Study Skills for Higher Education: Workplace Skills Analysis

This report examines the crucial study skills necessary for success in higher education and the workplace. It begins by addressing the challenges of gaining work experience, particularly in the context of reduced employment opportunities, and suggests strategies like skill audits, online internships, peer connections, and personal projects to enhance a CV. The report then identifies and discusses essential skills for students, including communication, budgeting and money management, time management, and critical thinking and problem-solving. Communication skills are highlighted for their importance in both academic presentations and workplace interactions. Budgeting and money management are emphasized as essential life skills developed during academic life. Time management is presented as critical for handling multiple commitments, while critical thinking and problem-solving are portrayed as crucial for navigating academic and professional challenges. The report underscores the importance of developing these skills in the university setting to ensure a successful transition to the workplace.

Study Skills for Higher
Education

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
ASSESSMENT – 1..........................................................................................................................3
Suggestions..................................................................................................................................3
Personal Experience.....................................................................................................................5
ASSESSMENT – 2..........................................................................................................................5
Skills which are important at Workplace.....................................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Study skills are very necessary to be developed to be able to be in control of the self –
studies, be more effectively organised and also be capable of meeting newer challenges which
are exposed as the journey of the degree is advanced. Thus, the following report will be
discussing various suggestions which are necessary for powering up the CV in case of lack of
proper and appropriate work experience. Then, various skills will be chosen and discussed which
students need to develop while studying in university and will explain why these skills are
important at the workplace in the career ahead of the individuals and students.
MAIN BODY
ASSESSMENT – 1
Suggestions
It is but obvious that the employment opportunities in the current scenario has shrunk
post the adverse happening and effects of Covid – 19. This can be proven by the fact that various
employers can be observed to be compromising upon the required work experience i.e., hiring
the individuals with lesser work experience than actually required. Also, recruiting individuals
other than or lesser than graduation qualified is also a part of such compromises made by the
employers. Therefore, an individual need to concentrate on his work experiences, knowledge and
expertise to be able to get the jobs in these tough times of shrinking job opportunities. Certain
suggestions which can be given are discussed as follows:
Initiation with Skill Audit:
Auditing or analysing what needs to be experienced and learnt is the first step towards
learning and gaining experience. Assessment of the self – capabilities that whether these
capabilities are related to the personal overall role can be referred to as skill audit. This can be
done in the form of a survey which self – guided or a questionnaire or an interview. The main
motive of this skill audit is to keep pace with the ever changing technologies in the industry
which leads to ever changing of the roles and responsibilities (8 Reasons You Should Be
Conducting Skills Audits, 2022). Thus, it ensures retention and expansion of the required and
established skill to be updated. Few specific circumstances where such skill audit is very helpful
includes not able to hit the targeted performance by the individual or definition of the skills and
qualities required in an individual when a new role is created. For assessment of the present

strengths and weaknesses while the changes in roles and departments takes places is also one of
the key circumstances which will be requiring skill audit to be conducted.
Get Experience Online:
The emergence of covid has resulted in shifting of the lifestyle of the whole world
towards online. Everything can be done online i.e., watching movies, shopping, consulting
experts like doctors or gym trainers, etc. One of the most crucial transition that took place in
these times is online studying and interning. It is highly advisable that the individuals shall not
sit idle in search of some on – site job opportunities and carry on with the virtual internships to
gain the experience in the meantime (Prada, Mareque and Pino-Juste, 2022). This option of
virtual internships is a great idea is it will allow the individual to duly take advantage of the
flexibility available to them regarding schedule of the classes, providing for the family
obligations, etc. Also, the ability to converse and negotiate can be much effectively enhanced
through such digital communication. Such mediums of digital communication include emails
which improves the ability to convert intentions into words and video conferencing which
improves the ability to be focussed while others are communicating.
Connect with Peers:
The most easily accessible and friendly source of gaining knowledge and work
experience is through connecting with the peers. It has been observed that majority of the people
will approach their peers when the need to learn a new skill has arisen before them. This process
of peer – to – peer learning is a very effective tool of development that has the capability to
overcome the limitations of facing various common limitations while in the process of skill –
building. This process of peer – to – peer learning is a very effective process learning new skills
and enhancing the work experience (Suleman, 2018). This process involves four main stages i.e.,
gaining of the required essential knowledge, practicing by application of the acquired
knowledge, getting a proper feedback and finally, reflecting on what knowledge has been
acquired and applied to. This process of learning divided into 4 stages is also referred to as
learning loop. The managerial and leadership skills can be duly developed and enhanced through
such process of peer – to – peer learning. This process specially involves group reflection which
assists individuals to be honest and constructive while taking and giving feedbacks.
Forming of own Experience:

Learning from own experience is one of the best ways to develop work experience and
the required skills. This own experience can be developed through attending and managing a side
business. It is apparent that earing of revenues and profits is not the main motive but learning
from the experience of this side business is the most crucial part of managing such business.
Such experience from this side business can provide chance of gaining experience through
dealing with various challenges ranging from accounting, finances, marketing, etc. to the tedious
and challenging task of problem solving (Antonopoulou and et.al., 2021). It is said that
knowledge and experience gained by an individual never goes in vain i.e., it will be helpful for
him in his career when he will be least expecting it to be of any help. Thus, learning from own
experience is the best learning as an individual gains the knowledge by himself without any help
of others and has the clarity of what he has learnt and experienced. This way, he will never forget
what he has learnt and will respect the value of this learning and experience as he has put in real
hard work to go through it.
Personal Experience
Personally, I would like to say that I am not satisfied with my current CV as it lacks
appropriate and proper work experience. Also, the current work experience is not appropriate
and enough to get the job I want to land. Therefore, there is an urgent and strict need to work on
gathering some work experience and enhancing my knowledge and expertise in the field in
which I want to get a job. One of the most effective ways to gather such experience is adhering
to virtual internships (Heron, 2019). I’ve found that there are a lot of virtual internships available
through various universities and employers as a part of their academic schemes. Therefore,
firstly, I will be searching for these internships. One of the main reasons for getting the
experience from these virtual internships is the opportunity to be able to work on some real
projects and also though secondary, but usually these internships are paid.
ASSESSMENT – 2
Skills which are important at Workplace
The primary intention of the challenging environment of the universities is to allow the
students to develop certain skills which will be crucial to them at the workplace. Some of these
skills are discussed as follows:
 Communication Skills – The most basic skill requirement of surviving in today’s
competitive world is communicating. An effective communication skill will make your way

towards the higher positions and related success relatively easy going. It will involve not
only speaking skills but also writing skills for addressing any individual in the process of a
specific operation or communication to get a specific work done. This skill of
communication will thus, help an individual to write more formally and will also lead to
improvement of the ability of face – to – face interaction with others. This improvement is
affected through the process of meeting and interaction with large number of individuals in
the university who also belong to varied cultural background, educational qualification, work
experience, etc. So this ability to interact and communicate with other will be immensely
helpful when entering a workplace and surviving there.
This skill of communication will also be developed and improved while delivering
presentations in front of other students during the whole course. These presentation and
public speaking skills are invaluable and will get an individual such opportunities which a
normal employee may not get. This is because the management and employers are
continuously searching to hire those individuals who possess sharp presentation and public
speaking skills. Thus, communication is one of the most important skills which is to be learnt
in the university by the students and will prove to be extremely invaluable when in a
workplace as it increases the value of an individual and makes him an asset for the entity he
is working for.
 Budgeting and Money Management Skills – Survival of the fittest is the most practical
saying ever said by a very wise man. This survival in current times includes a very important
task of managing the money earned by an individual and making small & personal budgets to
be able to meet the obligations of rent payment, utility bills payment, food, leisure, etc.
Handling the money is a part of life surviving skills which an individual mostly learns in his
academic life (Guillén-Gámez and et.al., 2020). This is due to the obligation of living on rent,
paying for the education, paying for the survival i.e., basic food and other necessity, etc.
Majority of these university students studying in universities are also employed in one or
the other part time jobs to meet their personal and academic expenses. Thus, this skill of
budgeting and money management becomes very crucial here as this shows how responsible
and trustworthy an individual is. Managing own money efficiently is an art i.e., knowing
what to spend, where to spend and how much to spend. This budgeting and money
management skill when developed in the academic phase will help an individual to survive

