- Our research has found that different organisations can use the same job titles for roles with different skills requirements and, conversely, can use different job titles for roles with similar skills requirements. Further, Higher and Further Education often uses different terminology from employers. This means it can be difficult for students to understand the different roles available, and the relevancy of different courses to them.
To what extend do you see value in establishing a ‘common language’ between HE/FE education and employers to describe entry level digital roles, and the skills and experience needed by applicants?
We would support the development of a ‘common language’ which would go some way to ensuring a deeper connectivity and understanding between universities, students and employers. In the experience of our members, roles within these disciplines often suffer with low number of applicants due to a lack of resonance between employer job descriptions with student expectations and understanding. Effectively integrating and embedding a deeper understanding of educational terminology and meaning of digital, IT and computer science is a critical aspect of ensuring employers are able to develop role profiles which connect with students and universities alike.
There is scope to focus on not only educating the employers in their use and development of roles, but also an educational piece of work, with appropriate information and careers education to enable more students of these disciplines to effectively interpret and navigate what is, a complex and broad graduate labour market.
However it may be challenging to address the differentiation between job titles which can often be specific to a company’s culture/approach. Instead, it could be useful to focus primarily on the descriptions, requirements and technical references.
It would be useful to know if the intention is to build on and improve the existing resource SFIA Skills Framework for the Information Age, and indeed, if employers are aware of this framework?
A “common language” would also allow for more consistent and transparent comparisons resulting from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) surveys.
- Our research found that, when recruiting graduates, some employers ask for specific technical skills and capabilities, while others seek broader characteristics such as for enthusiastic graduates with a passion for IT and excellent communication skills.
- To what extent is it important to you, as an HEI or an FEI, to consider employers’ recruitment requirements when designing course content?
Our members would recognise the importance of connecting industry requirements to course content and indeed there are strong examples of such initiatives across many of our members’ universities. Our members’ responses suggest that the key element here again is an improved connectivity between employers and the education system. Understanding the distinct characteristics and connotations of terminology within an educational context is crucial.
There is a clear balance that needs to be drawn here for HEIs and FEIs in relation to student expectations, what is ‘attractive’ to the students, and what is of use to industry. Furthermore, universities are preparing students for their whole career, not just their first job, so it is important that they develop transferable, adaptable skills and attributes. When working with employers, it is important that courses don’t focus too narrowly on technical skills which could be out of date by the time the student graduates. ‘Future proofing’ the students career adaptability is critical and should not be lost in trying to meet employer immediate requirements. Therefore mutual understanding and connectivity between employer and education provider is crucial.
- If it is important to consider their requirements, do you have any recommendations as to what would make it easier to understand them?
Industrial advisory panels within institutions are useful in connecting employers with universities. Likewise, involving universities with local skills initiatives as critical friends develops the mutual understanding referenced above.
- Our research has found that employers tend to use the terms technology and/or IT in relation to job roles, and IT degrees in relation to Higher Education qualifications. The terms computing and computer science are not frequently used by employers. Conversely, HE and FE more typically use computing and computer science in course titles and descriptions, and much less often use technology or IT.
What are your thoughts about the difference between technology, IT, computing and computer science? Do you think it would be helpful to get a more common approach between education and industry?
These terms are somewhat too nebulous and vague to mean anything consistent in advertising roles, and can mean very different things to different people. However, ‘IT’ and ‘computing’ would be more natural for students studying these disciplines to align to than ‘technology’ and ‘digital’.
Our members feel that this is again one of encouraging and engendering greater connectivity and understanding of what these terms mean within an educational context to ensure that roles resonate with graduates. If employers are looking for specialist technical skills and abilities, then finding those students under such generic categorisation could prove challenging.
However, it is also suggested that there could be a dual focus in the need to develop appropriate careers education and information for students to help them navigate this aspect of the graduate labour market – exploring the ‘hidden opportunities’ within these diverse categories, and ensuring a deeper understanding of roles, expectations and technical requirements.
