Skills for Higher Education: Analysis, Discussion and Recommendations

This report identifies five key skills essential for success in higher education: communication, analytical thinking, research, time management, and teamwork. It discusses the significance of these skills in the workplace and provides recommendations for students to enhance their CVs, including gaining internships, participating in teamwork tasks, quantifying achievements, crafting personal statements, and completing online courses. The report emphasizes the importance of developing these transferable skills for both academic and professional success, highlighting how they contribute to employability and lifelong development. Desklib provides students access to similar solved assignments.

Skills for
Higher
Education

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Analysis and discussion of questions .........................................................................................1
Recommendations .....................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Succeeding in higher education requires wide range of skills which not only help in
academic success but also help in future professional development. The skills gained in
University are transferable and can be helpful in later life and occupation of students (Asonitou
and Hassall, 2019). The aim of this report is to identify five skills which are needed by students
to gain success in the University and a discussion as to why these skills hold a significance in
professional career of the students. In addition to to this recommendations which can help
students enhance the content of their CV are provided in this report which can facilitate
professional progress and attract employers.
MAIN BODY
Analysis and discussion of questions
The primary capabilities which are needed by students to improve their educational
experience and gain success in their academic career at their University are communication
skills, analytical thinking skills, research skills, time management skills and teamwork skills
(Dumford and Miller, 2018). The need of these skills for University level students and their
importance in the workplace is explained below:
Communication skills
Communication is defined as the act of interaction between two individuals.
Communication skills encompass capabilities to effectively interact during verbal
communication and written communication. The development of communication skills is highly
necessary for students in University because it helps the students effectively interact with their
peers and University faculty. In case of communication skills for students, body language,
respect of others, utilization of appropriate medium, confidence, presence of mind and effective
listening skills are essential elements of excellent communication capabilities.
Significance at the workplace: This skill plays a significant role in the workplace as
smooth communication between employees is essential for maintaining smooth workflow and
effective functioning of the company (Fleming, Rowe and Jackson, 2021). The performance of
an individual employee in the workplace is dependent on their ability to effectively communicate
with their juniors, listen and understand the orders of their seniors.
Analytical thinking skills
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This skill refers to the ability to solve problems quickly by using analytical thinking. It is
important for University level students as it helps find quick solutions for various problems and
gain higher grades (Fung, 2017).
Significance at the workplace: This skill is needed at the workplace as it helps solve
problems quickly. Employees need to find quick solutions for their problems at the workplace in
order to face various corporate challenges.
Research skills
This skill is important for University going students as it helps complete research from
authentic sources and deliver various projects and assignments in timely manner. It is important
for students completing their higher education to understand authentic sources which can be used
for completing academic writing (Labaree, 2017). Development of research skills helps students
research on various topics quickly and complete assignments high quality research evidence.
Significance at the workplace: The research skills are highly important in the workplace
as employees are required to research on various topics related to their position in their company.
Development of research skills helps employees complete accurate research in various topics and
use the findings of the research to make precise business decisions. This depicts the importance
of research skills in gaining success at the workplace.
Time management skills
One of the primary requirements for becoming as successful University level student is
time management skill. This covers the ability to prioritize important tasks, delegate tasks with
low significance to others and concentrate on important activities to timely complete various
academic assignments and tasks. Students need this skill to complete their educational tasks in
timely manner and avoid stress to gain success in the University.
Significance at the workplace: This skill is highly important at the workplace as it helps
the students compete their tasks in a timely manner and avoid extending workplace deadlines
(Long, Cummins and Waugh, 2017). In addition to this timely completion of work at the
company helps maintain effective work-life balance. This plays an important role in increasing
motivation and continuously deliver excellent work at the company.
Teamwork skills
University level education requires students to participate in various group projects and
complete team based assignments. The grade received by students is dependent on the teamwork
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and collaboration between various members of the team. The teamwork skills is required by
students to excel in academic areas which require teamwork.
Significance at the workplace: This skills is needed by employees at the workplace
because effective functioning of an enterprise is dependent on the teamwork skills of each
employees (Norouzi, Rohani and Teimouri, 2018). Employee work in collaboration to achieve
strategic business objectives and effective teamwork skills plays an important role in ensuring
that individual contribution of an employee results in organizational success.
Recommendations
Internship: It is important for students to gain internship at well reputed company in
order to become familiar with corporate environment and gain working experience. In the current
competitive labour market work experience of a student showcases their professional credentials
and commitment towards achieving success sin their career. This will improve the CV of