and demonstrate a character of positivity and responsibility when at the workplace. Thus, it is
a very important skill to be efficient in while being in university so that it can be utilized
while at the workplace.
 Time Management Skills – Managing available limited time among various activities to be
conducted is called as the skill of time management. Being a student in a university, a student
needs to manage such limited time in various activities like attending classes, self – studying,
doing extra – curricular activities, doing part – time job, preparing for the exams, doing the
assignments, etc. Thus, a student needs to manage such limited time among management of
the multiple things so as to handle the workload in hand. This skill of time management if
developed and improved in the university will be of immense value when being in the
workplace (Asonitou, 2022).
This is because of the fact that the employee who can manage multiple tasks and
commitments efficiently and effectively will be always valued more by the employer. This
skill of time management includes meeting the multiple deadlines of various tests and
assignments is also a proof that a student is highly skilled in the process of time management.
Now, it is universally known that as the pay and position of a person increases, the
responsibilities and workload on him also increases and thus, this requires very sharp
execution of the time management skills which is only possible if the individual has that
habit of managing such burdensome and hectic schedule of work.
 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills – All of the students encounter various
problems and issues which seemed almost impossible at first to be resolved. But, there is
always a way out of any problem or an issue. All it takes is to approach this problem or
issues from a different angle or thinking outside the box and also, doing some extensive and
advanced research on the topic which was not being done by the individual before (Kocak
and et.al., 2021). Such problem may involve a tough essay question or a very complicated
mathematical problem or even a very complicated case study on management or financing.
This requires the individual to be thinking critically and develop and improve the skills
related to problem solving. Thus, the university life teaches the students to be keen observer
of the current problems in hand, critical thinker to find a solution and be efficient in
accessing the skill of problem solving.

The precious and invaluable skill of critical thinking and problem solving is what is
expected by the employers and management to be possessed by the employees in the
organisation. This is because of the whole and sole objective of running the projects and
operations smoothly and avoiding any hindrances & unexpected stoppages in these processes
and operations. Thus, these employers expect the employees to take the initiative in the times
of such hindrances and stoppages and come out victorious in resolving the prevalent issues.
 Constructive Criticism Skills – Criticism is a part of existence and survival. No matter
where an individual is, criticism is bound to come in his way. Sometimes it is genuine and
fair and sometimes it is just intentionally unfair. In the context of university, it is known that
no one’s work is perfect and thus, every individual is bound to receive a constructive
criticism from the teacher, peers and the tutors during the course of the degree (Alrifai and
Raju, 2019). Thus, it is very essential for the students to take these criticisms received
constructively and be able to inculcate the habit of self – evaluation i.e., assessing where the
mistakes were committed and rectify them rather than being disturbed by such criticisms.
This habit of constructive criticism is invaluable in the context of a workplace because of
the fact that the employers, managers and the management requires such type of employees
in the organisation at the workplace who are capable of accepting the criticism and
improving themselves based on such criticisms. Thus, inculcating the habit of taking
constructive criticism from the academic phase is a very important factor which will make
the individuals succeed in this academic phase as well as in the career ahead at the
workplace.
 Cooperation Skills – It is very well known that the times of capitalism involved few selected
individuals to play the major role in the social development and success of the organisation
in which they worked. But, modern times demands for modern policies and thus, this concept
of dominant leadership has been dropped and the concept of team work has been welcomed.
The most essential requirement of the success of this team work is cooperation i.e., working
together along with sharing of individual knowledge and opinions with others (Mahdi,
Nassar and Almuslamani, 2020). Thus, it is very essential to develop this sense of
cooperation in the students in early academic life.
Nowadays, the organisations work by forming teams and this requires the individual
members of these teams to be cooperative to one another and work collaboratively towards

the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives. Therefore, it is apparent for the
students in their academic days to develop and improve the skill of cooperation which will
enhance their ability to work with others, resolve any conflicts with others if any, keep the
operations and activities flowing smoothly, etc. This will make the individual more valuable
and respected at the workplace and also will have cordial relations with the colleagues and
other individuals at work.
 Creativity Skills – When an individual has the ability to discover newer connections and
relations along with the possibility of taking into account already existing elements for
creation of some new and innovative, he is referred to as being creative. A student needs to
be creative and innovative in his approach while studying as well as working. As it is a very
common phrase that smart work is more preferable than the hard work (Mendo-Lázaro and
et.al., 2018). Therefore, such smart work comes out of creativity and innovation.
But, this creative and innovation doesn’t come from nothing as extensive knowledge,
experience and expertise is required to be creative and innovative in a particular aspect. This
is because performing a task creatively will involve carrying it out in less time and less
efforts but more efficiently and effectively which requires clarity of the concepts and basics.
Thus, letting the students to be creative and innovative since their academic phase will infuse
in them a pattern of working in which they will automatically work creatively so that the
work is done in lesser time and in more effective manner.
 Self-Motivation – When a student newly moves to university it is often believed that he is
spoon – fed and thus, he will be noticing a major change in the lifestyle. Unlike school, in
university the students will not be closely monitored for the whole day thus, the students
need to be self – disciplined to be able to attend and sit through all the lectures they need to
attend, complete all the assignments and that too before the deadline and doing the daily
chores like cooking, cleaning and taking self – care. Thus, here the art of self – motivation
comes into play as to remain self – disciplined a student needs to be self – motivated (Soto
and et.al., 2020). This art of self – motivation will prove to be very essential in the university
life unlike schools, there will not be anyone present who will be continuously pushing them
to do the required work.
Thus, when such students are able to inculcate the practice of self – motivation in his
daily life then the will become self – reliant and can face any challenges exposed to him very

effectively. This habit of self – motivation thus shall be developed and improved while
university and also thus, is very necessary at the workplace as there is no one but self to for
motivation. At the end, all are working for self – interests and therefore, needs to self –
motivate.
CONCLUSION
Conclusively, it can be said that appropriate skills are required to be developed and
improved at the lever of higher education which are also proven to be invaluable when pursuing
the professional career ahead at the workplace in any organisation. Therefore, the above report
explains various suggestions which needs to be followed to boost the CV in case it lacks
appropriate work experience. Also, it details out various skills that will be learnt in university
which are also useful in future career ahead.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alrifai, A. A. and Raju, V., 2019. The employability skills of higher education graduates: A
review of literature. Argument. 6(3).
Antonopoulou, H. and et.al., 2021. Transformational leadership and digital skills in higher
education institutes: during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging science journal. 5(1).
pp.1-15.
Asonitou, S., 2022. Impediments and pressures to incorporate soft skills in Higher Education
accounting studies. Accounting Education. 31(3). pp.243-272.
Guillén-Gámez, F. D. and et.al., 2020. ICT resources for research: an ANOVA analysis on the
digital research skills of higher education teachers comparing the areas of knowledge
within each gender. Education and information technologies. 25(5). pp.4575-4589.
Heron, M., 2019. Making the case for oracy skills in higher education: practices and
opportunities. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice. 16(2). p.9.
Kocak, O. and et.al., 2021. The mediating role of critical thinking and cooperativity in the 21st
century skills of higher education students. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 42. p.100967.
Mahdi, O. R., Nassar, I. A. and Almuslamani, H. A. I., 2020. The Role of Using Case Studies
Method in Improving Students' Critical Thinking Skills in Higher
Education. International Journal of Higher Education. 9(2). pp.297-308.
Mendo-Lázaro, S. and et.al., 2018. Cooperative team learning and the development of social
skills in higher education: The variables involved. Frontiers in psychology. 9. p.1536.
Prada, E. D., Mareque, M. and Pino-Juste, M., 2022. Teamwork skills in higher education: is
university training contributing to their mastery? Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica. 35.
Soto, J. B. and et.al., 2020. Perceptions of ImmerseMe virtual reality platform to improve
English communicative skills in higher education.
Suleman, F., 2018. The employability skills of higher education graduates: insights into
conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education. 76(2). pp.263-
278.
Online
8 Reasons You Should Be Conducting Skills Audits. 2022. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.personio.com/hr-lexicon/skills-audit/#:~:text=Your%20Employees
%20And%20Roles%20Will,for%20a%20better%2Dsuited%20position.>
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