Member Article

Skills more valuable than a degree post-Brexit

The uncertainty of Brexit means businesses are under increased pressure to remain commercially valuable, which has resulted in less time being readily available to get new recruits up to speed, especially when this time could be spent in more profitable areas of the business. This additional pressure on businesses is set to exaggerate the already profound skills gap, meaning graduates have to work even harder to prove they possess the business acumen desired by employers.

The CBI and Pearson’s Education and Skills research recently revealed that 77% of businesses predict they will have more job openings over the coming years, for those with a high skills set, however, 69% of those businesses believe there will not be enough skilled people to fill these jobs. This concern is supported by a recent YouGov report which highlighted the importance of a high skills set. 17% of employers found that all the graduates they interviewed were not fit for the job. The data also revealed that only 1 in 5 businesses prefer academic qualifications alone, therefore, developing the right skills and attitudes is critical for a successful transition from higher education to the world of work - just having a degree alone won’t cut it.

To set themselves out from the crowd, graduates need to focus on developing the skills they are not taught at university - the real life, real world, transferable skills they can develop outside of university and take into their first job. Today’s graduates are innovative, entrepreneurial and have great potential but a huge barrier to getting a job is their lack of experience and knowledge about the world of business. They need skills that make an impression and deliver brilliance from day one.

Some of the most obvious skills, which you would think graduates would learn at university, are applied in a totally different way when it comes to the workplace. For instance;

TEAMWORK - Graduates may be used to working with other people whilst at university but, unlike at university, teamwork in the workplace is not a chance to help you get to know each other, it is a fundamentally important skill to ensure you can get a job done well. Graduates will be tested when met with a group of completely new people who have to work to strict deadlines and personal agendas. The ability to draw on your colleague’s strengths and identify their weaknesses, and how to work around them, takes skill and practice. The success of any team will be dependent on the skills they have and how they are applied, so a candidate that will stand out from the crowd will be the one who is strategically aware, able to divide roles and responsibilities effectively and knows how to work efficiently in order to complete the task.

ANALYSIS & INVESTIGATION - These are skills a graduate may have begun to develop whilst completing coursework and dissertations during their time at university. However, in the workplace, the type of analysis and investigation will vary dependent on the role, the organisation, and the desired end result . Therefore, learning the basic analytical and investigative methods and, more importantly, how to transfer these into any situation will set them ahead of the rest.

LEADERSHIP - Leading a project is something most graduates may not have experienced much at university, other than in team building exercises. Transitioning into the working world, a graduate will be at a great advantage if they can show an employer they possess leadership qualities. Employers want someone who can hit the ground running and be a true asset from their very first day, as graduates may be expected to head up a project and manage people more senior and junior than themselves. With no experience, this can be a struggle.

The most successful graduates are those that go out of their way to harness and develop skills that will give them a step up over their competition. By doing so, they demonstrate their initiative and drive to succeed. Unless someone teaches graduates these essential skills, they’ll be one step behind in the race for employment and will struggle to land a job in the highly competitive job market. With the implications of Brexit still unclear, graduates must start honing in and developing these skills sooner rather than later. Flying Start XP was created for this very purpose. We take graduates on an experiential journey of self-awareness, realisation, and learning that encourages them to grasp opportunities and become the next generation of brilliant business leaders. Our business-ready courses build on our students’ natural potential, providing an essential grounding in the skills and attitude that top employers are looking for.

James Prior, Business Consultant and Founder of Flying Start XP

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by James Prior .