University of Aberdeen:
Approach to learning
Draft final report
27 August 2008
University of Aberdeen: Approach to learning
Draft final report
Contents
Summary of key findings ......................................................................................................... i
Annex A: Purpose of the research and methodology ...................................................... A-1
Annex B: Literature review ................................................................................................. B-1
Annex C: Sector Skills Council interviews ........................................................................ C-1
Annex D: Online Employer Survey..................................................................................... D-1
Annex E: Telephone Employer Survey .............................................................................. E-1
Contact:
Robert Wootton
Tel:
Approved by:
Michael Frearson
Date:
01223 209400
email:
rowootton@sqw.co.uk
August 2008
Associate Director
www.sqw.co.uk
University of Aberdeen: Approach to learning
Draft final report
Summary of key findings
Introduction
1.
The University of Aberdeen is currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of its curriculum
with the aim of optimising Aberdeen’s attractiveness to students and the attractiveness of its
graduates to employers. SQW Consulting was commissioned by the University of Aberdeen
in July 2008 to undertake research on what employers want from graduates in general, how
employers regard Aberdeen graduates and to test employers’ responses on a set of attributes
being proposed by the University. The Curriculum Commission was set up following an
invitation by the Principal of the University in February 2007 to colleagues to reflect on
whether the University’s curriculum is fit for purpose for the 21st century. The Commission
subsequently proposed a set of graduate attributes covering three areas – academic
excellence, skills and attributes, and readiness for life1 – and part of the purpose of the study
has been to test these attributes with employers.
2.
After carrying out a series of scoping interviews with University staff and a review of
literature relevant to the study, the main fieldwork for the study focused on consulting with
local, regional, national and international graduate recruiters. The three components
included:

an online survey of employers which involved cooperation with the Association of
Graduate Recruiters (AGR) and the University of Aberdeen’s Careers Service. These
two organisations sent the survey details and a link to the online survey to a range of
employers. The online survey was intended to capture information on the level and
type of graduate recruitment by employers, and employers’ ratings of the importance
different graduate attributes

a telephone survey of employers who had volunteered to take part following
completion of the online survey and further telephone interviews with employers
listed on the Careers Service database. The aim of the telephone interviews was to
complement the online survey findings by collecting more in-depth qualitative
information on the views of graduate employers

a telephone survey of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) where we approached all SSCs
to obtain sector-specific views of what employers think of and want in graduates. We
carried out 11 interviews with SSCs covering a range of sectors including aerospace,
automotive, biotechnology, chemicals, energy (oil, gas, water, nuclear, waste),
engineering, fashion and textiles, finance, pharmaceuticals, public sector and
transport.
1
The definitions used for academic excellence, skills and approach, and readiness for life are taken from the first
Curriculum Commission report and given in full in various annexes to this report.
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3.
The survey work generated a total of 118 responses/interviews: 84 responses from employers
completing the online survey; 23 telephone interviews with employers; and 11 telephone
interviews with SSCs.
What employers want in general
4.
Whilst different employers and sectors will have different skills and knowledge requirements,
it is clear from the research that there are generic skills employers would like to find in the
graduates they recruit. At a high level employers appear to want skills and approach
attributes as much as if not more than academic excellence; with readiness for life attributes
seen as the least importance of all three components. All of the research highlighted the
importance and value of ‘transferable skills and approaches’ with employers looking for
graduates with a skillset that includes management and leadership skills, the ability to solve
problems, good written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work as part of a
team.
5.
This balance in favour of skills and approach over academic excellence may partly be based
on the assumption that graduates already possess knowledge of their degree subjects. But, a
graduate’s achievement in their degree subject alone is not sufficient for them to be recruited
as employers highlighted the importance of graduates being able to apply this learning in the
workplace. With this in mind, the need for graduates to gain relevant work experience
featured prominently across all of the different sets of interviews.
6.
However, as expected employers did have different views about the attributes they would like
from graduates. The pattern which emerged is that employers recruiting from the more
vocational subjects, such as engineering, law and IT, require relevant subject and sectorspecific skills, knowledge and understanding. Whereas other employers were most interested
in recruiting graduates with well developed ‘soft skills’. However, even those employers
recruiting graduates from the more vocational subjects also wanted well developed ‘soft
skills’ in addition to academic excellence.
7.
When comparing the three colleges within the University, graduates’ in depth knowledge of
their degree discipline was more highly valued by employers recruiting from subjects within
the Colleges of Arts and Social Sciences and Physical Sciences than by employers recruiting
from subjects within the College of Life Sciences and Medicine.
8.
A majority of graduate employers had mixed views on whether current graduates possess the
skills and attributes they need. Skills they felt were lacking in graduates included the
following: good attitude to work; communication skills; maturity; a ‘hands on’ approach to
work; knowledge of a foreign language; numeracy; business acumen/commercial awareness;
and work/practical experience. This perspective was endorsed by the SSCs as they were of
the view that many of these skills and experience are missing in graduates; they felt that
graduates lack both experience of the world of work and the softer skills.
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How employers rate the proposed Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
9.
Employers provided high ratings overall for the graduate attributes being proposed by the
University. All of the skills and approach attributes were rated highly by respondents, even
more highly than the academic excellence attributes. The readiness for life attributes were
also rated highly but less so than either the other two components. The attributes that
employers rated more highly than others are summarised in Table 1.
Table 1 : Attributes rated most highly by employers
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Attributes rated highly
Academic excellence

a capacity for independent conceptual and creative thinking

an intellectual curiosity and willingness to question accepted wisdom
and to be open to new ideas

graduates’ communication skills

their ability to work independently and as part of a team

graduates’ self-awareness and ability to develop

their openness to lifelong learning
Skills and approach
Readiness for life
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning
10.
An overwhelming majority of graduate employers rated these attributes as either very
important or important in the next 10-15 years with skills and approach and academic
excellence attributes slightly more important than readiness for life attributes.
Time given for non-degree subject learning
11.
Employers were asked to provide views on the amount of time that should be given in
undergraduate degree programmes for non-degree subject learning. A majority of graduate
employers felt that between 10% and 50% should spent acquiring knowledge, understanding
and skills outside an undergraduate’s degree discipline and a larger proportion felt that
between 21% and 30% of an undergraduates’ time would be most preferable. Unprompted,
this indicates that the 25% of time proposed by the University would be acceptable to many
employers. This level was confirmed by the SSCs as they continually stressed the need for
graduates to be able to demonstrate more experience on their CV than just their degree studies
i.e. skills and work experience gained outside their course.
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Annex A: Purpose of the research and
methodology
Purpose of the study
A.1
In July 2008 SQW Consulting was commissioned by the University of Aberdeen to carry out
a piece of research consulting with employers on the University’s proposals for enhancing
learning and increasing the employability of its graduates.
A.2
The Curriculum Commission was set up following an invitation by the Principal of the
University in February 2007 to colleagues to reflect on whether the University’s curriculum is
fit for purpose for the 21st century. Essentially the University wishes to gain a better
understanding of what employers want from graduates, (where possible) how employers
perceived Aberdeen graduates and to gauge their response to the graduate attributes being
proposed by the University’s Curriculum Commission in its first report, ‘Enhancing learning:
the Aberdeen approach’ (27 February 2008). The attributes listed in this report fall under
three headings – academic excellence, skills and attributes, and readiness for life – and are
defined as follows below:
Table A-1: Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Academic excellence

In-depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationally recognised levels in their chosen
discipline

A breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their chosen discipline(s)

An ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research and inquiry

A contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas

A capacity for independent conceptual and creative thinking

An intellectual curiosity and willingness to question accepted wisdom and to be open to new ideas
Skills and approach

A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and dispassionate analysis

A capacity for informed argument and reasoning

An ability to communicate effectively for different purposes and in different contexts

An ability to work independently or as part of a team

A diverse set of transferable and general skills
Readiness for life

An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and self-directed study

An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses and a capacity for self-discovery and development

An awareness and appreciation of ethical and moral issues

An awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity

An understanding of social and civic responsibilities and of the rights of individuals and groups

A readiness for citizenship in a civilised and inclusive society
Source: University of Aberdeen (2008) Enhanced Learning: The Aberdeen Approach, First Report of the Curriculum
Commission, 27 February 2008
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A.3
The second report by the Curriculum Commission ‘Enhanced Study’ was produced in July
2008 and the third – and final report – due in September 2008 will present the main findings
of the Commission; and will draw in part upon the findings of this study.
A.4
Therefore, the purpose of the study has been to see what employers want from graduates in
general, how employers currently regard Aberdeen graduates, and to test employers’
responses to the proposed graduate attributes which are intended to result from the curriculum
reforms set out in ‘Enhancing learning.’
Research Methodology
A.5
The approach followed was to consult with local, regional, national and international graduate
recruiters, where possible ensuring that the recruiters range in size from small employers
looking to recruit one or two graduates per year to large employers recruiting in excess of
500. Initially, we carried out a series of scoping interviews – eight in total – with University
of Aberdeen staff and a review of literature that the University had already identified relating
to the study, as well as any further information that we could find. The scoping phase was
intended to inform the design of research instruments for the main part of the fieldwork.
A.6
We used three main methods for identifying and surveying employer views:


Online survey of employers: to consult with employers the online survey was sent to
a number of sources including

the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) sent an e-bulletin to 653
employer organisations listed on its database. The e-bulletin explained the
purpose for carrying out the survey, as well as a link to the survey. In
addition to the original e-bulletin AGR sent a reminder email to the employer
organisations

University of Aberdeen Careers Service: the Careers Service made available
two databases of employers to the study – 42 employers from an employer
seminar carried out by the University and 112 employers from Careers Fairs
held at the university. The Careers Service sent an email to these employers
again providing details and a link to the online survey

when we approached the SSCs in order to request their participation in a
telephone interview we also asked whether they would be willing – in some
shape or form – to distribute the link to the online survey to employers in
their sector. Of the SSCs that responded most were unwilling to circulate the
survey due to concerns about over burdening their sector with requests to
take part in research. Two SSCs – Skillfast and Summit Skills – did put
information and a link to the online survey on their websites
Telephone survey of employers: organisations who were sent the online survey were
asked at the end of the survey whether they would be willing to participate in a
follow-up telephone interview. This produced a list of 16 employers and initially led
to 14 telephone interviews with employers being carried out. In order to achieve our
target number of employer telephone interviews of 22 we then contacted 150
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employers directly through the lists of employers that had been sent to us by the
Careers Service and who had been suggested by other interviewees2