Fundamentally, all of these headings hold very different meanings, for example:
‘IT/Technology’: suggests information and data management and retrieval, data manipulation, system design and modelling, translating business needs into technology solutions
‘Digital’: is an overarching term for a wide range of areas from technical roles (UX design, UI design/development web/graphic design, mobile app development) to marketing roles (SEO, insights, web analytics, digital marketing, social media marketing), media related (media planning, video on demand, copywriting for digital platforms, content management) and wider business areas (business analysis, project management, product management, consulting & strategy, ecommerce).
‘Computing’: suggests systems engineering, software engineering, programming, testing, computer games development, internet of things, robotics, artificial intelligence, network engineering
- Our research found that whilst all HE/FE courses provided a lot of information about the knowledge that would be acquired, there were significant differences in the amount of information provided in terms of capabilities, transferable skills and progression routes.
- What are your views on the importance of providing potential students with information on capabilities, transferable skills and progression routes?
AGCAS members offer a wide range of employability support services to students and graduates of all degree disciplines, encouraging early engagement with the career development process to improve employment prospects and graduate outcomes. In most institutions, careers and employability professionals have key areas and disciplines of responsibility; many work exclusively with computer science and related cohorts.
As part of core service provision, careers and employability professionals play a vital role in helping students to identify, develop and effectively articulate the possession of ‘soft skills’, for example communication, leadership, problem solving and commercial awareness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that computer science students, in particular, can benefit from such support in identifying and more explicitly marketing non-technical (but highly transferable) skills (alongside their technical abilities) in their applications to employers for computer science related internships, placement opportunities and graduate jobs.
The challenge in focusing on the transferable skills can sometimes be how wedded the students are to their discipline. Highly technical degree’s often mean that students have a defined career trajectory in mind. Support from some of the well-known ‘brands’ within the sector would assist with challenging student perceptions of skills and transition into the labour market – encouraging students to think more broadly and laterally regarding their career transitions.
- What are your views on how best students can be helped to understand how studies are linked to job requirements?
As discussed above, our member services have particular expertise and experience in this field. They also hold a wealth of information in relation to their students and clients, including the challenges that they can face in changing mind-sets. Working in partnership with AGCAS members would be a useful exercise to explore new approaches that will resonate with a student group who can be very focused on the application of their technical skills.
Section two
The most common graduate roles have been grouped under six headings.
Please select each occupational area that your graduates would progress to. This will allow you to view the details for your selected areas below and provide feedback. If you offer more than one degree that offers progression to an occupational areas, please feedback based on one of these.
Alternatively, go to the next question below to download the PDF with all the occupational areas, and to provide bulk feedback.
- Cyber and information security
- Data, databases and data management
- Hardware, networks, cloud and infrastructure
- Digital business
- Project and project management
- Software and applications design and development: developer and tester roles
- Software and applications design and development: technical design roles
- Software and applications design and development: technical analyst and consultant roles
Additional comments
Our members see the value of what this is trying to achieve with some comments extracted below:
The table seems to make sense broadly and is very useful. A couple comments:
- It seems odd that cyber and info security suggests any degree as would have expected a need for technical skills
- There’s no Information Technology heading – if this ties in with schools no longer teaching IT/ICT, should similar degree titles be revised to fit these headings?
- Don’t really understand why “Tech Graduate Programmes” is a separate heading as while some organisations have quite flexible programmes with rotations before a graduate specialises, would have expected many to fit under the other headings’
‘The way SFIA is organised is preferable and would like to see the levels they use, however the "other skills" column would be a good addition.’
Overall, an initiative such as this will go some way to ensuring some greater consistency and clarity in what is a challenging sector for students to navigate and find the ‘right’ opportunity aligning to their aspirations. The challenge is ensuring that students do not miss opportunities which perhaps are not presented explicitly enough to ensure it resonates with their specialisms and areas of interest. Alongside any efforts in supporting employers, consideration also needs to be made to explore how the sector and universities can collaborate to better equip students to navigate the intricacies and varying requirements for knowledge, skills and technical abilities.