Reflective Statement on Employability Skills and Rationalizing Skill Factors

STUDENT

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BUSINESS SIMULATION
PART - A
REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Introduction
Our approach to employability, when we are graduating, is a reflection about our
process of learning and developing skills, which we are taught is a key aspect of
employability training. We also accept, as I read in a recent HEA publication of Owens
& Tibby, (2014), and I quote “that Graduates need the skills, capabilities and attributes
to enable them to be successful in an ever changing global economic environment”
unquote. We are provided a broad, generic yet a very motivating view of the work
culture which we are about to embrace. Yet, as students, we are not getting enough
practical opportunities of exploring and developing our own employability profiles and
plans beyond our graduation realm.
Identifying Student Perspective of Skills
Throughout our study module, we explored a standard set of six skills, which broadly
related to the students’ perspective of skills and about the skills which were believed to
be acquired by us to further develop our employability scope. These are:
1. Collaboration and Teamwork
2. Leadership
3. Achieving Deadlines
4. Critical Evaluation and Analysis
5. Synthesis of Data
6. Solution to Real World Problems
Although our aim in this paper is to provide an understanding about development of
each of these skills, I found that one main exception is Commercial Awareness,
although, as learners, we can improvise on this while learning the sixth skill, say Owens
& Tibby, (2014).

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Table – 1
Which of the following skills do you think are most important to employers?
Skill 2013 (n=66) 2014 (n=58)
Initiative/Self-Motivation 64% 57%
Time Management 48% 55%
Planning and Organisation 48% 52%
Teamwork 41% 53%
Verbal Communication 41 % 50 %
Analysis and Investigation 23% 12%
Independence 11% 10%
Information Technology/Computer Skills 11% 5%
Written Communication 11% 2%
Commercial Awareness 3% 3%
Table-1 highlights results from a questionnaire related to employability posed to
students. From these results, we can identify the students’ perspective of what skills are
important to employers. There seems to be a general consensus that six most important
skills chosen by the students are - Self-Motivation; Time Management; Planning and
Organisation, Teamwork, Verbal Communication and Analysis and Investigation, as
stated by Corker & Holland, (2015).
Rationalising Skill Factors
What the students are taught and what is their perception are two factors which are seen
to contrastingly different. In my opinion, in order to understand this anomaly, we need
to discuss the employability profiles and then find for ourselves how we can reach out
to them as individuals, after completing our degree level study, explain Corker &
Holland, (2014). We may study as a composite group, but eventually we are progressing
in life as individuals. Individuals who have to learn Team Work Skill to build a
cohesive, Communication Skill so that we can make ourselves understood and Time
Management so that we can put value to the contributions made by other team
members, assert Bramhall & Corker, (2012). We also need to comprehensively

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understand how we can encompass all our attributes, competencies, experiences,
knowledge and skills into our personality and still be able to present our profile as a
team member as stated by Moore (Ed.) et al, (2010).
We can easily rationalise the factors of a skill if we pose to ourselves the following
questions and find brief answers to each:
(a) What is this skill?
(b) Have we used it in the past?
(c) Have we developed it while being part of a project?
(d) How we can continue to develop it?
(e) Will it be useful in our future studies?
(f) Will it be relevant to one of my future careers?
Once a reflection has been done on these six factors, we can assess that the first three
factors are related to Our Reflection and the final three factors relate to future
opportunities, It is also easy to connect them, as the last three are dependent on the first
three and the first three lay the foundation for the final three, explains Robertson,
(2010).
How to Enhance Our Values
After closely studying the above discussed details, I was sure that I had to ask myself
the six questions (a) to (f) and find sincere answers to them, as per Prospects, (2014). I
interlinked these with the observations posted in Table-1 and came with the following
equations, as suggested by QAA, (2001).
Q-1. Self-Motivation: What is this skill?
A-1. This skill encourages me to question every motive I chose in my career and to find
an honest answer for the choice.
Q-2. Time Management: Have I used it in the past?
A-2. Honestly, we seldom care for time management and when we do, it is too late.
Q-3. Planning and Organisation: Have we developed it while being part of a project?