Graduate students' perspectives on their acquired skills following the Erasmus+ Programme

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57125/FED.2023.09.25.01

Keywords:

Erasmus Programme, Employee Skills, European Employers

Abstract

Graduate skills are a key factor in their selection in a company. This research focuses on the extent to which the Erasmus+ mobility programme contributes to the development of skills required for a modern work environment. Thus, the paper examines whether the skills developed through an Erasmus+ programme are recognised as important by European employers. The results of the primary quantitative online survey showed that graduates developed adaptability, flexibility, enthusiasm, dynamism, professionalism, responsibility, commitment, and creative problem-solving skills through their participation in the Erasmus+ programme. Even if the Erasmus+ programme appears to enhance a variety of talents, there are some others, such the improvement of interpersonal skills, which are less well-developed. An important conclusion of this study is that young people's participation in the Erasmus+ programme, in terms of study or internship, contributes to their desire to work in an international context, while a prolonged participation in the programme is positively correlated with the development of communication skills.

References

Baranova, T., Kobicheva, A., & Tokareva, E. (2020). The impact of Erasmus program on intercultural communication skills of students. E3S Web of Conferences, 164, Article 12013. https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/pdf/2020/24/e3sconf_tpacee2020_12013.pdf

Brandenburg, U., Taboadela, O., & Vancea, M. (2015). Mobility matters: The ERASMUS impact study. International Higher Education, (82), 5–7. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2015.82.8863

Bryła, P. (2015). Self-reported Effects of and satisfaction with international student mobility: A large-scale survey among Polish former Erasmus students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 2074–2082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.248

Cairns, D., Krzaklewska, E., Cuzzocrea, V., & Allaste, A. A. (2018). Introducing Erasmus. In Mobility, Education and Employability in the European Union. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-76926-4

Cairns, D. (2019). Researching social inclusion in student mobility: Methodological strategies in studying the Erasmus programme. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 42(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2018.1446928

Caparros‐Ruiz, A. (2019). Doctorate holders’ careers in Spain: Does international mobility matter? European Journal of Education, 54(1), 117–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12326

Centre for European Progression. (2017, December 1). Let there be Erasmus. 30 years of European student exchange. https://c4ep.eu/let-there-be-erasmus/

Cimatti, B. (2016). Definition, development, assessment of soft skills and their role for the quality of organizations and enterprises. International Journal for Quality Research, 10(1), 97–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.18421/IJQR10.01-05

Confalonieri, M. A., Avezzù, C., Miano, S., & Veronese, V. (2016). International quality mobility: Validation of the intercultural experience in terms of soft skills and enhanced employability. Journal of International Mobility , 1(4), 129–148. https://www.cairn.info/revue-journal-of-international-mobility-2016-1-page-129.htm

de Wit, H. (2019). Internationalization in higher education, a critical review. SFU Educational Review, 12(3), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.21810/sfuer.v12i3.1036

Deakin, H. (2014). The drivers to Erasmus work placement mobility for UK students. Children's Geographies, 12(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2013.851063

Demertzis, N., Mandenaki, K., & Tsekeris, C. (2020). Private life and surveillance in the internet: The age of post-privacy [in Greek]. Athens: EKKE.

Ellis, M., Kisling, E., & Hackworth, R. G. (2014). Teaching soft skills employers need. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38 (5), 433-453. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1022705

Engel, C. (2010). The impact of Erasmus mobility on the professional career: Empirical results of international studies on temporary student and teaching staff mobility. Belgeo, (4), 351–363. https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.6399

Erasmus Skills (2021). Flyer Erasmus Skills 2020. https://erasmusskills.eu/eskills/Flyer_Erasmus_Skills_2020.pdf

ErasmusJobs (2021). Report T1.6 - Skills needed by employers. https://erasmusjobs.org/docs/Skills_needed_by_employers-ERASMUSJOBS.pdf

European Student Network. (2021a). ESNsurvey - XIV Edition: "Understanding the experiences and needs of exchange students in challenging times". https://esn.org/esnsurvey

European Student Network. (2021b). Skills gained through Erasmus+ Mobility. https://esn.org/news/erasmus-skills-closing-conference

European Commission. (2019). Erasmus+ Higher Education Impact Study. http://sepie.es/doc/comunicacion/publicaciones/2019/erasmus_higher_education_impact_study.pdf

European Commission. (2020). Factsheets and statistics on Erasmus+. https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets

European Commission. (2021). The new SkillsMatch platform tackles skills assessment and matches your skills with training. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/new-skillsmatch-platform-tackles-skills-assessment-and-matches-your-skills-training

