Higher Education as a Generator of Strategic Competences Ljubljana, Mednarodna valorizacijska konferenca v okviru programa vseživljenjsko učenje, CMEPIUS 8. december 2011 Samo Pavlin, University of Ljubljana

Higher Education as a Generator of Strategic Competences Ljubljana, Mednarodna valorizacijska konferenca v okviru programa vseživljenjsko učenje, CMEPIUS 8. december 2011 Samo Pavlin, University of Ljubljana

HEGESCO Project (1) Short for Higher Education as a Generator of Strategic Competences Which competences are needed for successful entry into the labour market? Consortium: 6 partners Financed by EU Erasmus Lifelong Learning program Five interrelated steps: Large scale survey among graduates Qualitative surveys among HE representatives and employers Dissemination of results

HEGESCO Project (2) Graduate survey based on methodology of earlier survey REFLEX (and its predecessor CHEERS) REFLEX: Transition from HE to work in 15 European countries + Japan; HEGESCO extension to Eastern Europe; PROFLEX extension to South America Gross frame graduates 5 years after leaving HE Response rate around 33 % Information on career in HE and transition to labour market, personal characteristics etc

Structure of the main HEGESCO report Higher Education Experiences (Program characteristics; Modes of teaching and learning; Study behavior; Experiences acquired during higher education) The Transition and Early Career (Transition; Current labour force status; Quality of employment; Evaluation of study programme) The Role of Higher Education in Producing Relevant Competences (Required and acquired competences; Strong and weak points of study programme; Determinants of competencies) The World of Work and the Demand for Competences (Characteristics of work organizations; Characteristics of jobs; The effect of organizational and job characteristics on the demand for competences)

Structure of the secondary HEGESCO report Key Competences of Graduates to Function Well in the Workplace and Society Responsibility for the Development of Competencies The Balance between Generic and Specific Competencies Teaching and Training Modes of Competence Development Collaboration between Employers and Higher Education Institutions Quality Aspects in Higher Education Future Development of Higher Education

Some key questions adressed in the REFLEX and HEGESCO projects What are the key competencies graduates need to function well in the workplace and in society? Which actors are mainly responsible for competence development? What are the most important teaching and training modes for the development of competencies? What path should higher education systems follow to foster the development of competencies?

Some ideas on employability employability as individual capabilities versus actual registered employment; employability in the context of deprivileged youth in terms of getting a job at all versus the further prosperity of privileged youth (Teichler, 2008); employability as a skill-supply phenomenon versus a skill-demand phenomenon as measured in skill shortages versus skill surpluses (Allen & Van der Velden); employability as individual factors (e.g. skills, qualifications, socio-biographic characteristics) versus personal circumstances (e.g. access to resources, work culture, household circumstances) (McQuaid & Lindsay, 2005). employability as the justification of the professional orientation of jobs in which predominant characteristics are distinguished among managerial- organisational characteristics of jobs versus professional characteristics.

Skill Matching skill match addresses the compatibility between personal, education and professional destination: it is understood as bias between knowledge, competences and qualifications (Van Loo, 2009) skill matching is not the same as educational matching horizontal mismatch as working in a job matching one’s own level but not one’s own field of education vertically mismatched is related to the condition of working in a job suiting one’s own field but not one’s own level of education.

LFS data on Reflex & Hegesco Countries (Erostat, 2011) – own analysis; years old, ISCED 5-6

Some insights from the Reflex and Hegesco data – Slovenia, by field of study

Satisfaction with current work, by field of study (in per cent), Reflex & Hegesco Survey

Fixed-term contract, by field of study (in per cent)

High job security, by field of study (in per cent)

Good career prospects, by field of study (in per cent)

Utilized knowledge and skills in current work, by field of study (in per cent)

Gross monthly earnings, by field of study (in Euro)

High earnings, by field of study (in per cent)

… some ideas on competencies (Pavlin, 2011). relation between general and professional competencies; relation between competencies and other employability aspects; comparative aspects; competencies as total; limitations of large scale approaches; how much are european/national qualification frameworks about competencies?

Typology of Required Competences (Reflex Project) Professional Expertise (mastery of your own field or discipline, analytical thinking, ability to assert your authority) Functional Flexibility (knowledge of other fields or disciplines, ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge, ability to negotiate effectively) Innovation and Knowledge Management (ability to use computers and the internet, ability to come up with new ideas and solutions, willingness to question your own and others’ ideas, alertness to new opportunities) Mobilization of Human Resources (ability to perform well under pressure, ability to use time efficiently, ability to work productively with others, ability to mobilize the capacities of others, ability to make your meaning clear to others, ability to coordinate activities)

Typology of Required Competences (Hegesco Project) 1. MASTERY AND FIELD SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE Mastery of field or discipline; Utilization of theory; Analytical thinking; Problem solving1.2.1 Technical specific; People specific; Teaching specific; Economy and business specific; Legal specific; Other aspects of field specific knowledge b 2. LEARNING RELATED COMPETENCIES Acquiring new knowledge; Alertness to new opportunities Question others (ability to); Other aspects of learning c 3. PERSONAL PROFICIENCY Adaptation to new situations and flexibility; Coordination of activities / organisation skills; Motivating oneself and others; Decision making; Intercultural skills; Creativity/new ideas; Other aspects of personal proficiency d ; Team work – general aspects Leadership ; Time management – general aspects; Ability to work under pressure 4. COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES Communication - General aspects Writing skills Oral skills Reading and understanding 5. ICT COMPETENCIES

The most required competencies (Hegesco) Top 5 required in NCMS in tertiary level jobs: –Ability to use computers and internet –Ability to use time efficiently –Ability to work productively with others –Ability to make your meaning clear to others –Ability to perform well under pressure Top 5 shortage in NCMS in tertiary level jobs: –Mastery of own field or discipline –Ability to perform well under pressure –Ability to use time efficiently –Ability to negotiate effectively –Ability to assert your authority

Required competences of those working in tertiary level jobs in the NCMS, by country and European region (Hegesco Report)

Graduates working in a job for which their own or a higher level is required, first and current job, by country (Hegesco Report)

Some key answers in fostering development of key competencies (HEGESCO project) strengthening co-operation between higher education and employers; encouraging relevant work experiences; fostering students’ motives and talents; making higher education more demanding; alerting employers what they can expect from HE graduates.

Experiences acquired during higher education, by level and field of study, all countries (Hegesco Report)

Competencies development versus utilization in later career stages (Pavlin, 2011)

Key questions identified within DEHEMS project… How countries, students and HE institutions perceive professional success? How HE study program creators take into account the future professional activities of their graduates? What are HE institutions concrete actions in fostering short and long term career success? To what extent are these actions supported and empirically driven?

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