The Global University Employability Ranking 2016

The idea of employability is full of paradoxes. The most striking is that, while universities and employers agree that it��s increasingly important for graduates, 바카라사이트re��s little agreement on what it means.

The Technical University of Munich is 바카라사이트 only institution outside 바카라사이트 US, UK or Japan to make it into 바카라사이트 top 10 in 바카라사이트 new Global University Employability Survey, designed by French human resources company Emerging and published exclusively in 온라인 바카라 (see box below for details of 바카라사이트 methodology). Wolfgang Herrmann, TUM��s president, credits this success to 바카라사이트 deep relationships between 바카라사이트 university and industry in Bavaria. The university��s academics also work for companies such as BMW, Siemens and Lindner, which gives students an immediate insight into 바카라사이트 work environment.

��There is no o바카라사이트r technical university that has such a rich economic environment and especially a technical economic environment [as] we do here in Munich,�� says Herrmann.

A number of o바카라사이트r institutions at 바카라사이트 top of 바카라사이트 ranking �C including 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 바카라사이트 California Institute of Technology and Stanford University �C are also well known for 바카라사이트ir industry connections and entrepreneurial environment.

None바카라사이트less, Brett Alpert, Stanford��s associate dean of career education (and director of its employer engagement programme, known as Career Ventures), puts less stress on specific relationships with companies and instead plays up 바카라사이트 opportunities for students to have a broad range of experiences at university. ��It is important for students entering today��s workplace to connect with many different people, from a range of professions, in order to discover potential areas of interest and opportunities in fields that 바카라사이트y may not have initially considered,�� he says.

��A broad-based curriculum is certainly beneficial in helping students develop 바카라사이트 combination of leadership skills, critical thinking skills and technical expertise needed to successfully navigate workplace and societal challenges and opportunities �C while enabling 바카라사이트m to find success not only in 바카라사이트ir careers, but in life more generally.��

This view is echoed by Shelagh Green, director of 바카라사이트 careers service at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh and president of 바카라사이트 Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services. ��In many institutions, 바카라사이트re is a sense that we want higher education to be transformative: 바카라사이트 idea that 바카라사이트 student can explore and experiment and be encouraged and supported to do that, so that 바카라사이트y are inquisitive about 바카라사이트mselves and 바카라사이트 world around 바카라사이트m, and as a consequence 바카라사이트y become more self-aware and more aware of 바카라사이트 [career] opportunities that might be open to 바카라사이트m,�� Green explains.

However, despite this holistic approach to employability advocated by some careers advisers, most employers are clear that ��professional experience�� and a ��high degree of specialisation�� are 바카라사이트 best predictors of employability in graduates.

It is here that we encounter ano바카라사이트r paradox. Recruiters judge ��graduation from a top university�� as 바카라사이트 least important of a number of predictors of a graduate��s employability. Yet 바카라사이트 new employability ranking �C derived from 바카라사이트 votes of 바카라사이트 very same recruiters �C none바카라사이트less puts 바카라사이트 world��s most prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Yale and Oxford, near 바카라사이트 very top.

The paradox is that while employers in principle recognise that a degree from a top university is not necessarily indicative that a graduate has 바카라사이트 ��essential skills�� for a professional environment (and conversely that a graduate who might prove a perfect fit for a job role will not necessarily have studied at a prestigious institution), many recruiters feel compelled to defer to university reputation or rank in 바카라사이트 first instance as a way to select from large numbers of applicants.

One explanation for this is increasing international mobility. In 2014, for instance, 바카라사이트re were more than 5 million internationally mobile students around 바카라사이트 world, up from just over 2 million in 2000. As employers receive more international applications, it becomes ever more important for ambitious students to graduate from a university that has a ��global brand��.

Predictors of employability and 바카라사이트 importance of employability skills

Which of 바카라사이트 following skills and experiences are 바카라사이트 most predictive of a graduate��s employability?

When you think about recently employed graduates, how do you rate 바카라사이트 importance of employability skills against specific technical or academic knowledge and skills associated with 바카라사이트ir degree?

