Understanding Information Technology Graduate Employability: A Comparison of Stakeholder Perceptions
Creators: name: Kalra, Shekhar
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 460804
subject: Computing education
classificationCode: 390113
subject: Science, technology and engineering curriculum and pedagogy

description: Graduate employability has been for some time a research topic well covered by various academic disciplines, government agencies and corporate organisations. Over the last decade the amount of published material along with the changing approach of Australian government education funding policies has put sizeable pressure on universities to take graduate employability seriously. The higher education sector now regularly publishes graduate employability statistics and is judged on the basis of this data. Although there is much research in the area of employability, little exists specifically in the field of information technology. As well as the technology specific elements of graduate employability, the IT discipline offers additional challenges because of the ever changing dynamics within this field. These rapid changes have a domino effect on employment requirements. The graduates need to be equipped well to handle these requirements. 

This research explores the area of graduate employability from the perspectives of four key stakeholders: academics, students, graduates and the technology industry. The specific context for this research is undergraduate programs in computer science and information technology. It systematically addresses three research questions: 

What does the term employability mean for current academics, students and recent graduates in information technology?

What do information technology employers look for in a graduate? and 

Which factors should be considered when looking to enhance the employability of information technology graduates?

The research follows theory of pragmatism to employ a mixed methods approach to find the gaps in the understanding of the above stakeholders. The study sample included 20 academics, 151 current students, and 55 graduates from a single research-intensive university. Semi-structured interviews and online questionnaires were used to understand stakeholder perceptions of graduate employability within the given context, supported by AI-fuelled data mining tools to gather published information on industry requirements. In this way the research could examine the skills required and the differences in stakeholder perceptions.

Graduate employability in the area of information technology is complex. Its various stakeholders have different understandings. The published research and government white papers talk a lot about industry requirements and the gap between academia and these requirements. However, this gap represents just one of many dimensions that lead to differences in this area. The research explores six significant models of graduate employability, revealing both unique insights and common themes among them. Despite differences in terminology, there is substantial overlap, enabling the creation of an integrated set of employability dimensions. Indeed, there are seven integrated dimensions identified in this study. 

Comparing stakeholder perceptions across the integrated dimensions identified makes a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion on enhancing the employability of technology graduates. These stakeholders bring unique perspectives and priorities to the table. However, a central finding of the research is that stakeholders often discuss employability within their own specific contexts, leading to a situation where they are talking at each other rather than with each other. This lack of cohesive communication results in fragmented efforts and missed opportunities to address the core issues comprehensively.

Despite being conducted at a single Australian Technical Network (ATN) educational institution, which limits its representation of all higher education views, the research underscores the significance of fostering a mutually beneficial exchange of information among stakeholders. This approach involves establishing open channels of communication, fostering collaboration and aligning objectives across the different groups. By doing so, a better balanced and more integrated understanding of employability can be developed, ensuring that the skills and competencies of technology graduates are aligned with the needs of industry. This scholarly approach aims to discuss strategies to bridge the gap between education and employment to improve the job readiness and career readiness of graduates.

This scholarly approach not only clarifies the employability landscape for information technology graduates but also provides actionable strategies to bridge the educational-employment gap. The study identifies critical alignment points between graduate skills and industry expectations, offering a scholarly strategy that can be adopted by ATN institutions to enhance curricular effectiveness. Importantly, it extends the discourse on stakeholder engagement in defining employability, thereby enriching the ecosystem that supports graduate transition into the workforce. This research contributes to the field by systematically illustrating how multi-stakeholder insights can be integrated to better prepare graduates for professional success, ensuring that educational institutions can adapt to the evolving demands of the technology sector.