Importance of Generic Skills of ICT Graduates—Employers, Teaching Staff, and Students Perspective

Abstract

Contribution: This study explores employers, university teaching staff, and student perceptions of the importance of the generic skills of information and communication technology (ICT) graduates. Background: The generic skills mastery of ICT graduates has been an important topic for many years and it still is nowadays, especially in the context of educating ICT professionals for unknown future jobs. A comprehensive view of the importance of the generic skills from the perspective of three main stakeholder groups, as presented in this study, provides a basis for educators globally to make further steps in the provision and assessment of the most important generic skills of ICT students within higher education curricula. Research Questions: This research addresses three simple, but important questions: 1) when hiring recent ICT graduates, how important are their broader employability skills (generic/soft/transferable skills) comparing to the specific professional, technical, or academic knowledge and skills that come with graduation? 2) which generic skills of ICT graduates are the most important? and 3) do ICT graduates possess the most important generic skills? Methodology: Research was conducted in Croatia, by using an online survey among 155 employers who employ ICT professionals, 208 students, and 49 teaching staff from two Croatian higher education institutions (HEIs). It was supported by the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Croatian Employers' Association, and Croatian Independent Software Exporters. Findings: Research results show that: 1) generic skills of ICT graduates are very important; 2) the three most important skills, as recognized by all three stakeholder groups are ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge; ability to apply knowledge in practical situations; and ability to identify and resolve problems; and 3) the perception of graduates' possession of generic skills varies among three stakeholders groups.