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2013). Towards a Mobility Scoreboard: Conditions for Learning Abroad in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://www.eurydice.si/publikacije/Towards-a-Mobility-Scoreboard-Conditions-for-Learning-Abroad-in-Europe-EN.pdf

Garcia-Esteban, S., & Jahnke, S. (2020). Skills in european higher education mobility programmes: Outlining a conceptual framework. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 10(3), 519–539 . https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-09-2019-0111

Ghani, E. K., Rappa, R., & Gunardi, A. (2018). Employers perceived accounting graduate soft skills. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 22(5), 1–11. https://www.abacademies.org/articles/Employers-Perceived-Accounting-Graduates-Soft-Skills-1528-2635-22-5-288.pdf

Hendarman, A. F., & Cantner, U. (2018). Soft skills, hard skills, and individual innovativeness. Eurasian Business Review, 8(2), 139–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-017-0076-6

Krzaklewska, E., & Krupnik, S. (2005). The experience of studying abroad for exchange students in Europe. Erasmus Student Network. https://www.academia.edu/3698722/The_experience_of_studying_abroad_for_exchange_students_in_Europe

Marin-Zapata, S. I., Román-Calderón, J. P., Robledo-Ardila, C., & Jaramillo-Serna, M. A. (2021). Soft skills, do we know what we are talking about? Review of Managerial Science, 16(4), 969–1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-021-00474-9

Martínez-Usarralde, M. J., Pausá, J. M., & García-López, R. (2017). The ERASMUS experience and its capacitating potential: Analysis of adaptive capabilities. International Journal of Educational Development, 53, 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.01.001

Mourshed, M., Farrell, D., & Barton, D. (2012). Education to employment: Designing a system that works. McKinsey Center for Government. http://mckinseyonsociety.com/education-to-employment/report/

Nickson, D., Warhurst, C., Commander, J., Hurrell, S. A., & Cullen, A. M. (2012). Soft skills and employability: Evidence from UK retail. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 33(1), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X11427589

Papageorgiou, I. (2015). Sampling theory. Athens: Association of Greek Academic Libraries.

Perez-Encinas, A., Gabriels, W., & Ripmeester, N. (2021). Erasmus Skills: unpacking the employability benefits of mobility. European Association for International Education. https://www.eaie.org/blog/erasmus-skills-employability-mobility.html

Ribeiro, A. (2021) Erasmus at 30: Institutional mobility at higher education in perspective. In D. Cairns (Ed.), The Palgrave handbook of youth mobility and educational migration. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99447-1_16

Rodrigues, M. (2013). Does student mobility during higher education pay? Evidence from 16 European countries. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://dx.doi.org/10.2788/95642

Succi, C., & Canovi, M. (2020). Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing students and employers’ perceptions. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9), 1834–1847. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420

Tran, L. T., Phan, H. L. T., & Bellgrove, A. (2021). There's a much bigger world of science than just Australia': Australian students’ development of disciplinary knowledge, transferable skills and attributes through a New Colombo Plan short-term mobility program to Japan. International Journal of Science Education, 43(4), 888–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1891322

Tsirkas, K., Chytiri, A.-P., & Bouranta, N. (2020), The gap in soft skills perceptions: A dyadic analysis. Education + Training, 62(4), 357–377. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-03-2019-0060

Urquía-Grande, E., & Perez Estebanez, R. (2021). Bridging the gaps between higher education and the business world: internships in a faculty of economics and business. Education & Training, 63(3), 490–509. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1292994

van Kemenade, E. (2012). Soft skills for TQM in higher education standards. ASQ Higher Education Brief, 5(2). https://www.academia.edu/5608289/Soft_skills_on_TQM_in_Higher_education

Wagenaar, R. (2020). Defining, promoting and measuring transferable skills, social and civic competences: trends and challenges in higher education. European Commission. http://obe.edu.mn/media/uploads/2020/03/16/international-tuning-academy_wagenaarpdf.pdf

Whitmore, P. G., & Fry, J. P. (1974). Soft skills: Definition, behavioral model analysis, training procedures. National Technical Information Service, Springfeld. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED158043

Downloads

Published

2023-09-25

How to Cite

Andreou, E., Deliou, C., & Malagkoniari, M. (2023). Graduate students’ perspectives on their acquired skills following the Erasmus+ Programme. Futurity Education, 3(3), 6–19. https://doi.org/10.57125/FED.2023.09.25.01