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3.4 Influencing Personality

Influences that have an impact on the student's personality and career development include the interactions of society, parents and education. Managing these influences can help the individual improve their employability and career. Entering into higher education is therefore based on awareness and a career move planned by the individual in order to reach future goals and improve the employability. (Stewart & Knowles, 2001)

3.5 Higher Education influences on Personality

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have during the last decades been extensively pressured to offer students courses that are in line with the skills and attributes requested by their future employers. Nevertheless, the education itself cannot be seen as an absolute preparation for the students' future career. It is rather a question of combining an education with key personal skills. Regarding graduate students, a competitive edge is often created by those who are willing to put effort into developing the skills demanded from future employers. (Nabi & Bagley, 1998) In order to unite students and companies and make them appreciate the possibilities they have in store for each other, HEIs play an important role. They can initiate contact with companies and develop existing partnerships, which can be beneficial for all parties. (Stewart & Knowles, 2001) Early contact with companies during higher education can be very beneficial for students, since they have the possibility early on to realise what kind of skills they need and how these will be valued in the workplace. This is also a great advantage for companies which are able to market their brand among students (Nabi & Bagley, 1998; Metachalfe, 2006) and therefore to a greater extent attract new talents. (Nabi & Bagley, 1998)

3.6 Employability and Higher Education: Key issues

There is much research on employability with many explanatory models it but Harvey (2003) suggests that ‘employability itself remains a debatable concept open to an excess of interpretations and this can make the task of programme of study development particularly difficult'. (Harvey, 2003, p5)

Graduate employability is widely accepted to be an important concern for HEi's, McNair (2003) explains his reasoning as:

“Because of the changing nature of the graduate labour market, mass participation in HE, pressures on student finance, competition to recruit students and expectations of students, employers, parents and government (expressed in quality audit and league tables)”. (McNair, 2003)

This suggests that it is in the interest of HE institutions to provide students with the skills and attributes to become employable, and not just as providers of skill related education, Dearing (1997) further highlighted the need for skilled, motivated and trained graduates who can compete in the economies of the world.

However, are universities really offering students education that is coherent with what employers are looking for? Communication between the universities and the employers is likely to increase the likelihood that employer requests are met. Employers might though perceive certain skills in various ways, which is important to bear in mind (AGR, 1995).

Assigning an alumni advisory board can be a step in the right direction when trying to decrease the diffe