A.7
Telephone survey of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs): we contacted all 26 SSCs to
obtain sector-specific employer views of the graduates that they recruit. The
intention was to carry out up to eight telephone interviews with SSCs; in practice we
conducted 11 interviews following a positive response from the SSCs. The
interviews were carried out mainly with SSC staff responsible for skills development,
higher education, research or policy. Annex C describes in more detail the sector
coverage of those SSCs that we interviewed – broadly the sectors included aerospace,
automotive, biotechnology, chemicals, energy (oil, gas, water, nuclear, waste),
engineering, fashion and textiles, finance, pharmaceuticals, public sector, transport
Table A-2 shows the number of interviews carried out by the research team. In summary, the
online survey generated 84 responses from employers and 23 and 11 telephone interviews
were achieved with employers and SSCs, respectively.
Table A-2 : Summary of survey methodology
Survey method
Sample size
Target interviews
Achieved interviews
Online survey of employers
AGR – 653
As many as possible
84
22
23
8
11
Careers Service
seminar – 42
Careers Service Fairs
– 112
Telephone survey of employers
Online sample – 16
Careers Service – 150
Telephone survey of Sector Skills
Councils (SSCs)
26
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning.
A.8
The quantitative and qualitative responses to the survey work were analysed using Microsoft
Excel and NVivo software and the full analysis for each survey can be found in Annexes C-E.
A.9
We also contacted the THES to enquiry whether it would be possible to interrogate data from
the graduate recruiter surveys returned in 2006 and 2007 for the ‘World University
Rankings’, which would allow us to understand the type and location of international
employers who recruit Aberdeen graduates. The THES referred us to the organisation that
undertakes the survey – QS Network3 – though unfortunately they were unable to respond
with any information within the timeframe of this study.
2
These employers came from interviews with members of the Curriculum Reform Commission of the University
of Aberdeen from the scoping stage of the research project, and from the Sector Skills Councils.
3 http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/?gclid=CO6WlriDq5UCFROA1QodGBoJjw
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Annex B: Literature review
General policy direction
University of Aberdeen
B.1
The University of Aberdeen is currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of its curriculum
with the aim of optimising Aberdeen’s attractiveness to students and the attractiveness of its
graduates to employers.
B.2
The University’s Strategic Plan 2007-2010 The Frontiers of Excellence highlighted the role
of the University in “providing an excellent and sustainable learning environment that
delivers a dynamic curriculum, informed and driven by academic discovery, and equips our
students with the reasoning, communication, entrepreneurial and analytical skills that will
enable them to lead and adapt to change throughout their lives”.4
The Leitch Review of Skills, The Scottish Government Skills Strategy and The
Future of Higher Education
B.3
Both the Leitch Review of Skills and Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy highlighted
the vital importance of skills for the UK economy and for the Scottish economy respectively.
The Leitch Review recognised the importance of higher education institutions in achieving its
vision of achieving world class skills for the UK and called for “increased engagement and
investment from employers with higher education, to drive management, innovation and
workforce development.”5
B.4
The Future of Higher Education published in 2003 also highlights the importance of higher
education in closing the productivity gap which can only be achieved through an up-skilling
of the workforce. It also acknowledges that “the pace of both social and technological change
means that education, including higher education, can no longer be confined to the early years
of life” and that “today’s generation of students will need to return to learning – full-time or
part-time – on more than one occasion across their lifetime in order to refresh their
knowledge, upgrade their skills and sustain their employability”.6
What employers want from graduates
B.5
‘Employability’ is a broad term and can be defined in many ways. Mantz Yorke 7 defines
‘employability’ as a context-dependent term whereby “a student can demonstrate
employability in respect of a job if he or she can demonstrate a set of achievements relevant
to that job”. Whilst this definition acknowledges that different employers and sectors will
have different skills and knowledge requirements, it is also clear from the research we have
4
University of Aberdeen (2007), Strategic Plan 2007-2010 The Frontiers of Excellence
Lord Sandy Leitch (2006), Leitch Review of Skills Final Report, p.21
6 DfES (2003), UK: The Future of Higher Education, p.20
7 Mantz Yorke (2006), Learning and Employability Series one: Employability in higher education- what it is- what
it is not, p.10
5
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carried out that there are generic skills that employers would like to find in the graduates they
recruit.
B.6
The literature we have reviewed along with findings from the National Employer Skills
Survey 2007 all point to important skills gaps amongst the graduate workforce. Figure B-1
below shows how well prepared for work employers thought under 24 year old graduates
have been. Whilst an overwhelming majority of employers were very satisfied with the
graduates they recruited (84% either thought graduates were “very well prepared” or “well
prepared”), 11% felt graduates were either “very poorly prepared” or “poorly prepared” for
work.
Figure B-1: How well prepared for work have under 24 year old university/higher education leavers been
100%
90%
80%
70%
57%
60%
50%
40%
30%
27%
20%
9%
10%
2%
5%
0%
Very well
prepared
Well prepared
Poorly prepared
Very poorly
prepared
Don't know /
Varies too much
to say
Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC), National Employer Skills Survey (NESS), 2007
B.7
Table B-1 below gives details of the main skills that employers thought were lacking amongst
young graduates, including the following: technical and practical skills/job specific skills
(20% of respondent employers), lack of life experience/experience of the working world
(18%), experience (12%), and oral communication skills/communication skills (12%). These
are the same skills highlighted by the documents we reviewed in the scoping stage.
Table B-1: Skills lacking amongst University/Higher Education leavers
Skills lacking
% of employers
Technical and practical skills / Job specific skills
20%
Lack of life experience/experience of working world
18%
Experience (inc. business, practical)
12%
Oral communication skills / Communication skills (unspecified)
12%
Work ethic / Poor attitude to work
11%
Lack of motivation/enthusiasm/commitment (including only interested in money)
9%
Poor education / general knowledge / no skills (unspecified)
9%
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Skills lacking
% of employers
Customer service skills
8%
Literacy skills
8%
Social/People skills
7%
Other
7%
Time keeping skills / Punctuality (including attendance)
7%
Common sense
6%
Working long hours / Hard work (including 9-5, 5 days a week)
4%
Numeracy skills
4%
Written communication skills
3%
Basic IT/Computer skills
3%
No particular reason
3%
Poor attitude (unspecified) (including manners, respect)
2%
Initiative
2%
Office/Administration skills
2%
Organisational skills
2%
Discipline (unspecified.)
2%
Confidence
2%
Team working skills
1%
Personal appearance / Presentation
1%
Responsibility (unspecified.)
1%
Interview skills (inc. preparation, technique)
0%
Source: Learning and Skills Council (LSC), National Employer Skills Survey (NESS), 2007
B.8
The documents we reviewed showed that employers value a graduate’s achievement in their
degree subject, but that this alone is not sufficient for them to be recruited. The documents
also highlighted the fact that the importance of the knowledge of subject discipline will vary
widely across different employment sectors. For example, employers in specialist industries
such as the computer industry are likely to require graduates to have very good subject
knowledge and understanding, whilst employers in social work are more likely to require
“general graduateness”8 (i.e. more generic qualities and skills held by all graduates).
B.9
Despite the context-specific nature of employability, all employers want to recruit wellrounded individuals. The Higher Education Careers Service Unit defines the qualities and
skills that graduate employers want as follows:
… experiences of work, maturity, a more instrumentally-focused and
informed approach to their higher education experience and often, clear
8
Ibid Mantz Yorke (2006), p6
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evidence of their ability to manage time well and take a pro-active
approach to career management.9
B.10
The Scottish Government Skills Strategy also acknowledged that employers not only want
graduates with degree-subject skill, knowledge and understanding, but that they also need
their workforce to have “softer skills” that are essential for the success of their organisation.
These skills include the following: effective time management; planning and organising;
effective oral and written communication skills; the ability to solve problems; being able to
undertake tasks or make submissions at short notice; the ability to work with others to achieve
common goals; the ability to think critically and creatively; the ability to learn and continue
learning; the ability to take responsibility for professional development and having the skills
needed to manage or be managed by others.10
Conclusions
B.11
Both the UK and Scottish Governments acknowledge the importance of skills in closing the
productivity gap with competitors and the role higher education can play in equipping
students with a varied set of skills necessary to their success in employment. Employers are
generally satisfied with the graduates they have recruited, but most still stress that they would
like well-rounded individuals who not only have the subject-specific knowledge of their
degree discipline but also a wider set of employability skills. The Higher Education Career
Services Unit has developed an illustrative summary (presented in Table B-2 below) of the
skills that most graduate recruiters require, which amplifies the views expressed by the other
contributors discussed in this review.
Table B-2: Skills that employers want from graduates
Type of skill
Employers' requirements – “Buzz” words
Self-reliance skills

Self-awareness – purposeful, focused, self-belief, realistic

Pro-activity – resourceful, drive, self-reliant

Willingness to learn – Inquisitive, motivated, enthusiastic

Self-promotion – positive, persistent, ambitious

Networking – initiator, relationship-builder, resourceful

Planning action – decision-maker, planner, able to prioritise

Team working – supportive, organised, co-ordinator, deliverer

Interpersonal skills – listener, adviser, co-operative, assertive

Oral communication – communicator, presenter, influencer

Leadership – motivator, energetic, visionary

Customer orientation – friendly, caring, diplomatic

Foreign language – specific language skills

Problem-solving – practical, logical, results orientated

Flexibility – versatile, willing, multi-skilled
People skills
General employment
skills
9
Higher Education Careers Services Unit (2004), Seven Years On: Graduate Careers in a Changing Labour
Market, p14. Similar views are expressed by others. For example, in Employability: Higher Education
Institutions engaging with employers, Andrew Bottomley and Helen Williams (2006) assert that graduate
recruiters favour applicants with “skills in teamwork, time management, negotiation, research analysis and the
ability to come up with practical, creative solutions to a live business problem”, p.10.
10 Scottish Government (2007), Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy, p.8
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Type of skill
Specialist skills
Employers' requirements – “Buzz” words