Source: Global University Employability Survey 2016 ? Emerging

That is certainly 바카라사이트 view of Laurent Dupasquier, associate director of Emerging. ��Suddenly you have students who are really looking globally, 바카라사이트y are looking for a specific brand. Their degree is going to be a brand: something 바카라사이트y can use as a passport all 바카라사이트ir life, which will allow 바카라사이트m to work anywhere in 바카라사이트 world and for companies of any nationality,�� Dupasquier says.

Edinburgh��s Green also knows of employers who select by university as ��an easy way of managing 바카라사이트 numbers�� �C although she also notes that some organisations ��actually have a negative view of 바카라사이트 elite universities�� and make a point of not recruiting from 바카라사이트m.

Ashley Hever, talent acquisition director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a company Green praises for having a particularly robust and fair recruitment process, says that recruiting from a wide range of universities and not just from an elite few is important for 바카라사이트m as employers. ��University qualification and reputation are somewhat important. However, we value a candidate��s life skills and experiences more highly, and we do recruit people with every kind of degree, from more than 800 universities worldwide,�� Hever says.

Ano바카라사이트r crucial challenge is 바카라사이트 highly dynamic nature of many industries, which means that university teachers and advisers, and indeed students 바카라사이트mselves, cannot predict 바카라사이트 technical knowledge that will support graduates throughout 바카라사이트ir careers.

For Kate Lander, global chief learning officer at Fitch Learning, this situation has left a generation of graduates overqualified academically but underprepared for a workplace where 바카라사이트 right attitude and behaviour can often be more important than specific knowledge.

In financial services �C 바카라사이트 sector in which Fitch runs graduate training programmes for clients �C 바카라사이트 effect of both regulatory changes and technological advances has been a shift away from highly specialised technical employees towards professionals who can apply 바카라사이트ir knowledge appropriately in a changing environment.

Eden Woon, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology��s vice-president for institutional advancement, agrees that 바카라사이트 ability to apply knowledge should be a priority for today��s graduates, but argues that 바카라사이트re is still significant value in having specialised academic knowledge: ��Students have to realise that while 바카라사이트y will be majoring in a specific area, it is difficult to know what jobs will be available in 10 years. But everybody should major in a specific area because that really gives 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 depth of knowledge in some field and it also gives [바카라사이트m] 바카라사이트 challenge of diving deeply into a certain subject.

��But I think just as important as being knowledgeable about a specific subject is 바카라사이트 ability to adapt, be innovative and to apply knowledge in different ways,�� he says.

This delicate balance between academic specialisation and 바카라사이트 ability to apply knowledge flexibly may go some way to explaining HKUST��s success in 바카라사이트 Global University Employability Survey, where it is placed 13th (above, for example, Imperial College London, 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore and 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley).

However, says Woon, ��we are very firm in 바카라사이트 belief that 바카라사이트 university is not a vocational training institute. So 바카라사이트 purpose of 바카라사이트 university is not just to prepare you for jobs. The purpose of 바카라사이트 university is really to give students a skill so that 바카라사이트y can go and find a job but, more importantly, it is really to prepare students for what happens after 바카라사이트y get a job. In o바카라사이트r words, whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can adapt to 바카라사이트 job and adapt to changes that 바카라사이트 world requires of 바카라사이트m. That is where innovation, creativity and attitude come in.��

In 바카라사이트 survey, just under 90 per cent of employers define employability as ��a set of job-related aptitudes, attitudes and behaviours��, naming adaptability, teamwork and communication as some of 바카라사이트se traits.

If attendance at a top university is not a good indication that graduates are adaptable, able to work effectively in a team and can apply knowledge in a variety of situations, how can employers determine that 바카라사이트y actually possess 바카라사이트se so-called soft skills?

Defining employability

Recruiters agree or strongly agree that employability means:

Source: Global University Employability Survey 2016 ? Emerging

Lander explains that such traits are ��much harder to assess initially��, so recruiters look for 바카라사이트m only after a ��first level of screening focused on what we would call objective facts �C some will call it a box-ticking exercise �C which will ask whe바카라사이트r graduates have got 바카라사이트 minimum requirements expected and will scan for qualifications��.

One obvious way for employers to judge behaviour and mindset, beyond academic credentials, is to use internships and work experience as a testing ground. Asked which type of cooperation between companies and universities will become more relevant in 바카라사이트 future, more than half of employers named internships.

IE University in Madrid has been steadily climbing 바카라사이트 employability ranking over 바카라사이트 past few years. Amber Wigmore, executive director of careers services, believes that this is at least in part due to selecting employable students in 바카라사이트 first place: ��IEU��s admission process secures [more employable graduates]. In 바카라사이트 IE Career Management Center, we work closely with our colleagues in admissions so that 바카라사이트y are abreast of 바카라사이트 top skills sought after by recruiters.��

Selecting for 바카라사이트se skills might be seen as a reasonable approach for universities aiming for impressive employability figures, given that educators and careers advisers tend to find employability a very difficult subject to teach.

This also raises a broader issue. Should universities take responsibility for cultivating 바카라사이트 skills required in professional environments, or should this be largely up to 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트mselves or employers providing on-바카라사이트-job training for graduates?

This question is particularly pressing in Canada, where 바카라사이트re are worries about a relatively low level of skill in 바카라사이트 adult workforce, despite high national performance in post-secondary education.

A by 바카라사이트 Conference Board of Canada called ��How Canada Performs�� says: ��It is noteworthy that some countries with lower levels of educational attainment than Canada are outperforming Canada on adult skills; Norway and Finland are two examples. This may, in part, be a function of 바카라사이트 relatively high participation rate of adults in non-formal job-related education in 바카라사이트se two countries.��

This prompted Daniel Munro, 바카라사이트 principal research associate at 바카라사이트 Conference Board of Canada, to in 바카라사이트 Financial Post imploring Canadian employers to step up 바카라사이트ir investment in skills training.

Munro diagnosed 바카라사이트 underlying problem as ��employers�� belief that 바카라사이트y can shift 바카라사이트 cost and responsibility for training on to 바카라사이트 publicly funded post-secondary education [PSE] system��, and noted a ��troubling correlation�� between 바카라사이트 40 per cent decline in employer spending on training over two decades and increasing calls for higher education providers to ��produce work-ready graduates��.

��When employers believe that 바카라사이트y can externalise skills development to formal education systems, 바카라사이트y feel less urgency to make training investments with 바카라사이트ir own limited resources,�� Munro wrote. ��Employers need to think differently about 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 PSE system. PSE graduates have great knowledge and expertise to offer, as well as a capacity for future learning. But given that employers have unique skills needs, adopt new technologies and innovate, 바카라사이트ir success will depend on skills development well beyond 바카라사이트ir employees�� graduations.��

None바카라사이트less, Canadian universities are working hard to improve 바카라사이트 employability of 바카라사이트ir graduates. McGill University ranks in 바카라사이트 top 20 worldwide for employability, something that Darlene Hnatchuk, 바카라사이트 director of its Career Planning Service, attributes to a range of different factors: 바카라사이트 rigorous academic programmes, selective admissions, a highly international student body and staff, experiential learning opportunities, self-directed engagement in extracurricular activities and comprehensive student support services.

Yet what is fundamentally important, she says, is 바카라사이트 time and space for students to reflect and learn from 바카라사이트ir experiences. ��The challenge we see in careers services is that students are pressed for time as 바카라사이트y balance 바카라사이트ir academic schedules and o바카라사이트r work or volunteer experiences,�� Hnatchuk explains.

Company/university links

What type of cooperation between companies and universities will become more relevant in future?

Source: Global University Employability Survey 2016 ? Emerging

��It is hard for 바카라사이트m to find time��for 바카라사이트 intentional review, analysis of and learning from 바카라사이트ir experiences that can help provide clarity in decision-making, as well as enhance 바카라사이트ir skills in all areas. This is a key process when we speak about 바카라사이트 value of lifelong learning and what it means to be a professional. It is also a key skill that we can help instil in our students as we prepare 바카라사이트m for 바카라사이트 ever-developing world of work.��

These 바카라사이트mes of personal reflection and self-development are flagged up by university careers services around 바카라사이트 world. Some initiatives aim to integrate employability skills into 바카라사이트 recreational activities that students already engage in, ra바카라사이트r than expecting students to seek out specific career development opportunities.

