deeper acceptance of the common skills pedagogy within a higher education context remain. From a survey of students who completed a Higher National Diploma at Sheffield Business School in 1993 the crucial issues in this respect were seen to be the complexity of the common skills strategy, difficulties in the area of assessment, the value placed on subject knowledge by students, the lack of an acceptance of a common skills profile when applying for jobs, interviews, and further study, the fact that students thought some skills to be more important than others, and the fact that the development of skills was not undertaken with sufficient reference to probable future contexts where they could be utilized.

The importance of soft skills in the university academic curriculum: The perceptions of the students in the new society of knowledge

“…The main question was: "Considering your previous education, especially the BTEC course you have completed, how did it contribute to your professional/business position or any further academic study you are now realising? (Laughton & Montanheiro, 1996). The results are enlightening because about 50% of respondents say that their training prior to their bachelor degree had been important or very important.…”

“…But, emotional management, despite being the least valued by students, is present in all the activities within organisations and throughout the student's academic career, helping him/her to maintain a high degree of academic satisfaction, by knowing to control for the most adverse moments and situation of their experience in the academia, the emotional intelligence in dealing with difficulties, inter alia. All these competencies should be in everyday life of a university student, in the light of what happens with a professional in an organisation, as recommended by Chen (2016), Laughton and Montanheiro (1996), Pereira (2015) and Tajada and Ruiz (2016). It is therefore of great importance to develop skills that are not visible directly on the individual, thus adapting him/her to a knowledge-based economy.…”

“…In the 90's, Twentieth Century, the BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) discussed at length educational vocation, as well as the programme of new qualifications and skills training (Laughton & Montanheiro, 1996). These talks outshine some concern to establish a relation between the education system with the labour market and the need for a competent performance in the workplace.…”

“…The education and training agenda has also unveiled much concern, thereby questioning academic curricula (Athey & Orth, 1999;Binks, 1996;European Commission, 1995;Fallows & Steven, 2000;Garavan, Morley, Gunnigle & Collins, 2001;Hawkins & Winte, 1996;Laughton & Montanheiro, 1996;Stagg, 1996;Waterman, Waterman & Collard, 1994). Hence, the Bologna Declaration also calls for people's awareness in order to expedite academic curricula, which should be accommodated to the current economic and social reality, given the various societal shocks we have been witnessing over the past three decades.…”

Interest in Awareness of the Application in Tahfiz School Students to Technical and Vocational Education Programs

“…Therefore, appropriate curriculum needs to be designed to increase the level of productivity of employees in the future. According to a study conducted by (Laughton, 1996) [8] related to the skills that graduates need to have that are developed for students. Technical and vocational-based education contributes to the increasing efforts of these resources (Khairudin, 2017) [7] as well as the fourth industrial revolution, TVET also plays an important role in this industry as TVET is expected to address the economic, social and environmental demands of individuals especially youth can develop their skills and meet job requirements (Riod, 2017) [12].The Ministry is constantly striving to enhance the National education system in ensuring that graduates are competitive and in line with today's and future needs.…”