Business acumen – entrepreneurial, competitive, risk taker

IT/computer literacy – office skills, keyboard skills, software packages

Numeracy – accurate, quick-thinker, methodical

Commitment – dedicated, trustworthy, conscientious

Specific occupational skills – specialist relevant knowledge, e.g. languages, IT

Technical skills – e.g. journalism, engineering, accounting, sales
Source: Higher Education Careers Services Unit and agcas in association with UCAS (2008), What do Graduates do? 2008
Career Planning for Higher Education and Beyond
References
Andrew Bottomley and Helen Williams (2006), Employability: Higher Education Institutions
engaging with employers. A guide to international best practice in engaging employers in the
curriculum.
Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth
Affairs (1998), Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy
DfES (2003) UK: The Future of Higher Education
Future Skills Scotland (2007), How 'smart' are Scottish jobs?
FutureSkills Scotland (2006), What do employers want?
Higher Education Careers Services Unit and agcas in association with UCAS (2008), What do
graduates do? 2008- Career Planning for Higher Education and Beyond
Higher Education Careers Services Unit (2004), Seven Years On: Graduate Careers in a
Changing Labour Market
House of Commons Education and Skills Committee (2007), The Bologna Process, Fourth
Report of Session 2006–07 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence
Learning and Skills Council (LSC) (2007), National Employer Skills Survey (NESS)
Lord Sandy Leitch (2006), Leitch Review of Skills Final Report
Mantz Yorke (2006), Learning and Employability Series one: Employability in higher
education- what it is- what it is not
Mantz Yorke and Peter T Knight (2006), Learning and Employability Series three:
Embedding employability into the curriculum
Scottish Government (2007), Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy
The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University (1998),
Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities
University of Aberdeen (2007), Strategic Plan 2007-2010 The Frontiers of Excellence
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Annex C: Sector Skills Council interviews
Survey methodology
C.1
As part of our approach to understand how employers perceive graduates we contacted all 26
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to get sector-specific employer views of the graduates that they
recruit. The intention was to carry out up to eight telephone interviews with SSCs that
responded to our request to participate in the research. In the end we conducted 11 interviews
following a positive response from the SSCs listed in Table C-1, in which we have also
included a description of the size of firms operating in the sector and the level of graduate
recruitment. The interviews were carried out mainly with SSC staff responsible for skills
development, higher education, research or policy.
Table C-1: Coverage of Sector Skills Councils
SSC
Sector coverage
Sector description
Level of graduate
recruitment
Asset Skills
Property, Housing
Facilities Management,
Housing, Cleaning and
Car Parking industries.
Mainly small and medium
size enterprises (SMEs).
Medium to low number of
graduates recruited
annually
Cogent
Chemicals and
Pharmaceuticals, Oil and
Gas, Nuclear, Petroleum
and Polymer industries.
Everything from small
firms through large
privately-owned UK
companies; the sector has
some of the biggest multinationals including
Chevron, BP, Shell, GSK,
Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Recruit around 4,000
graduates per year of
which 50% are Science,
Technology, Engineering
or Mathematics (STEM)
graduates. The top 5
STEM subjects that
employers recruit from are:
chemistry, mechanical
engineering, chemical and
process engineering,
biology, and electronic and
electronical engineering.
The top non-STEM
subjects are business
management and
accountancy.
Energy and Utilities Skills
Electricity, Gas, Waste
Management and Water
industries.
The electricity, gas and
water sectors are
dominated by large assetowning utilities whereas
waste management has a
high proportion of SMEs.
Water gas and electricity
use more graduates than
is normal in the UK whilst
the waste management
sector is predominantly
comprises SMEs and
recruits few graduates.
Financial Services
Financial Services
industry.
Employers of all sizes from
small firms to large
multinationals.
The sector has recruited
between 8,000 and 11,000
graduates a year for the
past five years.
Go Skills
Passenger Transport
industries.
Complete range of firm
sizes; anything from FTS
100 companies to sole
traders.
On an annual basis, from
100 to 1,000 graduates
are recruited across the
sector but it varies
according to companies,
with some take on large
numbers of graduates
every year and some only
one every few years.
Graduates are most likely
to be recruited for bus and
rail engineering, general
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SSC
Sector coverage
Sector description
Level of graduate
recruitment
management and
management of transport
planning positions.
Government Skills
Central Government, all
civil service departments
and agencies, unaffiliated
non-departmental
government bodies and
Armed Forces.
Covers all civil servants in
departments and agencies
(including those in the
devolved administrations
and the Northern Ireland
Civil Service); staff in nondepartmental government
bodies not already
affiliated to another SSC
(around 60,000 staff); and
the Armed Forces. In
total, this adds up to
around 800,000 staff.
Unsure about level of
recruitment.
Institute of the Motor
Industry
Automotive Retail
industries.
86% of employers work in
SMEs including many
micro businesses.
Low numbers of graduates
are recruited overall with
small numbers on a firm
by firm basis.
Lifelong Learning UK
(LLUK)
Community Learning and
Development, Further
Education, Higher
Education, Libraries,
Archives and Information
Services and Work Based
Learning.
The whole range of size of
organisations from small
private training providers
to large universities.
Two thirds of the lifelong
learning workforce is
qualified up to degree level
(about 700,000 people).
Semta (Science,
Engineering &
Manufacturing
Technologies)
Aerospace, Automotive,
Bioscience, Electrical,
Electronics, Maintenance,
Marine, Mathematics,
Mechanical, Metals and
Engineered Metal
Products industries
The whole range of
companies.
Semta only carry out
research on a certain
number of companies so it
is difficult to give an overall
number for the sector.
From their research in
2004/05, about 1,400
graduates were recruited
to the bioscience sector
alone.
Skillfast
Fashion and Textiles –
manufacturing, trading and
services.
The biggest companies in
the sector are still
classified as SMEs; 90%
of firms are sole traders
and partnerships. The
average size of the sector
is becoming smaller year
on year, and more
fragmented.
HE provision relating to
this sector totals around
3,000 graduates per year
but very few firms have
formal graduate
programmes due to their
small size. There are six
graduates coming out of
university for every job
opportunity.
Summit Skills
Building Services
Engineering: Electrotechnical, Heating,
Ventilating, Air
Conditioning, Refrigeration
and Plumbing industries.
Only 2% of firms employ
more than 50 people in
this sector.
There is not enough of
provision for the sector so
employers tend to recruit
from other sectors (e.g.
geography). Overall low
recruit of graduates but
there are around 100,000
people employed as
managers, professionals,
technicians etc. all who
need to have graduatelevel qualifications.
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning.
C.2
The discussion with SSCs covered three main areas:
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
their general views on what employers are looking for in the graduates they recruit,
and whether there are any attributes and skills that current graduates currently lack

more specifically what employers in their sectors require, if gaps and weaknesses
exist and what role universities could play in addressing these, and

how the three attributes – academic excellence, skills and approach, and readiness for
life skills – are valued by employers.
General views on graduates
What employers are looking for
C.3
The pervading view from SSCs was that for technical professions employers are looking for
specific technical skills, knowledge and understanding. However employers in general want
a good balance between discipline-specific knowledge, practical experience and interest in the
field of work that the graduate is applying for. The majority of respondent SSCs highlighted
the importance of graduates already having had some work experience by the time they have
left university and are applying the jobs. Employers are looking for graduates who are close
to being or already are ready for work, and who can ‘hit the ground running’. Graduates with
the ‘right’ attitude, good time keeping and a strong work ethic are valued by recruiters. How
graduates fit into an organisation is particularly important for smaller firms.
C.4
The responses from SSCs reveal that employers have high expectations of the skills and
attributes graduates should possess. Employers are looking for graduates with management
and leadership skills, the ability to solve problems, good written and verbal communication
skills, and the ability to work as part of a team. They want graduates who are willing to learn.
C.5
SSCs for employment sectors with a large number of small firms commented that SMEs do
not necessarily need or want top end graduates. Instead they require graduates who can do
the job, are competent, have the right character and are willing to undergo training. One SSC
also mentioned that in their sector, graduates who can work with people of all ages, from
different backgrounds and with disabilities are valued.
Attributes and skills that graduates lack
C.6
Of the 11 SSCs interviewed only one clearly felt that that in its sector employers would argue
that graduates lack any specific attributes and skills. For the other SSCs both a lack of
experience of the work and softer skills were the main areas where employers feel that there
are gaps. On the former issue, employers link the lack of work readiness to graduates being
unable to apply their knowledge to the job in question, in a real life context. With regard the
latter softer skills that graduates do not have include:

project management and management in general – an inability to deal with and
manage others

leadership

problem solving and analytical skills
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C.7

