A survey of the generic graduate skills that the Central University of Technology Radiography graduates need for the world of work

Abstract

The issue of Generic Skills has received considerable attention over the past few years as universities, in their response to calls for accountability, need to articulate and demonstrate the achievement of these (Barrie, 2005: 1). In recent years, employers and their representatives consistently demand that their employees must possess a range of personal and intellectual attributes. These include attributes beyond those traditionally made explicit in programmes of study in higher education institutions (Harvey, 2000:7). Universities describe these graduate qualities differently, resulting in a variety of terms used to target the same attribute (Barrie, 2006:218). This diversity of descriptions prompts questions as to the extent to what stakeholders in the Radiography programme understand by the term generic graduate skills. One of the major goals was to explore what the stakeholders involved in academic and work-based learning as well as radiography students identified as generic graduate skills radiography students must obtain during their studies to prepare them adequately for the world of work. Findings from this study agreed on the importance of higher education to be informed of expectations from employees in order to respond to the need of preparing students adequately for future job tasks and contributions to society. In addition to this. the study also identified the particular generic skills stakeholders regard essential for students entering the profession.