Assessment of needs of ICT Skills on Employability (REF: SF18/BAM/SKOUMPOPOULOU)

The central focus of this study is to improve the talents of graduates so that they increase their chances for employment. Employability refers to the ability of graduates to adapt and use their skills on personal and academic perspectives. At individual levels of graduates, the factors, which influence unemployment or its delay, include individual’s class of degree, profession studied, prior class performances and background of social class. In the existing dynamic and competitive industry, employers are looking for staff who have broader skills and can manage labour market flexibility.

Thus, employability of graduates encompasses a number of skills, which are important in order for them to be able to work in organisations. The globalised economy comes with extra demand of ICT skills among the graduates while the growing level of sophistication in the current professional world and competitive business environment highlights further the need of ICT skills among graduates. This is due to the demand of ICT technicalities in performing a number of basic activities in the workplaces. The majority of studies, which concentrate on ICT skills and employability deal with technical enterprises. In non-technical companies such as construction, manufacturing and agriculture, ICT is studied as among the basic skill-set of graduates. However, recently, there has been special demands of graduates with basic ICT knowledge on recruitment processes. This indicates the growing demand of basic ICT skills among a broad range of professions. This raises a concern in organisations on whether they require specific ICT skills and the reasons behind that need? Also, graduates are left with questions on which ICT skills should they have to be considered as amongst the most employable groups? This study will seek answers to these questions. This research will aim to explore and understand the type of ICT skills needed, the significance of each ICT skill on employability and the way of identifying the best graduates based on ICT.

The successful applicant will work within the cross-faculty, International Research & Innovation Staff Exchange ‘Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management 3’ project, funded to 950k euros by Horizon 2020 (European Commission). The aim of the project is the development of research capacity at individual, institutional and international levels. The rules of the scheme preclude the funding of doctoral students’ fees etc. However, in order to be deemed successful, the project needs PhD students supervised by the project team and supported to develop international standard research, publications and impact.

Doctoral students will, therefore, be funded to work internationally on data collection, analysis and dissemination, collaborating with the project partners: university researchers (experienced and early-stage) and industry practitioners. This will include research secondments abroad and involvement in regular international networking, knowledge transfer and dissemination events.

Eligibility and How to Apply:
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. SF18/…) will not be considered.

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers.