Employer demands from business graduates

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on research carried out with employers to determine demand for business and management skills in the Scottish workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

The research used a questionnaire in which employers were interviewed (either telephone or face to face), completed themselves and returned by e-mail, or completed an online survey. In total, 71 employers took part in the study.

Findings

The research found that the factors which are most important to employers when recruiting graduates were; personal attitude, employability skills, relevant work experience and degree result. The most important transferable skills to employers when recruiting graduates were; trustworthiness, reliability, motivation, communication skills and a willingness to learn.

Social implications

The paper shows the importance of graduates developing excellent job searching skills, high-quality work experience and developing business courses to enhance students’ employability and better meet employers’ wants.

Originality/value

The paper is timely given the introduction of Key Information Sets. The provision of such information will drive HEI to further develop students’ employability to obtain graduate-level jobs.

Citation

McMurray, S., Dutton, M., McQuaid, R. and Richard, A. (2016), "Employer demands from business graduates", Education + Training, Vol. 58 No. 1, pp. 112-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2014-0017