Employers as stakeholders in postgraduate employability skills development

Abstract

Introduction The current emphasis on the national skills agenda and development of employability skills is not a new preoccupation for educational providers or policy makers (Cranmer, 2006). Indeed, the subject is now a firmly established policy item for governments and higher education institutions (HEIs) alike (Lees, 2002) and it has possibly never been more important (Rae, 2008; Treleaven & Voola, 2008). The importance of employability skills is well documented in an era which demands a value-added approach (Harvey, 2001, 2003; Knight & Yorke, 2001; Morley, 2001; Cranmer, 2006). Emphasising an urgent national need for improving the UK skills base, the Leitch Review of Skills (2006) highlighted that employability skills are not only essential to business competitiveness but also for prosperity and fairness. Recent general media interest underscores the topicality of employability skills and employer dissatisfaction with graduates, who they believe lack key skills (Clark, 2008). The basis of both the recognised importance and the topicality of employability skills is, Abstract