For more than a decade, a slew of studies at both national and European levels have emphasised the desirability of developing transversal competencies among graduates entering the labour market. There has been a sharp rise in graduate numbers across OECD countries since the turn of the century, with approximately 40% of the population now holding university degrees. In parallel, there has been a longstanding and well-documented need among employers, across a wide range of sectors, for graduate employees who can bring a variety of soft skills to bear on workplace challenges.
Students increasingly need to understand the context in which employers operate, to learn how to shape their skill-sets to meet employer needs, and to be able to communicate their skills and the value of their experiences to a range of potential employers. In response, universities must further customise their education offerings, both to support those students and to benefit wider society.
One of the aims of EUNICE is to develop a means of addressing student employability and employer needs by mapping identified EUNICE Key Competencies to the Alliance’s shared course offerings. The creation of such a matrix provides students with information about the wider skills aspects of the courses that they choose, while at the same time enabling them to better articulate the value of their educational experiences to potential employers.
Identifying EUNICE KEY Competencies
A EUNICE working group was tasked with investigating current thinking around graduate skills and employability, particularly in the contexts of the EUNICE partner countries and, through this, to highlight the skills, behaviours and attributes that could be considered important to include in the list of EUNICE Key Competencies. In the first instance, the working group conducted a review of existing reports on graduate skills from national and transnational bodies, ranging from higher education authorities and professional membership organisations in partner countries to the European Commission’s own units working with skills development policy.
The information gathered from this review was supplemented by analyses of surveys on employer needs conducted by working group staff in their own regions. A common survey template was developed by the working group for this purpose, containing optional and mandatory elements to be used as deemed appropriate in each regional context.
The literature reviews and survey results revealed many shared challenges between countries in relation to graduate skills development and labour market needs. On the basis of this information, each partner in the working group was asked to submit its top five prioritised competencies, to begin the process of producing a final list. There was considerable overlap in the individual lists presented by partners, making agreement on the final, consolidated list a relatively easy process. The competencies and their definitions were each discussed by the working group. Some lower prioritised competencies were dropped and, where appropriate, others were combined to form broader portfolio competences, resulting in the final list of eight EUNICE Key Competencies presented below. There is no ranking for the Key Competencies; all are considered to be equally important for development.
EUNICE Key Competence and description
- Cognitive flexibility – The broad range of abilities that enable individuals to adapt to, and act effectively in, new or unexpected situations, to bring problem-solving abilities to bear and to find creative solutions.
- Communication – The ability to convey both verbal and written information clearly between individuals and groups and to adapt formats and contents to different audiences and purposes.
- Digital competence – The ability to use digital technologies critically and responsibly for learning and work. This could range from data visualisation and basic programming skills to data engineering, understanding and writing algorithms, and analysing large data sets.
- Global intercultural competence – This encompasses foreign language skills, the knowledge required to understand how global society functions, the ability to interact effectively and appropriately with people from different cultural backgrounds, and also to collaborate with them to find solutions to global problems.
- Problem solving – The ability to identify and define problems, generate solutions, evaluate the options and to implement the chosen solution.
- Self-management – The ability to organise and carry out activities without direct supervision, to be able to take responsibility, to set priorities independently and to act strategically and ethically.
- Teamworking – The interrelated abilities that help individuals cooperate effectively in group settings, including emotional intelligence, communication and negotiation skills.
- Technical competence – This could include specialised and sectoral expertise (i.e. knowledge and methodologies required in a specific profession), as well as the practical ability to use and handle technical equipment.
Working with the EUNICE Key Competencies
The eight identified Key Competencies have been mapped to existing EUNICE courses by course leaders, who have indicated the extent to which each competence is developed in their course. This course-competence matrix was published as deliverable D2.1 at the end of September 2024. The idea is that the data presented in the deliverable will be made available to students to help them better understand and articulate to future employers the competencies which they develop during their education.
The EUNICE Key Competencies will be treated as a live list, subject to an annual review within the Alliance. These reviews will consider changes and additions to the Key Competencies themselves, taking into account changing priorities in society at large. They will also incorporate newly developed shared EUNICE courses in the matrix, as well as extending its reach to include wider developmental activities, such as the Alliance Games, the Imagine Innovation Cup and the broad range of clubs and related mobilities planned within EUNICE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Lees, is one of the task leaders of Key competences in Eunice. James Lees is also working as a Research Advisor at the Grants and Innovation office at Karlstad university.