students as they will be able to provide evidence of their suitability in a corporate setting and
practical applicability of their University level knowledge. This is justified recommendation as
students with previous working experience are preferred over other students for various entry
level job. In addition to this, the professional career of students after gaining an employment is
also improved because of the recommendation as internship at a corporate helps them gain
competitive edge over their peers and quickly gain success in their became of their familiarity
with corporate settings.
Participate in team work tasks: This recommendation involves participation in team
based tasks so that students are able to build their leadership and teamwork qualities. The
mention that students have participated in various team based tasks at leadership position depicts
their suitability for leadership role (Ocaña-Fernández and et. al., 2020). This improves the CV of
students as it showcases their ability to secure leadership roles at their company. Business firms
prefer employees who showcase the ability to effectively handle teams and create high
performing teams as it improves the productivity of the company and helps the firm achieve
strategic objectives in a timely manner. Employees who have conducted team tasks in their
University as leaders will get preference over students who do not have previous leadership
skills. Students need to participate in team tasks and exploit any opportunity of securing
leadership position at University activities as it will help them make their CV more impressive
and communicate their leadership capabilities to future employers.
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Quantification of achievements; Students need to quantify their achievements in their
CV as it helps highlight significant of every achievement they have gained during their student
life. This will also help students differentiate between achievements which take up unnecessary
space on their CV and identify achievements which are essential for impressing their employers.
Students will be able to shorten their CV because of this action and communicate relevant
information to their employer which helps in securing the required jobs. This is because CV
which contains too much information are rejected by employers and are not read carefully as
recruitments ned to be competed as quickly as possible (Sperling and Tucker, 2017). In addition
to this, a concisely written CV which highlights main points about the life and achievements of
the candidate grabs the attention of the employer and is considered quickly in comparison to CV
with lots of information. Quantification of achievements helps attract attention of the reciter,
makes the CVB more impressive and helps the candidates write concise CV which justifies this
recommendation for improving CV.
Personal statement: It is important to add a personal statement in the CVB which
describes brief overview of professional profile and career objectives of the candidate. It is
written after the name and contact information of the candidate. This is an element of an
effective CV as it describes the future professional aspirations and current culpabilities of a
student in a concise manner. Personal statements need to feel authentic and not copy pasted from
the internet as they provide information about the personal achievements and objectives of the
individual (Suarniati and et. al, 2019). A creatively written personal statement plays an important
role in attracting the attention of the recruiter and gaining priority among other candidates. This
is because it conveys the intellectual ability of the candidate along with basic information needed
by the employer to determine their suitability for the job.
Complete online courses: The final recommendation to enhance CV is to take up
various virtual courses as it improves the credentials of the students. Candidates are able to
showcase their passion and dedication towards their field by mentioning online courses
completed in their CV. This elevates their priority among other candidates as they not only have
University level education but have taken extra effort to gain more knowledge in their field.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that the primary skills which need to be developed
by students in order to gain success in their University are communication skills, analytical
thinking skills, research skills, time management skills and teamwork. These skills are
transferable and can help gain success in their later career. It is suggested that these skills are
developed by students as they play a significant role in ensuring excellent performance at the
workplace. The recommendation for students is to participate in team tasks and gain working
experience during their time at the University as it will help develop teamwork and
employability which are essential for gaining University level success and facilitate life-long
development.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Asonitou, S. and Hassall, T., 2019. Which skills and competences to develop in accountants in a
country in crisis?. The International Journal of Management Education, 17(3).
p.100308.
Dumford, A. D. and Miller, A. L., 2018. Online learning in higher education: exploring
advantages and disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher
Education, 30(3). pp.452-465.
Fleming, J., Rowe, A. D. and Jackson, D., 2021. Employers as educators: the role of work
placement supervisors in facilitating the transfer of skills and knowledge. Journal of
Education and Work, pp.1-17.
Fung, D., 2017. A connected curriculum for higher education (p. 182). Ucl Press.
Labaree, D. F., 2017. A perfect mess: The unlikely ascendancy of American higher education.
University of Chicago Press.
Long, T., Cummins, J. and Waugh, M., 2017. Use of the flipped classroom instructional model
in higher education: instructors’ perspectives. Journal of computing in higher
education, 29(2). pp.179-200.
Norouzi, A., Rohani, H. and Teimouri, M., 2018. Factors influencing the development of
entrepreneurship skills in students at Agriculture Jihad Training Centers. Journal of
Entreneurship and Agriculture, 5(9). pp.1-9.
Ocaña-Fernández and et. al., 2020. Digital skills and digital literacy: New trends in vocational
training. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-
JECSE), 12(1). pp.370-377.
Sperling, J. and Tucker, R. W., 2017. For-profit higher education: Developing a world-class
workforce. Routledge.
Suarniati and et. al, 2019. The Difference between the effects of problem-based learning strategy
and conventional strategy on vocational school students’ critical thinking skills in civic
education. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational
Research, 18(8).
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