ERIC Number: ED509855
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 20
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Under the Economic Turmoil a Skills Gap Simmers. CERI Research Brief 1-2010
Hanneman, Larry; Gardner, Phil
Collegiate Employment Research Institute (NJ1)
This research brief presents the results of the authors' investigation into the changing expectations of employers on the competencies that they expect new college graduates to possess upon entry into their companies. The authors did not limit their focus to engineering and technical majors but cast their net to include all academic majors and employers from across the economy. Throughout this report they have made a concerted effort to be consistent in their language attributed to specific skills and competencies. They consider these skills and competencies to transcend job specific abilities and should be considered meta-competencies. Meta-competencies transcend a specific situation and can be applied across different situations depending on the context of the assignment or task. When the U.S.'s economy begins hiring again, the gap in abilities required for access to meaningful employment will become clear and no longer ignored. Three appendices are included: (1) Top five skills (highest to lowest) in each of nineteen economic sectors; (2) Five Abilities Rated Highest in Importance with Abilities Increasing Faster in Importance in Parentheses, Sorted by Company Size; and (3) Five Abilities Rated Highest in Importance with Abilities Increasing Faster in Importance in Parentheses, Sorted by Academic Majors. (Contains 2 figures and 8 tables.)
Descriptors: College Graduates, Competence, Skills, Ability, Employer Attitudes, Education Work Relationship, Comparative Analysis, Employment, Occupational Mobility, Employment Opportunities
Collegiate Employment Research Institute. 113 Student Services Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. Tel: 517-355-9510; Fax: 517-355-9523; Web site: http://ceri.msu.edu
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Collegiate Employment Research Inst.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A