Skills as stepping stones for employability: Perception research into the skills of Humanities students. (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Dijn, Melina; Jacobs, Catho; Zenner, Eline; Ihalainen, Laura; Palander-Collin, Minna; Peterson, Elizabeth; Arens, Sanne; De Baar, Mirjam; Touwen, Jeroen; Heyvaert, Liesbet
• Other Names: Ashton Daniel guest-editor.; Bennett Dawn guest-editor.; Bulaitis Zoe. H. guest-editor.; Tomlinson Michael guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Arts and humanities in higher education. Volume 22:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 194
• Page End: 210
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: Perception research -- skills for the future -- employability -- Humanities -- reflection -- student self-profiling; Arts -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; Humanities -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; 700.711
• DOI: 10.1177/14740222231156887
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-0222

Abstract

OECD reports a mismatch between field of study and job content for Humanities students, while at the same time signalling labour market shortages for skills that seem clearly linked with the Humanities, e.g. delivering information. In order to investigate which skills Humanities students associate with their university studies, we conducted a survey among 1306 European Humanities and 231 non-Humanities students. The survey asked these students whether they felt they acquired skills during their Humanities university education which were identified in a pilot phase. The students' answers were analysed quantitatively, arriving at a Humanities self-perception skills profile of 70 detailed descriptions of skills that fall under six clusters. We argue that this profile could be a crucial step to improve the employability of Humanities students, as students' perceptions of their skills greatly determine the quality of transition to the labour market.