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Graduate recruitment has increased in recent years but the job market still remains highly competitive. At least 350,000 graduates leave university each year looking for work with a large number of applicants competing for each job vacancy. In the current climate, having a good degree in a relevant subject is not always enough. It may help to get you shortlisted but an offer of employment will depend on the additional skills offered to complement any academic achievements. Employability skills are becoming increasingly important to employers who shortlist a growing number of similarly qualified applicants for the same job.
The Skills Gap
A skills gap threatens the sustainability of businesses around the world. Whilst a large part of the skills gap is focused on shortages of people skilled in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, there is also a gap in ‘soft skills’ such as problem solving, team working and communication. In a recent employment and skills survey employers identified the following skills as being in short supply:
Employability Skills
Those leaving the education system often lack the skills that employers are looking for. A fall in vocational training and a rise in graduate degree training have led to graduates having higher qualifications but fewer workplace skills - they know more but can do less.
Graduate employers across all industries want more than just academic qualifications. They want graduates who can demonstrate a wide range of skills, attributes and knowledge, often called ‘employability skills’. The most valued skills are:
communication
team working
leadership
initiative
problem-solving
flexibility 
enthusiasm
Graduates should take steps to improve their employability skills before leaving university. Skills development programmes will bridge the gap between education and employment by providing career development activities, work experience and volunteering opportunities. These will equip students with the skills required for work and increase their value in the job market.
Volunteering Projects
Many employers favour applicants with voluntary work experience. The range of employability skills that can be gained is extensive including leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, initiative and self-awareness. Virtually every paid job can be mirrored by a volunteering opportunity and so can also give direction and focus to choosing a career.
Being a volunteer brings value to the local community and develops skills at the same time. It also provides the opportunity to meet new professionals, gain new skills, network and develop relationships that might become crucial in future career development. Some volunteering placements offer accredited training such as first aid, child protection and mental health awareness training.
Peer Mentoring 
Peer mentoring is all about students supporting each other. It is a voluntary scheme which was designed to help new students in their first year of study but is also available to continuing students who feel they could benefit from peer support. Mentoring provides the opportunity of developing transferable skills, meeting new people and gaining valuable experience.
Student Ambassadors
This scheme recruits students to represent the university at on-campus events as well as in local schools, colleges and the community. The aim of the scheme is to raise aspirations and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to consider progression to higher education. Student Ambassadors provide a role model to learners and a unique perspective on life as a student which can engage and inspire.
As ambassadors, students get involved in a range of challenging and rewarding placements and projects including open days, taster days, student shadowing, marketing events, and higher education fairs. Student ambassadors receive training to support them in their outreach and recruitment roles. The scheme provides work and training opportunities which help to build confidence, encourage personal development and develop transferable employability skills in preparation for future employment.
Internships
Everyone agrees that work placements and internships make a huge difference to employability skills. Graduate internships and work placement opportunities offer relevant work experience and are an increasingly popular way of launching a career. Working as an intern in a firm is a great way of making valuable contacts in a chosen profession.
Research suggests that the key to securing a top role is to undertake work placements at the company in question. A third of graduate vacancies are filled by applicants who have already worked for the organisation during their degree course, either through paid internships, industrial placements or holiday work. For employers, work experience schemes have become an integral part of recruiting new graduates. Many use this as a way to try out graduates before offering them a permanent position. Graduates who have had no previous work experience have very little chance of receiving a job offer on a graduate programme.
Digital Skills
A worker with inadequate digital skills wastes up to 21% of total productivity time and an average office worker is estimated to waste an hour a day through poor computer knowledge.
According to top employers graduates are missing out on jobs because their grasp of digital technology is not strong enough. Digital skills and knowing how to use basic productivity software such as word processing software and spreadsheets are baseline requirements in nearly 80 percent of all middle-skill job openings and are critical to earning a living wage these days. Jobs that require digital skills are growing at a much faster rate than other jobs.
Future Projections
A career for life is no longer an option. Most people will hold jobs with a variety of employers and move across different employment sectors through their working life. Transferable and employability skills are essential in career development.
Research has shown a changing jobs market, with employers saying they need to recruit more skilled staff, while cutting the number of low-skilled jobs. This is good news for those graduating from university. Business and the IT sector are expected to see the strongest rates of job growth in the next 10 years. Manufacturing, education and public administration jobs will continue to decline, as will administrative and secretarial occupations which will see the largest decline with 390,000 fewer jobs. The construction, health and social care sectors are expected to see strong growth, as will leisure and other service sectors which are expected to contribute over 400,000 additional jobs.
As we move to a digital economy, digital skills are becoming more and more important for students to master. By 2020 it is predicted that digital skills will be required by 90% of all jobs across all work sectors and there will be up to 900,000 unfilled IT vacancies.