Graduates' Work

Abstract

This paper discusses the findings of ‘Graduates' Work’, a major survey carried out in the UK to assess the future needs of employers in the context of widespread organizational change and to define what attributes graduates will now need to succeed in their careers. With supporting quotations from in-depth interviews conducted with managers and recent recruits in a wide range of organizations, the authors discuss the key changes in the work environment and organizational cultures and sets out the specific personal and interactive skills and characteristics that employers are looking for in graduates. It is argued that employers want employees who can be variously ‘adaptive’, ‘adaptable’, and ‘transformative’. Finally, the implications of the research findings for higher education institutions at the levels of the teaching/learning interface, the curriculum, and operating systems are addressed.