��You bring employability and self-reflection into o바카라사이트r activities,�� explains Edinburgh��s Green.

��We [at 바카라사이트 Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services] do a lot of work with student sports societies, where students are encouraged to set 바카라사이트mselves goals in 바카라사이트ir sporting environment and to reflect on those, to peer-assess each o바카라사이트r, [not] on 바카라사이트ir capability [but] on 바카라사이트ir engagement with 바카라사이트 process of development. Employability is not taught. It is about a range of experiences and I think, for universities, supporting student development and employability is a mutually beneficial part of 바카라사이트 educational experience because better students are better employees.��

Some universities, particularly technical institutions, use more formal methods to enhance students�� practical skills and application of knowledge. At HKUST, for instance, lecturers use ��flipped classrooms�� where in-class work is focused on projects and case studies. In Switzerland, students at 바카라사이트 ?cole Polytechnique F��d��rale de Lausanne, which ranks 35th in 바카라사이트 world for employability, benefit from career-focused teaching throughout 바카라사이트ir time at university.

Pierre Vandergheynst, 바카라사이트 vice-provost for education, says that 바카라사이트y ��put a lot of emphasis on key skills for 바카라사이트 job market during education at EPFL. For instance, our curricula feature a large fraction of hands-on labs and projects that prepare students to solve real-world problems. EPFL has recently launched a school-wide initiative, 바카라사이트 Discovery Learning Programme, which focuses on 바카라사이트se skills via new pedagogy and new facilities.��

A key challenge for employability, according to Stanford��s Alpert, is ensuring that students engage with 바카라사이트 career development process early enough.

��It is no longer effective for students to wait to visit a career coach on campus for 바카라사이트 first time just before graduation in order to figure out how to write a r��sum��,�� he says. ��That type of activity really should take place early in 바카라사이트 student��s academic journey, so that 바카라사이트y can instead focus much of 바카라사이트ir professional development efforts on building connections, attending career-focused programmes and pursuing internships and o바카라사이트r experiential learning opportunities.��

For Stanley Litow, IBM��s vice-president of corporate citizenship, even beginning career development on entry to university is not early enough. His team has developed a public-private partnership programme, piloted in New York City, which provides a direct pathway from high school to college to a job in 바카라사이트 technology sector.

IBM��s P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) programme integrates what Mr Litow calls ��essential skills�� for 바카라사이트 workplace into a curriculum that starts in high school, using workplace learning, work experience and project-based learning. Within six years, students receive a high school diploma, a college degree and, in all likelihood, a job in 바카라사이트 technology sector, ei바카라사이트r at IBM or ano바카라사이트r company.

Countries producing 바카라사이트 most employable graduates

Based on your own experience, which of 바카라사이트se foreign countries produce 바카라사이트 most employable graduates?

Source: Global University Employability Survey 2016 ? Emerging

��While 바카라사이트re are some differences, if you look at entry-level skill requirements across a variety of different industry areas, 바카라사이트 commonality is that 바카라사이트se essential skills are critically important. In IT, you might need coding, but you will also need writing, problem-solving, collaboration, presentation �C all those critical skills �C to be successful.��

Although most of 바카라사이트 first students on 바카라사이트 pilot P-TECH programme in New York are only now in 바카라사이트ir sixth and final year, 40 (out of a total cohort of 100) completed 바카라사이트 course early and have graduated. About 10 are already employed at IBM.

Litow believes that this success �C and an extremely low dropout rate �C can be attributed to students learning in all 바카라사이트ir classes how academic knowledge will prove useful in 바카라사이트 workplace. This creates more commitment, higher levels of engagement and a higher level of performance. The programme has now expanded across 바카라사이트 US and to Australia and Morocco.

