Developing skills in higher education for post-pandemic work

Abstract

Many white-collar workplaces have changed substantially because of the pandemic. This paper examines how the rise of technologybased distributed work arrangements impacts on the knowledge, skills and competencies that higher education graduates must possess to be successful in post-pandemic white-collar work environments. In addition, this paper examines prior literature to identify digital forms of Work Integrated Learning as a mechanism through which higher education providers can assist graduates in their postpandemic transition from university to the workplace.

Learning How to Learn in a Real-Life Context

“…They attributed part of it to individual factors (i.e., the gap as a function of the person), but mostly they were concerned with the continuous changes in the work and social environment and the difficult reality of the Greek economy encountered through constant crises for the past years (i.e., the gap as a function of the environment) (see Manninen & Hobrough, 2000). This difficulty is amplified by the fact that the Greek economy is largely reliant on small-sized enterprises that create a demanding environment for young graduates (also in Constable & Touloumakos, 2009), but also the many years of economic turmoil and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic (for skills in the postpandemic work environment, see Bayerlein, et al, 2021). As expected, the experts’ views reflected the multidimensional nature of the soft-skills gap and, implicitly, the constant interaction between employers, employees, the work and social environment – echoed too in the work of Lewin (1946) and more recent authors (e.g., Reis & Holmes, 2012), as well as authors adopting a sociocultural view of learning and skill (indicatively, Billett, 2001; Brown et al, 1989; Engeström, 2001).…”

Do graduate students aim to teach broad-based “employable” skills in online courses?

“…In addition to teaching, graduate students juggle multiple responsibilities including coursework and research (Park & Ramos, 2002) and must navigate their dual identities as staff members and students (Slack & Pownall, 2023). Like the undergraduates in their courses, graduate students face an uncertain job market (Bayerlein et al, 2021; Flaherty, 2020; Lund et al, 2021; Tomlinson et al, 2023), which might make them more mindful of the importance of broad-based employable skills.…”

Sustainable Development in Action: A Retrospective Case Study on Students’ Learning Before, During, and After the Pandemic

“…Students' performance in practicums is generally treated as a direct measure of their work readiness and ability to adapt to the workplace. Some evidence exists though that declines in work readiness emerged from the pandemic period [83], and that the post-pandemic work environment might demand different skills [84]. This evidence suggests that determining work readiness in the postpandemic environment is a key aspect of higher education institutions' quest to ensure a quality education for their students.…”