Transversal Competencies for Employability: From Higher Education to the Labour Market

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Abstract

Aligning learning goals with the needs of the labour market is a difficult task for universities, especially in the present day. Although organisations seek professionals with flexible and varied skills, universities often underestimate the importance of cross-curricular skills. Thus, this article aims to identify the perception of recent graduates as to the importance of the transversal skills that they acquired and developed at university and the ways in which they are now applied in the work environment. In this exploratory study, we sent a questionnaire to recent graduates that allowed us to analyse the development and applicability of these competencies in organisations. The results are further discussed within the broader framework of how universities adapt to the strong socio-economic challenges that characterise current times and the integration of recent graduates into the labour market.

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Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace

Marcel M. Robles (2012)

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Self-knowledge: its limits, value, and potential for improvement.

Casey W. Dunn, Machelle D. Wilson (2003)

Because of personal motives and the architecture of the mind, it may be difficult for people to know themselves. People often attempt to block out unwanted thoughts and feelings through conscious suppression and perhaps through unconscious repression, though whether such attempts are successful is controversial. A more common source of self-knowledge failure is the inaccessibility of much of the mind to consciousness, including mental processes involved in perception, motor learning, personality, attitudes, and self-esteem. Introspection cannot provide a direct pipeline to these mental processes, though some types of introspection may help people construct beneficial personal narratives. Other ways of increasing self-knowledge include looking at ourselves through the eyes of others and observing our own behavior. These approaches can potentially promote self-knowledge, although major obstacles exist. It is not always advantageous to hold self-perceptions that correspond perfectly with reality, but increasing awareness of nonconscious motives and personality is generally beneficial.