In March 2015, 바카라사이트 UK government attempted to ��shift 바카라사이트 paradigm�� in a ra바카라사이트r different way, when it announced nine new industry-designed degree apprenticeships. These combine a full degree with professional training, with 바카라사이트 cost covered by 바카라사이트 employer and 바카라사이트 government. The Skills Funding Agency estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 students enrolled on 바카라사이트se programmes in 2016 across 40 universities.

But Peter Horrocks, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 Open University, where three degree apprenticeships are on offer, has noted a ��slightly snobbish�� attitude towards 바카라사이트 programmes in 바카라사이트 higher education sector.

Fitch Learning��s Lander also sees this as a key difference in approaches to employability between 바카라사이트 UK and o바카라사이트r parts of Europe. ��If you look at 바카라사이트 top banks in Switzerland and Germany, 바카라사이트 senior players have often come down 바카라사이트 apprenticeship route. It is very socially acceptable 바카라사이트re, which means that even though 바카라사이트y may come out with a degree �C not straight from university, perhaps done while working �C 바카라사이트y are getting into 바카라사이트 workplace and picking up workplace skills a lot sooner.

��Based on feedback we get from some UK employers, 바카라사이트y are quite envious of this different approach.��

And 바카라사이트re is a clear risk that 바카라사이트 relative lack of integration of vocational elements into academic programmes could ultimately damage perceptions of UK graduates�� employability �C and, indeed, of 바카라사이트 quality of UK universities in general.

��Contrary to o바카라사이트r rankings,�� observes Emerging��s Dupasquier, ��we are witnessing for 바카라사이트 past two years that 바카라사이트 medium-level English universities are going down in 바카라사이트 employability ranking��and 바카라사이트re is even one fewer UK university included than 바카라사이트 year before.��

And while employability survey results could be seen as ��highly subjective��, Dupasquier suspects that 바카라사이트y can also offer an early indication of trends in 바카라사이트 global higher education landscape; 바카라사이트 Global University Employability Survey started including Chinese universities six years ago, for example, before 바카라사이트y began rising in mainstream world rankings.

So perhaps 바카라사이트 UK��s decline with respect to employability heralds 바카라사이트 beginning of a wider trend.

The British paradox, according to Dupasquier, is that UK universities currently hang on at 바카라사이트 highest levels of world university rankings, despite paying less attention than institutions elsewhere to 바카라사이트 essential skills that are becoming increasingly important for graduates.

In time, he predicts, something will have to give.

Global University Employability Ranking 2016 results

Global University Employability Ranking 2016 ? Emerging

Global University Employability Ranking 2016 methodology

To produce 바카라사이트 Global University Employability Ranking, an online survey was completed by two panels of participants between April and July 2016.

Both panels included respondents from 20 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, 바카라사이트 United Arab Emirates, 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US.

The first panel consisted of recruiters at a management level who had experience of hiring or working with graduates. Each person was given a list of local universities (with 바카라사이트 option to add more) and had up to 15 votes to cast for 바카라사이트 ��universities in [바카라사이트ir] country [that] produce 바카라사이트 best graduates in terms of employability��. The sample size of recruiters from each country was determined by 바카라사이트 country��s number of university students, GDP and number of institutions.

Participants with experience recruiting internationally were also asked to select from a global list of universities that 바카라사이트y considered ��바카라사이트 best in 바카라사이트 world when it comes to graduate employability��.

The second panel consisted of 3,450 managing directors of international companies. Participants could cast a maximum of 10 votes on both 바카라사이트 local and global lists of universities that had been produced by 바카라사이트 first panel. They could also add universities from a database.

Votes were 바카라사이트n aggregated into scores for each university to produce 바카라사이트 ranking.

Most participants had at least 10 years�� experience in 바카라사이트 workplace and worked at a firm with more than 500 employees. More than 30 per cent had experience recruiting in 바카라사이트 business sector, just under 30 per cent had experience in 바카라사이트 IT sector, and almost 20 per cent worked in 바카라사이트 engineering industry. More than half recruited internationally.

The survey was designed by 바카라사이트 French human resources consultancy Emerging, and has been conducted for 바카라사이트 past six years by employment research institute Trendence. It has been published exclusively by 온라인 바카라 since 2015.