work independently and in teams

written and verbal communication skills

attitude to work

numerical skills.
Typically, SSCs reported that graduates lack these ‘soft skills’ because at university they
learn to think in an academic environment. Employers are willing to pay for graduate training
to ‘top up’ their ‘soft skills’, but they do not want to pay for training graduates in the skills
they should have acquired at university.
Sector specific views on graduates
C.8
SSCs were asked to identify particular skills and attributes employers in their sectors are
looking for in graduates. Two highlighted a deficiency in technical skills reported by
employers in their sectors: Cogent (Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas, Nuclear,
Petroleum and Polymer industries); and Skillfast (fashion and textiles).
C.9
Sector-specific skills and attributes identified by respondent SSCs are displayed in Table C-2
below. Aside from sector-specific skills, knowledge and understanding, SSCs reported most
frequently ‘soft skills’ such as leadership, management (including people management and
interpersonal skills) and communication skills.
Table C-2: Skills and attributes by sector
Sector/industry area
What employers are looking for
Surveying and town planning
High levels of mathematics, communication, people management
and IT skills
Property, estate and facilities management
Technical skills plus leadership and management skills
Housing
Leadership and people skills if dealing with housing associations
Financial services
Good numeracy and quantitative skills, leadership, management
and interpersonal skills
Passenger transport – delivery
High level of general management skills, ability to deal with
customers, people skills
Passenger transport – engineering
Technical skills with the ability to apply theoretical knowledge in the
work environment
Government – public sector
Technical knowledge is important when recruiting economists,
statisticians etc. Broadly the sector needs graduates with good
communication, leadership and management skills
Fashion and textiles
Technical skills are the overriding driver followed by commercial
awareness
Retail automotive
Management and leadership skills
Chemical, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas,
nuclear
Academic/technical knowledge, practical experience, problem
solving, critical thinking, synthesis of evidence, communication and
management skills
Water, gas and electricity
Technical skills combined with a good attitude, and communication
and problem solving skills
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Sector/industry area
What employers are looking for
Waste management
Technical skills (legal requirement to be qualified to manage a
landfill site)
Teaching (at all levels)
Management and leadership, skills relating to the widening
participation agenda, ICT skills, communication skills and ability to
engage learners, subject-specific skills
Bioscience
Scientific knowledge and skills in chemistry, biological science or
mathematics, IT and management skills, knowledge of regulatory
standards, practical/work experience (degrees with industrial
placements are favoured)
Engineering
Knowledge of subject area plus work/practical experience
Building services
Different areas of technical expertise linked to an understanding of
what happens on site
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning.
C.10
C.11
When the SSCs were asked how universities should address gaps and weaknesses in graduate
skills, most emphasised the need for greater employer engagement between the HE sector and
industry. They argued that closer collaboration between employers and universities could
reduce the identified skills gaps employers in their sectors experience when recruiting
graduates. They suggested the following actions:

identify universities which are good at involving employers in the delivery of
technical skills and share this good practice within the HE sector

develop HE/employer fora to enable employers to inform curriculum design and
delivery through stronger dialogue with universities

encourage academic staff to spend more time in industry in order to understand the
working environments some of their learners will enter

improve access to a broader range of learning opportunities, including provision
which has been tailored to the employment sectors and occupations graduates intend
to enter

enable students to apply their academic learning to the world of work, and seek
excellence in both.
Overall, the view was that higher education needed to listen more to the needs of employers
in particular sectors.
Attributes valued by employers
C.12
The SSCs were asked how highly they think employers in their sectors would value each of
the three components proposed in the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes framework: academic
excellence11, skills and approach12 and readiness for life13.
11
The definition we have used for academic excellence is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “In depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationallyrecognised levels in their chosen discipline(s), a breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their
chosen discipline(s), an ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research
and inquiry; a contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas, a capacity for independent
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Academic excellence
C.13
Most of the respondent SSCs reported that employers in their sectors would value the
‘academic excellence’ attributes highly, but qualified this by noting differences between
employers in the different parts of their sectors and also between the different occupations
graduates are recruited to, drawing a distinction between sector-specific and more general
graduate roles. Only two respondent SSCs did not agree, reporting that employers in their
sectors (passenger transport and automotive retail skills) valued applied knowledge over
academic excellence.
C.14
Even so, in the passenger transport sector employers require graduates with a basic
knowledge of engineering which may be acquired at university, whereas in the automotive
retail sector employers look for graduates who are competent to work in the sector. In
contrast, the other respondent SSCs reported that employers in their sectors do value
academic excellence and recognise the benefits of recruiting a graduate with a good degree.
Skills and approach
C.15
Most of the respondent SSCs argued that employers in their sectors would value the ‘skills
and approach’ attributes as equally important to the ‘academic excellence’ attributes.
Employers in their sectors think that skills such as problem solving, communication and
working independently or as part of a team are extremely important, and would employ
graduates who have acquired these attributes at university. Some the SSCs even claimed that
strong ‘skills and approach’ attributes could compensate for deficiencies in other areas. It
was asserted that some employers will recruit business studies graduates because they often
possess these generic attributes, and go on to acquire sector-specific and technical skills,
knowledge and understanding once in employment. The SSCs also placed a strong emphasis
graduates’ ability to apply and communicate their ‘academic excellence’ attributes in a work
environment, and felt the ‘skills and approach’ attributes would help them to do this.
Readiness for life
C.16
Whilst all SSCs felt that employers in their sectors would value graduates who could
demonstrate the ‘readiness for life’ attributes, none valued these attributes more highly than
the ‘academic excellence’ or ‘skills and approach’ attributes. A few SSCs gave examples of
particular employment sectors or occupations where graduates ‘readiness for life’ attributes
would be important, for example in urban regeneration, housing services and social work.
conceptual and creative thinking and an intellectual curiosity and willingness to question accepted wisdom and to
be open to new ideas.”
12 The definition we have used for skills and approach is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and
dispassionate analysis; a capacity for informed argument and reasoning; an ability to communicate effectively for
different purposes and in different contexts; an ability to work independently or as part of a team and a diverse set
of transferable and general skills.”
13 The definition we have used for readiness for life is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and selfdirected study; an awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses and a capacity for self-discovery and
development; an awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity; an understanding of social and civic
responsibilities and of the rights of individuals and groups and a readiness for citizenship in a civilised and
inclusive society.”
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Time spent acquiring knowledge, understanding and skills outside a degree
C.17
SSCs were asked to comment on how much of an undergraduate’s time employers would
expect them to have spent on acquiring knowledge, understanding and skills outside their
degree discipline. A common theme throughout the interviews with employers was the need
for graduates to be able to demonstrate more experience on their CV than just their degree
studies, and most respondent SSCs stressed the need for graduates to be able to present
relevant work experience in their applications.
C.18
Most of the SSCs stated that it should be the role of higher education to provide graduates
with ‘skills and approach’ attributes such as leadership, management, communication,
problem solving, analytical skills etc. The respondent SSCs thought that they could be
acquired either by students spending more time in work or in their degree courses; preferably
both.
Conclusions
C.19
In general the SSCs interviewed felt that employers are looking for a good balance between
discipline-specific knowledge and practical experience; they stressed the importance of
graduates already having had some work experience by the time they have left university and
that graduates should not just rely on their degree to get a job. In terms of the skillset that
employers desire, they want graduates with management and leadership skills, the ability to
solve problems, good written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work as part
of a team. They also want graduates who are willing to learn.
C.20
However, the SSCs claimed that many of these skills and experience are missing in graduates
as they lack both experience of the world of work and the softer skills. At a sector level, two
SSCs highlighted a deficiency in technical skills reported by employers in the sectors of
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, nuclear, petroleum, polymer industries, and fashion
and textiles. The most frequently cited ‘soft skills’ that graduates do not possess include
leadership, management (including people management and interpersonal skills) and
communication skills.
C.21
The SSCs reported that employers in their sectors are keen on closer collaboration and greater
communication between employers and universities; believing that this could reduce the skills
gaps that employers are experiencing. Among the solutions put forward they suggested
making better use of best practice in employer engagement, setting up HE/employer fora,
academics spending more time in industry and improving the access to HE for employers.
C.22
In comparing the value of attributes relating to academic excellence, skills and approach, and
readiness for life, the SSCs noted that the balance in value will vary depending on the sector
and position/occupation that graduates are recruited to. However, overall the SSCs valued
academic excellence and skills and approach attributes as equally important. They claimed
that employers recognise the benefits of recruiting a graduate with a good degree but at the
same time want graduates to have skills as problem solving, communication and the ability to
work independently or as part of a team. These softer skills are extremely important and
some the SSCs felt strong skill in these areas could compensate for deficiencies in others.
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The readiness for life attributes whilst welcomed and seen as important were not as valuable
as the other two criteria.
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Annex D: Online Employer Survey
Survey methodology
Survey design
D.1
The aim of the online survey was to find out the following from a sample of graduate
employers:

background information on graduate employers: their sector, size of organisation
(number of employees and number of graduates employed, location of graduate
workforce, which Universities and subject areas they recruit graduates from

their ratings of different graduate attributes based on the list provided by the
University of Aberdeen’s Curriculum Reform Report – respondents were asked to
rate the importance of these attributes for graduate recruitments and to rate the extent
to which graduates they recruited in 2007 possessed these attributes, and

if they would be willing to participate in further telephone research.
Methodology
D.2
We used two main sources to design the questions for the online survey: the scoping
interviews with members of the Curriculum Commission who were directly asked about
which questions we should ask employers and our document review which informed us about
the skills and attributes valued by graduate recruiters
D.3
The link to the online survey was sent by various means to a sample of graduate employers:

an introduction email and the link to the online survey was sent by the University’s
Careers Services to employers who have consistently responded to events ran by the
University and to relevant employers who participate in Fairs organised by the
University’s Career Services

the link to the online survey was included in the weekly e-bulletin of the Association
of Graduate Recruiters (AGR)

