Skills &
Abilities
 
 
About this
Initiative
 
 
Initiative
Goals &
Objectives
 
 
Populations Served
 
 
University
Values &
their
Relationship
to this
Initiative
 
 

 

The Skills and Abilities for the 21st Century:
A Workforce Readiness Initiative

The Career Center & the Community/Mental Health Counseling program have developed this initiative to investigate, in an ongoing fashion, what characteristics businesses and community agencies are seeking in their future employees. The goals of The Skills and Abilities for the 21st Century Initiative are to:

  • determine the skills and abilities students need to succeed in the workplace of the 21st century;

  • disseminate that information among USF’s students, faculty, and staff;

  • facilitate the incorporation of these skills and abilities into the classroom experience; and

  • provide seminars and training to facilitate the students’ development of the skills and abilities.

We surveyed 130 participants attending the USF Career Center's Fall Job Fair*. Eighty-three recruiters' responses, representing a 64.6 percent response rate, are presented below.

 
The Skills and Abilities for Today's Workplace*
List based on percentage of respondents rating the skills/abilities as Extremely Important or Very Important** (to see a description of these skills and abilities please visit http://www.coedu.usf.edu/zalaquett/21/TCA_paper.htm):

A list (90% or more participants rated the skills as Extremely Important or Very Important):

.

Communication   97.60%
Teamwork/Cooperation   95.20%
Enthusiasm for Your Work   95.20%
Work Ethic   94.00%
Responsibility   92.80%
Efficient Planning   91.60%
Positive Attitude   91.60%
Ability to Adapt   90.40%

.

B list (80% to 89% participants rated the skills as Extremely Important or Very Important):

.

Competence   89.20%
Effective Problem Solving   89.20%
Self-Discipline   83.10%
Inquisitive   83.10%
Curiosity   81.50%
Knowledge   79.50%

.

The other skills (79% or fewer participants rated the skills as Extremely Important or Very Important):

.

Motivator   77.10%
Creativity   74.70%
Grammar skills   72.30%
Computer skills   72.30%
Multicultural Awareness   70.70%
Management skills   69.90%
Discriminative Thinking   69.50%
   
   
Analytical reasoning   67.50%
Stress Management   66.30%
Mathematical skills   62.70%
Empathy   62.20%
Economic/Bus. Sense   61.50%
   
Telecommunication   56.60%
   
Multilingual   4.80%

.

 

*This research project was approved by the University of South Florida Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects (# 100677).

**Ms. Charlene Herreid, from USF's Budget and Policy Analysis department, helped developing the database and the initial analysis of the surveys.

 

[footer.htm]