EXPECTATIONS OF GRADUATES’ EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS: THE CASE OF NAZARBAYEV UNIVERSITY FIRST COHORT
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Date
2016-05
Authors
Mukhametzhanova, Assel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Graduate School of Education
Abstract
“Education for employment or education for employability?” is the question raised by many
researchers and stakeholders worldwide. On the one hand, there is a lack of specialists with
relevant skills in the labor market, which results in challenges with recruitment and the need
for additional investment in retraining employees and challenges with recruitment. On the
other hand, educators argue that the “true” purpose of education goes beyond preparing
students for jobs, and that shifts in educational policies around the world are gearing towards
meeting labor market needs more than they should. This study explores expectations of
graduates’ employability skills from the perspectives of stakeholders, using the case of
Nazarbayev University, a newly-established flagship university in Kazakhstan. The context of
a new international university with top ranking partners and its talented students is analyzed
in this research in order to shed light on the experiences of these students in regards to their
employability. Kazakhstan’s historical transition from Soviet planned economy (education for
employment) towards market and knowledge-based economy (education for employability) in
the last 25 years of independence also provides an interesting context to analyze both sides of
employability. This research was conducted at Nazarbayev University, through a survey of
Nazarbayev University students as well as conducting semi-structured interviews with
employers, Nazarbayev University faculty and focus group interviews with NU students.
This empirical study found that stakeholders recognize the increasing importance of soft skills
in the changing labor market conditions, especially in the context of elite university. Skills for
lifelong and life-wide learning are considered essential by stakeholders. The study found that
international environment serves both as a benefit (positive signal to employers) and a
challenge (international faculty unawareness of the local context) for graduate employability
skills. The study also reveals that stakeholders need to work in collaboration in order to
accommodate a smoother education-to-labor-market transition.
Description
Keywords
Type of access: Restricted, Kazakhstan, higher education, employability skills, employability and transnational education, employability for elite students
Citation
Mukhametzhanova, A. (2016). Expectations of graduates’ employability skills: the case of Nazarbayev University first cohort. Graduate School of Education