some of the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) agreed to help us circulate the link to their
employers in a variety of ways: Skills Fast and Summit Skills both posted the link on
their website and Cogent and Financial Services suggested names of employers we
should contact for either the online survey or the telephone interview.
Response rates
D.4
It is difficult to calculate an accurate response rate given that it is not possible to find out how
many graduate employers viewed the link that was posted on some SSC websites.
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D.5
We received 84 responses to the online survey14 and we know that the AGR’s e-bulletin
containing the link to our online survey was sent to 653 of their graduate employers and that
the University of Aberdeen’s Career services sent an introduction email with the online
survey link to a total of 154 employers.15 These numbers give us an approximate response
rate of 10%.16
D.6
The number of respondents to each question does not always add up to the total of 84
responses to the overall survey, this is because in analysing the responses to the survey, we
have only included the valid responses for each question as not all respondents answered all
of the questions in the online survey. Each figure or table provides the total number of
respondents by question so the proportions are worked out as a percentage of responses rather
than a percentage of all respondents.
Background details on survey respondents
D.7
Overall, more than 80% of the survey respondents were part of senior management or
responsible for staff recruitment, with a significant share of respondents directly responsible
for graduate recruitment or management. From a total of 79 respondents17, 38 (48%) are
graduate recruiters or managers. Fifteen (19%) of the respondents are chief executives/
directors and ten (13%) are human resource executives or managers (Figure D-1). This
indicates that the respondents were very involved in either graduate recruitment or
recruitment strategy and therefore well qualified to comment on their organisation’s graduate
recruitment and management.
14
This number includes both complete and incomplete responses; we decided not to exclude those incomplete
responses as their responses to individual questions were still valid. All response rates in the analysis are given by
individual questions.
15 42 of which are employers that have consistently responded to events ran by the University and 112 who are
exhibitors at the Fairs run by the University’s Career services.
16 As mentioned previously, this number should be treated with caution as the link posted on the AGR’s e-bulletin
could have been seen by fewer graduate employers than those it was sent to and we do not know how many
employers might have seen the link posted on SSC websites or been sent the link in an email through their SSC.
17 It should be noted that 79 was not the total number of respondents for each question. The number of respondents
varies for each question and is specified throughout as “total respondents”.
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Positions of survey respondents
Figure D-1: Respondents by occupation
Executive Assistant
Commanding Officer
Environmental Adviser
Regional Business Adviser
Training and development
HR Executive/ Manager
Manager
Graduate recruitment director/manager
Chief executive/director
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Number of organisations
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 79 responses.
D.8
Respondents who took part in the online employer survey came from a range of industry
sectors. These are presented in Figure D-2. The most common sectors reported by
respondents are financial intermediation, construction, oil and gas exploration, public
administration and defence, legal and education. Science sectors are well represented by the
sample of employers which included two Biomedical/pharmacological organisations, three
engineering firms and three sub-sea engineering companies.
Figure D-2: Respondents by industry sectors of operation
Subsea industry/
engineering
Other
Legal
Engineering
Transport, storage
and communication
Biomedical/pharmacol
ogical
Real estate, renting
and business
activities
Construction
Public administration
and defence
Education
Oil and gas
exploration
Financial
intermediation
Manufacturing
Information
Technology
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 132 responses.
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Note: Other industries comprises of Agriculture, hunting and forestry, Fishing, Health and social work, Hotels and restaurants,
Mining and quarrying, Other community, social and personal service activities, Wholesale and retail trade, Graduate
recruitment, Leisure and sport, Marketing Information (Research) and Security.
D.9
Overall, 27 (35%) out of a total of 78 employers said they employed fewer than 250 full- and
part-time staff (Figure D-3); these are conventionally defined as small to medium enterprises
(SMEs) by the European Commission. Thirteen per cent of all employers had fewer than nine
staff and are defined as micro enterprises. Sixty five per cent of the employers have over 250
staff members and are defined as large enterprises with 49% of respondents (38 graduate
employers) having over 1001 employees. This significant proportion of larger employers in
the sample perhaps reflects that graduate employers tend to be larger employers running
formal graduate programmes. The employers surveyed represent reasonably well a range of
enterprises including large enterprises with sizeable graduate programmes.
Figure D-3: Organisations by number of employees (full time and part time) currently employed
Number of organisations
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1-9
10-25
26-50
51-100
101-250
251-500
501-1000
1001 or
over
Size of organisations (number of employees)
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 78 responses.
D.10
Half of the employers said their graduate workforce is mainly located in Scotland and a
significant proportion said they are located across the whole of the UK. Out of 84
respondents, 40 (50%) said their organisation’s graduate workforce is mainly located in
Scotland and 27 (32%) said their graduates are distributed all over the UK. Seventeen (20%)
of the respondents reported that graduates are located in parts of the UK other than Scotland
and 22 (26%) said overseas18. Single respondents reported that their organisation’s graduates
are mainly located in Afghanistan, Iraq, Luxembourg, South Africa, Hong Kong and the
USA.
18
The number of responses is greater than the number of respondents because some respondents said there was
more than one main country location for graduates in the organisation.
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Figure D-4: Employers by main locations of graduate workforce
45
Number of organisations
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Scotland
Other parts of the
UK
All of the UK
Overseas
Other
Location of graduates
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 84 responses.
A large number of employers, who said they have graduates located in Scotland, said they are
mainly located in or near Aberdeen. Out of 52 organisations with graduates located in
Scotland, 30 (58%) said they were mainly located in or near Aberdeen, 25 (48%) in or near
Edinburgh and 19 (37%) in or near Glasgow (Figure D-5) 19.
Figure D-5: Organisations by main Scotland locations of graduate workforce (respondent with graduates
located in Scotland)
Location of organisations within Scotland
D.11
All over Scotland
None
Elgin, Moray
In/near Stirling
In/near Inverness
In/near Glasgow
In/near Edinburgh
In/near Dundee
In/near Aberdeen
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Number of organisations
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 97 responses.
19
The number of responses is greater than the number of respondents because some respondents said there was
more than one main location graduates in the organisation in Scotland.
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Graduate recruitment in 2007
D.12
The most common numbers of graduates recruited in 2007 according to 63 respondent
employers was five or less per organisation (Figure D-6). Out of 63 employers who told us
how many graduates they recruited in 2007, 21 (33%) recruited between zero and five
graduates in 2007, seven (11%) recruited between six and ten graduates and 14 (22%)
recruited between 11 and 25 graduates. Seven organisations (11%) recruited in excess of 501
graduates in 2007. This means that the majority of the employers surveyed (67%) are
recruiting fairly small number of graduates, less than 25 graduates per year. The large
graduate recruiters who employ over 501 graduates every year only represented 11% of the
survey respondents.
Figure D-6: Organisations by number of graduates recruited in 2007
Number of organisations
25
20
15
10
5
0
0-5
6-10
11-25
26-50
51-100
101-250
251-500
501 +
Number of graduates recruited
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 63 responses.
D.13
Overall, recruitment plans of the surveyed employers for 2008 look very similar to 2007.
Twenty per cent of respondent employers (from a total of 64) said they are planning to recruit
fewer graduates in 2008, however this figure is exceeded by the 23% of respondents who said
they plan to recruit more graduates. From a total of 64 respondents who told us how the
number of graduates recruited in 2007 compares with planned recruitment for 2008, 36 (56%)
are planning to recruit the same number of graduates in 2008 (Figure D-7).
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Figure D-7: The graduate recruitment plans of organisations surveyed for 2008
We are planning to
recruit fewer
graduates in 2008 (13
respondents)
We are planning to
recruit the same
number of graduates
in 2008 (36
respondents)
We are planning to
recruit more
graduates in 2008 (15
respondents)
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 64 responses.
D.14
Since 2006, graduate recruitment by the surveyed employers has been expanding overall with
64% either recruiting the same number of graduates or recruiting more. From a total of 63
respondents who reported how the number of graduates recruited in 2007 compared with the
number recruited in 2006, eight (13%) said they recruited more graduates in 2006 and 23
(37%) said they recruited fewer. The majority of 32 respondents (51%) recruited the same
number of graduates in 2006 as 2007 (Figure D-8).
Figure D-8: The graduate recruitment plans of organisations surveyed in 2006 compared to 2007
We recruited fewer
graduates in 2006 (23
respondents)
We recruited the
same number of
graduates in 2006 (32
respondents)
We recruited more
graduates in 2006 (8
respondents)
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 63 responses
D.15
Amongst the respondent employers there was a predilection for recruiting graduates that live
in Scotland. Seventy one respondents answered the question, “which countries do you recruit
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graduates from?” and many of the respondents provided more than one answer to this
question. Scotland was most frequently cited (see Figure D-9).
Figure D-9: Organisations by countries they recruit graduates from
70
Number of organisations
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
England
Wales
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Overseas
Location graduates are recruited from
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 214 responses
D.16
An overwhelming majority of the surveyed employers who recruit from Scottish universities
said they recruit graduates from the University of Aberdeen. Eighty five per cent of 52
employers cited the University of Aberdeen as a Scottish university they recruit graduates
from; most of these also recruit from other universities. Close behind Aberdeen are the
Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde. Following on from these the next most
popular universities to recruit graduates from are Robert Gordon University, the University of
Dundee and Heriot Watt University (Table D-1).
Table D-1: Scottish universities graduates are recruited from
University name
Count of responses
Edinburgh College of Arts
5
Glasgow Caledonian University
18
Glasgow School of Arts
4
Heriot-Watt University
30
Napier University
22
Open University in Scotland
6
Queen Margaret University
10
Robert Gordon University
36
Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama
3
Scottish Agricultural College (SAC)
4
UHI Millennium Institute
5
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University name
Count of responses
University of Aberdeen
44
University of Abertay Dundee
14
University of Dundee
32
University of Edinburgh
37
University of Glasgow
38
University of St Andrews
27
University of Stirling
20
University of Strathclyde
37
University of the West of Scotland
8
Total respondents
52
Total responses
400
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 400 responses.
D.17
First degree level was the most frequently reported graduate level employers said they
recruited from in 2007. A significant proportion also said they recruit masters graduates. Fifty
five out of 58 respondents (95%) said they recruit first degree level graduates, whilst 35
(60%) recruit masters and 10 (17%) doctoral graduate (Figure D-10).
Figure D-10: Graduate levels employers recruit from
Number of organisations
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Undergraduate level
Master level
Doctoral level
Post graduate diploma
(Legal Practice)
Graduate Level
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 103 responses.
D.18
Respondent employers identified a wide range of different subject areas from which their
organisation recruits graduates. These are presented in Table D-2 where they have been
grouped into the three main colleges of the University of Aberdeen. Overall, subjects offered
by the College of Arts and Social Sciences were more frequently cited, on 105 occasions.
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Next, subjects offered by the College of Physical Sciences were mentioned on 80 occasions
and subjects offered by the College of Life Sciences and Medicine 34 times.
Table D-2: Subject areas employers recruit from
School
College of Arts and Social Sciences (105)
College of Physical Sciences (80)
College of Life Sciences and Medicine (34)
Subject area
Count of
responses
Accountancy and Finance
2
Business and management
32
Construction
2
Education
6
Humanities
14
Language and literature
9
Law
24
Property and surveying
3
Social sciences
13
Chemistry
10
Computing
17
Engineering
27
Geosciences
1
Maths
15
Physics
10
Biological sciences- Environmental, ecological
10
Biological sciences- Molecular, physiological
5
Leisure and sports
2
Life sciences
11
Medicine and dentistry
6
Total respondents
54
Total responses
219
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 219 responses.
Desirable graduate attributes
Graduate attributes in general
D.19
Employers were asked to rate the importance of the following general graduate attributes in
their recruitment decisions, the first four of which encapsulate the three elements of the
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes framework: ‘academic excellence’ (items A and B); ‘skills and
approach’ (C); ‘readiness for life (D).
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
A: in-depth knowledge, understanding and skills related to an applicant’s degree
discipline

B: broader knowledge, understanding and skills related to more than an applicant’s
degree discipline alone

C: transferable skills and approaches, such as problem solving, communication,
teamwork, numeracy

D: contextual understanding of different disciplines’ approaches to tackling global,
social, ethical and moral issues

E: work experience, work placements, study overseas or voluntary activities

F: foreign languages.
D.20
With very little variation across subject areas, recruiters valued graduates transferable skills
and approaches (C) as the most important general graduate attribute. By contrast, foreign
languages (F) were rated as least important. Almost equal weighting was given to graduates’
in-depth knowledge of their degree discipline (A), their broader knowledge, understanding
and skills (B), and their work experience (E). While not regarded as unimportant, employers
were more likely to be indifferent to graduates’ contextual understanding (D) than to other
attributes apart from foreign languages (F).
D.21
Graduates’ in-depth knowledge of their degree discipline (A) was more highly valued by
employers recruiting from subjects within the Colleges of Arts and Social Sciences (77%
rated this as being important or very important) and Physical Sciences (78%) than employers
recruiting from subjects within the College of Life Sciences and Medicine (59%). Employers
of graduates from this college were also less likely to be impressed by graduates’ contextual
understanding (D) than employers recruiting from the other two colleges.
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Figure D-11: Importance of certain graduate attributes (all respondents)
50
45
Number of respondents
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
Graduate Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.22
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 346 responses
Figure D-12: Importance of certain graduate attributes – College of Arts and Social Sciences
40
Number of respondents
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
Graduate Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.23
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 286 responses
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Figure D-13: Importance of certain graduate attributes – College of Physical Sciences
35
Number of respondents
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
Graduate Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.24
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 214 responses
Figure D-14: Importance of certain graduate attributes – College of Life Sciences
Number of respondents
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
Graduate Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.25
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 101 responses
D.26
Twenty-four percent (14 respondents) of graduate employers rated graduates’ foreign
languages (F) to be either important or very important. Of these, 11 respondents (79% of
those that rated (F) as important or very important) identified particular languages. Amongst
those, European languages were the most important, followed by Chinese languages and
Russian. Other languages referred to by single respondents included Azeri, Dutch, Finnish,
Indian (language not specified) and Italian.
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Figure D-15: Languages which are important to graduate recruiters
Italian
Indian
Finnish
Languages
Dutch
Azeri
Arabic
Russian
Portuguese
Chinese
Spanish
German
French
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Number of organisations
D.27
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 33 responses.
Proposed Aberdeen Graduate Attributes in particular
D.28
Employers were asked to rate the importance of the 17 more detailed attributes presented
within the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes framework under the following headings: ‘academic
excellence’; ‘skills and approach’; and ‘readiness for life’. High-level employer responses to
these categories of graduate attributes have been discussed above (together with employers’
views of the importance of graduates’ work experience and foreign languages). In this
section we look consider how employers value each element within the three categories which
comprise the framework. For convenience, the 17 attributes have been coded in the figures
presented in this section as follows:
Table D-3: Coding of Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Coding for
figures
Academic Excellence attributes
In depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationally recognised levels in
their chosen disciplines
A
Breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their chosen disciplines
B
An ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research and
inquiry
C
A contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas
D
A capacity for independent conceptual and creative thinking
E
An intellectual curiosity and willingness to question accepted wisdom and to be open to new ideas
F
Skills and Approach attributes
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Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
Coding for
figures
A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and dispassionate
analysis
G
A capacity for informed argument and reasoning
H
An ability to communicate effectively for different purposes and in different contexts
I
An ability to work independently or as part of a team
J
A diverse set of transferable and general skills
K
Readiness for Life attributes
An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and self-directed study
L
An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses and a capacity for self-discovery and
development
M
An awareness and appreciation of ethical and moral issues
N
An awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity
O
An understanding of social and civic responsibilities and of the rights of individuals and groups
P
A readiness for citizenship in a civilised and inclusive society
Q
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning
Academic Excellence
D.29
Employers provided a clear ranking of importance for the different graduate attributes within
the ‘academic excellence’ group (see Figure D-16). All attributes in this group were rated
highly, but with some subtle differences. Employers strongly valued graduates’ independent
conceptual and creative thinking (E), intellectual curiosity (F) and research skills (C) over the
depth (A) or breath (B) of their subject knowledge, understanding and skills. Almost all
(94%) respondents regarded the first two attributes (E and F) as being particularly important.
Graduates’ in-depth subject knowledge, understanding and skills (A) was regarded as the least
important attribute, next to graduates’ contextual understanding (D), although all attributes
generally were rated highly.
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Figure D-16: Ratings of importance of ‘Academic Excellence’ Attributes
35
Number of respondents
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
Academ ic Excellence Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.30
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 318 responses
Skills and Approach
D.31
Reflecting the importance given to transferable skills (discussed above), graduate recruiters
rated all of the ‘skills and approach’ attributes (Figure D-17) even more highly than the
‘academic excellence’ attributes (Figure D-16). Amongst these generally high ratings,
graduates’ communication skills (I) and their ability to work independently and as part of a
team (J) stand out as being particularly important to employers.
Figure D-17: Ratings of importance of ‘Skills and Approach’ Attributes
45
40
Number of respondents
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
G
H
I
J
K
Skills and Approach Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.32
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 263 responses
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Readiness for Life
D.33
Again, employers rated all of the attributes in this group highly, but less so than either the
‘academic excellence’ or ‘skills and approach’ attributes. Reflecting the training which many
employers provide for their graduate recruits, the most important attributes in this group for
employers were graduates’ self awareness and ability to develop (M) followed by their
openness to lifelong learning (L). The attribute which interested employers least was
graduates’ readiness for citizenship (Q).
Figure D-18: Ratings of importance of ‘Readiness for Life’ Attributes
Number of respondents
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
L
M
N
O
P
Q
Readiness for Life Attributes
Very important (1)
Important (2)
Indifferent (3)
Unimportant (4)
D.34
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 322 responses
Extent to which graduates recruited in 2007 possessed these graduates attributes
D.35
Overall, graduate employers felt that the graduates they recruited in 2007 possessed these
graduate attributes (Figure D-19). Eighty percent of graduate employers rated graduates’
academic excellence as either excellent or good (33% excellent and 47% good), 78% rated
their skills and approach attributes as either excellent or good (33% and 45% respectively)
and 59% rated their readiness for life attributes as either excellent or good (14% and 45%
respectively).
D.36
Only 2 % of graduate recruiters rated graduates’ academic excellence as poor whilst 6% and
8% rated their skills and approach attributes and readiness for life attributes as poor
respectively.
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Figure D-19: Extent to which graduates recruited in 2007 possessed these graduate attributes
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Excellent
Good
Academic excellence attributes
Satisfactory
Poor
Skills and approach attributes
Don't know
Readiness for life attributes
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 51 respondents
Importance of these graduate attributes in the next 10-15 years
D.37
An overwhelming majority of graduate employers rated these graduate attributes as either
very important or important in the next 10-15 years (Figure D-20). Ninety-three percent felt
academic excellence would be either very important or important (38% and 55% respectively)
compared with 98% who felt skills and approach would be very important or important (64%
and 33% respectively) and 88% rating readiness for life attributes as either very important or
important (60% and 29% respectively).
Figure D-20: Importance of these graduate attributes in the next 10-15 years
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Very important
Important
Academic excellence attributes
Indifferent
Unimportant
Skills and approach attributes
Don't know
Readiness for life attributes
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Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 42 respondents
Amount of time undergraduates should spent on acquiring knowledge, understanding and
skills outside their degree discipline
D.38
When asked how much of undergraduates’ time should be spent on acquiring knowledge,
understanding and skills outside their degree discipline, just two out of 53 respondents said
over 50% of the time and two said less than 10% of the time. A majority felt that between
10% and 50% of the time would be preferable. Reflecting the findings in the employer
telephone interviews, a larger proportion (19 respondents representing 36% of the sample) felt
that between 21% and 30% of an undergraduates’ time would be most preferable. This
indicates that the 25% of time proposed by the University would be acceptable to many
employers.
Figure D-21: Employers’ views on the amount of time undergraduates should spend on acquiring
knowledge, understanding and skills outside of their degree disciplines
More than 50% (2
respondents)
0-10% (2
respondents)
31-50% (17
respondents)
11-20% (13
respondents)
21-30% (19
respondents)
D.39
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning. Base: 53 respondents.
Conclusions
Characteristics of respondents
D.40
Most of the survey respondents were part of senior management or responsible for staff
recruitment and came from a range of industry sectors. The respondents surveyed represented
a wide range of enterprise sizes with micro enterprises of less than nine employees and
organisations of 1001 staffs and over all represented although an overwhelming majority of
graduate employers came from larger organisation (65% of graduate employers have from
251 to 1001 and more employees).
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D.41
The number of graduates recruited by respondents in 2007 varied widely with a majority of
graduate employers recruiting less than 25 graduates a year and some recruiting more than
501.
D.42
Fifty percent of respondents indicated that their graduate workforce is mainly located in
Scotland with 58% of those stating that their graduate workforce is mainly located in or near
Aberdeen.
D.43
Scotland was the most often cited country from which graduate employers recruit from. A
majority of graduate recruiters who recruit from Scotland stated that they recruited graduates
from the University of Aberdeen (85% of employers who recruit graduates that live in
Scotland).
D.44
A majority of respondents were planning to recruit the same number of graduates in 2008
than they did in 2007 (56%) and overall, graduate employers had been expanding their
graduate recruitment since 2006 by either recruiting the same number of graduates or
recruiting more.
D.45
Graduate employers were also most likely to be recruiting graduates at undergraduate level,
95% compared with 60% recruiting at Masters level and 17% recruiting at doctoral level.
D.46
Overall, graduate employers were most likely to be recruiting graduates from subject areas
offered by the College of Arts and Social Sciences (cited on 105 occasions). In comparison,
subjects offered by the College of Physical Sciences were mentioned 8 times and subjects
offered by the College of Life Sciences and Medicine were cited 34 times by graduate
employers.
What employers want from graduates
D.47
Across all graduate employers, the general attribute that was most valued was “transferable
skills and approaches” whilst foreign languages were rated as least important.
D.48
Graduates’ in depth knowledge of their degree discipline was most highly valued by
employers recruiting from subjects within the Colleges of Arts and Social Sciences and
Physical Sciences than by employers recruiting from subjects within the College of Life
Sciences and Medicine.
What employers think of the proposed Aberdeen Graduate Attributes
D.49
All of the attributes within the “Academic excellence” attributes were rated highly by
respondents. The two attributes that were rated most highly within this strand were: “a
capacity for independent conceptual and creative thinking” and “an intellectual curiosity and
willingness to question accepted wisdom and to be open to new ideas”. In contract, “in depth
subject knowledge, understanding and skills” was regarded as the least important attribute.
D.50
All of the “skills and approach” attributes were rated really highly by respondents, even more
highly than the “academic excellence” attributes. The two attributes that were rated most
highly within this strand were: “graduates’ communication skills” and “their ability to work
independently and as part of a team”.
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D.51
“Readiness for life attributes” were also rated highly but less so than either the “academic
excellence” or “skills and approach” attributes. Employers rated most highly those attributes
that related to graduates’ commitment to learning and develop with the following attributes
being cited as most important: “graduates’ self-awareness and ability to develop” and “their
openness to lifelong learning”.
D.52
Overall, graduate employers felt that the graduates they recruited in 2007 possessed these
graduate attributes. An overwhelming majority of graduate employers rated these graduate
attributes as either very important or important in the next 10-15 years with “skills and
approach” and “academic excellence” attributes slightly more important than “readiness for
life attributes”.
Amount of time that should be spent on acquiring knowledge, understanding
and skills outside degree discipline
D.53
A majority of graduate employers felt that between 10% and 50% should spent acquiring
knowledge, understanding and skills outside an undergraduate’s degree discipline and a larger
proportion felt that between 21% and 30% of an undergraduates’ time would be most
preferable. This indicates that the 25% of time proposed by the University would be
acceptable to many employers.
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Annex E: Telephone Employer Survey
Survey methodology
E.1
We carried out 23 telephone interviews with graduate recruiters. Most had been sent the
online survey and following its completion had volunteered to take part in a telephone
interview. The remainder were either contacted directly through the lists of employers sent to
us by the Careers Service of the University or had been suggested by other interviewees20.
E.2
The aim of the telephone interviews was to complement the online survey findings by
collecting more in-depth qualitative information on the views of graduate employers on the
following:

the skills and attributes they are looking for in graduates

the skills gap they have identified in current graduates

their rationale for recruiting graduates including whether they offer extensive training
to graduates and whether they consider this to be filling gaps left by higher education,
and

for those graduate employers who recruit Aberdeen graduates only, their rationale for
recruiting Aberdeen graduates and their views on their current attributes.
Profile of respondents
E.3
The following table and figure show the breakdown of interviewees by sector.
Unsurprisingly given the fact that a many of interviewees had been contacted through the
Career Service of the University, a majority of graduate employers was from the oil and gas
exploration/general engineering sector.
Table E-1: Interviewees by sector
Sector
Number of respondents
Percentage of total
Oil and gas exploration/general engineering
8
35%
Finance
3
13%
Legal
2
9%
Real estate/property
2
9%
British army
1
4%
Sports and leisure
1
4%
Health and social work
1
4%
Public administration
1
4%
Information Technology
1
4%
20
These included members of the Curriculum Reform Commission of the University of Aberdeen whom we
interviewed during the scoping stage of the research project, and also interviewed Sector Skills Councils.
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Sector
Number of respondents
Percentage of total
Bioscience
1
4%
Childcare
1
4%
More than one sector
1
4%
Total
23
100%
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning
Figure E-1: Interviewees by sector
Childcare, 4%
More than one sector,
4%
Bioscience, 4%
Oil and gas
exploration/general
engineering, 35%
Real estate/property,
9%
Information
Technology, 4%
Public administration,
4%
Health and social
work, 4%
Legal, 9%
Sports and leisure,
4%
Finance, 13%
Defence, 4%
Source: SQW (2008) Aberdeen approach to learning
What employers are looking for in graduates
Attributes employers want from graduates
E.4
Graduate employers had different views about the attributes and skills that they want from
graduates. Those employers in the oil and gas exploration/general engineering, Information
Technology (IT) and legal sectors are first of all looking for graduates with the relevant
technical degrees and academic skills. However, all of these employers also stressed that a
good relevant degree or good academic skills are not enough and that there are other generic
or ‘soft’ skills that they also require graduates to have in order to succeed in their
organisation.
E.5
In that respect, graduate employers across all sectors had similar expectations in terms of the
skills and attributes that they are looking for in graduates. The following skills were
identified as being important21:

communication skills
21
This list is not organised in order of importance. It is an exhaustive list of all the skills that respondent
employers identified as being important.
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
a good degree (good grade) and/or relevant qualification (specified by graduate
employers in oil and gas exploration/general engineering and the IT sectors)

ability to work in teams/good interpersonal skills

drive/motivation, graduates who are ‘self-starters’

initiative

relevant work experience (work, placement, internship)

cultural awareness

commitment to delivering quality

future-oriented

ability to work to deadlines/time management/prioritisation

good IT skills

numeracy and literacy skills

analytical and problem solving skills

leadership/management/negotiation skills.
Skills and attributes that are lacking in current graduates
E.6
Of the 23 graduate employers interviewed, eight felt that graduates possess the skills and
attributes they are looking for, three felt that they did not at all and 14 had mixed views, often
pointing to positive skills and attributes graduates had brought to their organisation whilst
also highlighting graduates’ skills shortages and gaps. The respondent employers identified
the following positive graduate skills and:

good academic/technical knowledge

good oral communication: face-to-face, speaking in groups and presentations

good team work

good at working independently

good IT and administration skills

self-awareness and knowledge/interest of what is happening in the world

proactive and innovative, although they often need to be prompted

good time management

basic analytical skills.
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E.7
Four of the graduate employers we interviewed mentioned that they felt that graduates were
often ill-prepared to apply for jobs in both the application and interview stage. Graduates do
not always carry out research on the company before applying, and this shows in some
graduate applications. In addition, it was mentioned that graduates did not always perform
well at interview, failing to come up with relevant examples of their skills and experience
when questioned and unable to sell their skills in a professional manner.
E.8
Amongst the skills and attributes that graduate employers felt were lacking in current
graduates were the following, in order of importance:
E.9

poor communication skills (especially written skills): a few of the graduate employers
mentioned ‘report writing’ as an important skill that graduates lacked, and stressed
the lack of literacy skills, spelling and grammar in particular

bad attitude to work: one interviewee mentioned graduates talking amongst
themselves during company presentations, another mentioned time-keeping and what
graduates wear to work as an issue; another cited a ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude of
some graduates

lack of maturity, enthusiasm and ambition

absence of a ‘hands-on’ attitude, inability to face up to challenges

no business acumen and commercial awareness

little knowledge of a foreign language

weak numeracy

limited work experience/practical experience.
Five graduate employers mentioned communication skills as lacking in graduates, three
mentioned attitude to work and two mentioned general maturity, enthusiasm and ambition.
Academic excellence
E.10
Graduate employers were asked how highly they valued the ‘academic excellence’22 attributes
proposed in the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes framework. Overall, most graduate employers
valued ‘academic excellence’ to some extent. Some valued the subject-specific knowledge
more than others, and most stressed the importance of a graduate’s ability to apply his/her
technical/academic knowledge in the workplace. However, even amongst those graduate
employers who valued academic excellence and subject-specific knowledge highly, there was
a consensus that this knowledge alone was not enough. One interviewee summarised this
point succinctly in stating: ‘the technical skills are core in terms of what we look for but it is
22
The definition we have used for academic excellence is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “In depth and extensive knowledge, understanding and skills at internationallyrecognised levels in their chosen discipline(s), a breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills beyond their
chosen discipline(s), an ability to participate in the creation of new knowledge and understanding through research
and inquiry; a contextual understanding of past and present knowledge and ideas, a capacity for independent
conceptual and creative thinking and an intellectual curiosity and willingness to question accepted wisdom and to
be open to new ideas.”
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not just about that, if they do not have social skills and if they can’t communicate effectively
in client situations then that is no good.’
E.11
Most of the respondent graduate employers also valued highly the skills that are derived from
higher-level studying, such as inquisitiveness, willingness to learn, research skills, critical
thinking, ability to form an argument, and intellectual curiosity.
Skills and approach
E.12
Graduate employers were asked how highly they valued the proposed ‘skills and approach’23
graduate attributes. These attributes were more highly valued than attributes in the other parts
of the framework. As one graduate employer commented:
To me, these skills are more important than the academic skills.
Candidates that have these attributes are the best candidates that can
come in. University is just a minor part of life, so it is about how they take
that experience and knowledge and apply it to the workplace.
E.13
Graduate employers especially value graduates who can work in teams and communicate
effectively. These were the most cited skills that graduate employers value; many employers
saw such skills as being vital because their organisation required regular client contact and/or
their staff need to work with other teams within their organisation. As one graduate recruiter
remarked: ‘you cannot work in any organisation if you cannot engage with people and talk
with people in an appropriate manner’.
E.14
Other skills relevant to these attributes valued by graduate employers included the following:

commitment to self-development

ability to work independently

ability to think differently/critically/analytically

general interpersonal skills.
Readiness for life
E.15
Graduate employers were asked how highly they valued the ‘readiness for life’24 attributes in
graduates. Interviewees were more divided in their response than they had been in response to
the other attributes in the framework. Several stated that possessing ‘readiness for life’
attributes would communicate to employers that a graduate is mature and serious about
his/her personal development. As one graduate recruiter stated: ‘the graduates that we recruit
23
The definition we have used for skills and approach is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “A capacity for problem identification, the collection of evidence, synthesis and
dispassionate analysis; a capacity for informed argument and reasoning; an ability to communicate effectively for
different purposes and in different contexts; an ability to work independently or as part of a team and a diverse set
of transferable and general skills.”
24 The definition we have used for readiness for life is taken from the first Curriculum Commission report and
includes the following attributes: “An openness to, and an interest in, life-long learning through directed and selfdirected study; an awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses and a capacity for self-discovery and
development; an awareness and appreciation of social and cultural diversity; an understanding of social and civic
responsibilities and of the rights of individuals and groups and a readiness for citizenship in a civilised and
inclusive society.”
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need to be very motivated and keen to develop themselves; we can’t hold their hands the
whole time when they are here so they need to be keen to develop themselves’.
E.16
A few of the interviewees also mentioned that it was really important for them to recruit
graduates with a commitment to lifelong learning as their sector and organisation was
constantly changing and in need of a workforce willing to update and up-skill itself. In
addition, many of the employers valued morals and ethics highly because these form an
important part of their organisational culture.
E.17
All of the graduate employers who felt that the ‘readiness for life’ attributes were very
important said that this is because their organisation requires graduates to work abroad and/or
to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds. These graduate employers
therefore require graduates who are open-minded and culturally-aware in order to fit well into
their organisation. One interviewee made this point:
A lot of places where we work are different, both culturally and languagewise to the ones where our graduates are from, so it is important that
when they move to a new country, they get along and do not cause
problems by having arrogant attitudes and being these flashy Westerners.
Balance to be struck between the attributes of academic knowledge, skills and
approach and readiness for life
E.18
Graduate employers were asked whether they felt it would be acceptable to reduce the amount
of time an undergraduate spends on developing the ‘academic excellence’ attributes in order
to develop the ‘skills and approach’ and ’readiness for life’ attributes. Seven respondents felt
that it would, three that it would not, and the remaining 13 expressed mixed views.
E.19
Of those graduate employers who had mixed views, one strongly felt that graduates studying
for vocational degrees such as medicine and engineering should not see their
technical/academic knowledge compromised and that the amount of time they spend on
acquiring this knowledge should be upheld. Other employers felt that the ‘readiness for life’
attributes should be delivered within subject-specific contexts rather than as ‘bolt-on’ courses.
In addition, some were of the opinion that graduates would be able to gain most of these skills
through work experience or internships, and that this would make them ‘stand out’ and be
more attractive to employers as they would have had some experience of the world of work
and of applying their academic knowledge to ‘real life situations’.
E.20
Although most graduate employers found it difficult to comment on the balance that should
be struck between the ‘academic excellence’, ‘skills and approach’ and ‘readiness for life’
attributes, the average balance suggested by the 10 interviewees who were able to comment
was 72% of time for developing ‘academic excellence’ and 28% for developing ‘skills and
approach’ and ‘readiness for life’ attributes. Half of these graduate employers went so far as
to suggest a ratio of 50:50 between developing ‘academic excellence’ versus ‘skills and
approach’ and ‘readiness for life’ attributes.
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Internal graduate development
Rationale for recruiting graduates
E.21
Employers were asked if they were planned to recruit graduates for the medium-to-long term
or just for the next two-to-three years. All but two responded that they planned to recruit
graduates for the long term. Most mentioned that they employed graduates for the long term
because they invest a lot of time and money in them. One employer stated that his rationale
for employing graduates was that ‘over the long term the returns make the whole process
worthwhile’ whilst another put it more bluntly by saying that ‘we invest in them a lot so we
need them to pay it back by working here’. However, many graduate employers
acknowledged that graduates tend to change jobs quickly in the first stages of their career.
Training provided
E.22
Eighteen out of the 23 graduate employers we interviewed (78%) offered significant training
to graduates and the remaining five offered some form of training. The type of training
provided was essentially technical and company-specific the majority, with some elements
(e.g. communication, writing and presentation skills, and project management) focused on
skills development. Graduate employers were asked whether they felt the training they
provide to graduates is ‘filling gaps’ which should have been addressed by their studies at
university. Eleven of our interviewees felt that their graduate training did not fill gaps, eight
had mixed views and four felt that it did fill gaps. The responses can be explained as follows:

Not gap filling - those graduate employers who felt their training did not fill gaps left
by higher education all stated that they provided specific training which was aimed at
developing graduates for their role in the organisation and meeting sector- or
occupation-specific skills needs, and did expect universities to develop these skills

Filling gaps - all of the four graduate employers who felt that their training was
filling gaps left by higher education thought that ‘soft skills’ in graduates were of an
inadequately low level and that their training had to bring them up to speed in this
area; one suggested that work experience/internships would be a valuable way to fill
in the ‘soft skills’ gaps

Mixed views - these graduate employers felt that that graduates’ skills were adequate
but that more could be done at university in areas such as data analysis, report writing
and presentations; some of the gaps left by higher education could be filled by doing
work placements/internships; although most of the relevant skills were there, some
gaps remained to be filled by company training in terms of practical and cultural
skills to make graduates more rounded individuals.
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Employers who recruit from Aberdeen University
Reasons for recruiting graduates from Aberdeen University
E.23
E.24
Sixteen of the respondent graduate employers (70% of interviewees) had experience of
recruiting or interviewing Aberdeen graduates. These graduate employers offered the
following reasons for recruiting Aberdeen graduates:

the University teaches courses which are relevant to our organisation

the University is local

Aberdeen graduates have the right skills set for our organisation

the University has a good reputation and is going up in the league tables

the University’s engineering department is well respected

they have previous experience of recruiting from the University.
One graduate recruiter’s rationale for recruiting from Aberdeen University was the following:
Three reasons: we’re looking for individuals who will want to stay with
the company, so local recruitment is preferable and Aberdeen is the local
University; the standard and quality of teaching by Aberdeen is very high
which means that it produces strong graduates; as a business there are
centres of research excellence at the University which we want to link into
where the research needs overlap and there are areas of common interest.
Aberdeen graduates help to maintain this link because they will have been
taught in these areas.
Attributes that Aberdeen graduates brought to the job
E.25
Some of the graduate employers who had experience of recruiting or interviewing Aberdeen
graduates felt unable to comment on what attributes Aberdeen graduates had brought to the
job as they felt their views would relate to particular individuals rather than to the University
they had attended. Other graduate employers who could comment mentioned the following
attributes: open-mindedness; good academic background; good technical knowledge;
analytical skills; good team working skills; problem solving and communication skills;
familiarity with the research environment; good writing skills; a willingness to learn; and
work experience for some of graduates.
E.26
Two graduate employers also felt that some Aberdeen graduates lacked ‘worldliness’ and that
this could be corrected by including more field trips within the curriculum. They also felt that
some graduates were not always well-prepared for interviews.
E.27
Only two graduate employers felt able to comment on how Aberdeen graduates compared
with graduates from other universities. One of them stated that the University offered a
degree that was highly relevant to their company and that Aberdeen graduates therefore had
the right technical knowledge compared to other graduates. Another felt that Aberdeen
University was less focused on analytical skills applicable across subjects and specifics that
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relate to the type of work their organisation was involved in compared to graduates from other
universities. It is difficult to generalise from these particular examples.
Conclusions
E.28
Graduate employers had different views about the attributes they would like from graduates.
Employers recruiting from the more vocational subjects, such as engineering, law and IT,
required relevant subject and sector-specific skills, knowledge and understanding. Other
employers were most interested in recruiting graduates with well developed ‘soft skills’.
However, even those employers recruiting graduates from the more vocational subjects also
wanted well developed ‘soft skills’ in addition to academic excellence.
E.29
A majority of graduate employers had mixed views on whether current graduates possess the
skills and attributes they need. Skills they felt were lacking in graduates included the
following: good attitude to work; communication skills; maturity; a ‘hands on’ approach to
work; knowledge of a foreign language; numeracy; business acumen/commercial awareness;
and work/practical experience.
E.30
‘Academic excellence’ attributes were valued by all graduate employers to some extent.
However many stressed the importance of graduates being able to apply these attributes in the
workplace. Graduate employers valued ‘skills and approach’ attributes very highly, and
highlighted in particular the importance graduates who can work in teams and work
independently, have developed interpersonal skills and the ability to think independently/
critically/ analytically. They were more divided about the ‘readiness for life’ attributes, with
some valuing them highly because they would make graduates more mature and committed to
their personal development, and others felt that the graduates they recruit should have ethics
and morals in line with their organisation.
E.31
Graduate employers also had mixed views on whether it would be acceptable to reduce the
amount of time spent on developing ‘academic excellence’ in order to accommodate ‘skills
and approach’ and ‘readiness for life’ attributes. Those who felt it would be unacceptable
stated that degrees in vocational subjects need the right amount of academic/technical
knowledge and that this should not be compromised. Others felt that the more generic
attributes should be delivered in subject contexts or that work experience/internships would
be an ideal way of acquiring them.
E.32
When asked about the balance to be struck between the proportion of time which should be
devoted to developing non-‘academic excellence’ attributes, this ranged widely from 10% to
50% among the 10 respondent employers. However the 25% of undergraduate time proposed
by the University for this purpose is close to the average across these employer responses.
E.33
An overwhelming majority of respondent graduate employers offered significant training to
their graduates and the remainder also offered some form of training. A majority felt that
their training did not fill gaps that should have been addressed by higher education. They
acknowledged that their training was often company-specific and aimed at forming graduates
to their specific role in their organisation.
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E.34
A majority of respondent graduate employers had experience of recruiting graduates from
Aberdeen University. Their reasons for targeting graduates from Aberdeen University
included the following: the University teaches relevant courses to our organisation; the
University is based local and having previous experience of recruiting from Aberdeen. Those
graduate employers able to comment on the attributes Aberdeen graduates had brought to the
job mentioned the following: open-mindedness, good team working skills, good technical
knowledge, and familiarity with the research environment.
E-10