Work, life skills give job seekers the edge

Aaron Macdonald

Exam results do not matter to prospective employers as much as candidates who are “job-ready” and have a broad range of life, work and social skills, business groups say.

While parents and students alike fret over school grades and exam results, employers are looking for something that sets a potential employee apart from the average job seeker.

Business Council of Australia spokesman Scott Thompson said that while education was important, it was the skills learned through extracurricular activities that really mattered to an employer.

“Employers are increasingly focused on graduates who are job-ready,” Mr Thompson said.

“They’re looking at the sorts of, what we call, ’employability skills’ that graduates can bring.

“Part of that comes from quality education, but those who have vocational experience that can be useful for the jobs they’re looking for, they’re going to be considered very favourably.”

Mr Thompson said young people – whether they’re in high school or university – need to get extra skills on their resume if they want an edge on their peers.

“As a general principle, graduates and young people who are looking to enter the workforce should think about the sorts of employability skills they’re going to need to meet the requirements of jobs they’ll be looking at in the years ahead,” he said.

“So if they can bring those skill sets to the table, they should be well positioned to succeed in the job market.”

Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan agreed, saying that while the importance of education should not be downplayed, experience was often the deal maker in the employment process.

“Education is a major factor in all kinds of employment, and we cannot underestimate its importance, but having experience in the workforce provides invaluable assistance and guidance to students and allows employers to recruit school leavers with skills relevant to the workplace,” he said.

The University of South Australia endeavours to mix industry experience into its academic syllabus. Vice-Chancellor Peter Hoj said the combination of theoretical and practical skills was important to produce well-rounded graduates.

“We are absolutely cognisant of what employers want,” he said.

“And they want graduates that are up and running quickly.”

Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor academic Margaret Peters elaborated. “Employers want to hire people who can bring together brain power and practical expertise,” she said.

It took former university student Sahil Choujar a few years to work out that academic success was not the best way forward in his career.

He began studying software engineering at the University of Adelaide in 2004. It was a natural choice, he said, because he loved working with technology.

However, he quickly discovered that a love of technology did not translate to a love of study, and he began exploring options in the theatre world. “The university system really turned me off,” he said.

“The nine-to-five desk job really doesn’t appeal to me either.”

“I got into theatre because I think it can make a difference – it can make people think about important issues and encourage and inspire them to do something about it.

Since then, the actor/writer has produced several plays in Adelaide.

He has no regrets about leaving study behind – only that he did not do it earlier.

“My ego said I couldn’t quit something I’d started.

“But I eventually realised that nobody really cares if you finish your degree or not. So long as you can bring something to the table that no one else can, that’s what’s going to get you the job.”