Higher Education Graduates' Cross-Cutting Competences and Skills and Employability

Abstract

The article is a product of the implementation of activities in the project framework CNFISFDI-2020-0652, Social Equity and Competitiveness in Partnership with the Socio-Economic Environment within a Modern European University. The project aimed at promoting the youngsters' access to higher education standing by the principles of equality of chances and nondiscrimination, competitiveness, and permanent collaboration with the socio-economic environment. The analysis conducted demonstrates that all three categories of participants (employers, students, and professors) are focused on the importance of cross-cutting skills in the formation of a specialist (regardless of the study domain). The research results highlight the needs of the employers concerning the structure and the importance of cross-cutting skills of students/graduates when they are hired. The most important cross-cutting skills that resulted from the study include creativity; critical/analytical thinking; utilization of information technology; oral and written communication skills in maternal/foreign language; flexibility/adaptability; initiative and entrepreneurial spirit; teamwork; openness to lifelong learning.

Keywords

• higher education
• competence
• cross-cutting skills
• labour market