A Cross Country Study on University Graduates Key Competencies. An Employer‘s Perspective

Abstract

Job markets are calling out for change. Realizing the gap between the levels of university-acquired and job-required competencies and following consultations with representatives of employers from various industries and students, universities across the world have been working on development of innovative education systems based on skills and competencies. Although not yet fully aligned, heterogeneous, multicultural and multi ethnic, the European Union education system is facing with continuous challenges. This paper aims at undertaking a comparative analysis of the degree in which higher education institutions from the United Kingdom and Romania (mainly universities and academies) are meeting the expectations of employers, with a special focus on knowledge, skills and competencies of young university graduates employed in two highly dynamic industries that are mixing technical and social areas of knowledge and skills: agro-food and tourism. The research was based on a structured interview survey with managers from agro-food and tourism companies that have young graduates in their staff. The main conclusions are that universities/academies need to improve their existing curriculum through enhancing competencies related to communication, team working, technical expertise, customer satisfaction, multi-criteria decision making, language and multicultural working environments.