EMPLOYERS complain graduates are entering the workforce less prepared than ever before, but our universities are making sure some of them at least look sharp before they head out into the real world.

As part of its strategy of having university students think and act “like professionals”, the University of Technology, Sydney, is supplying its new recruits with suits, scarfs and professional photo shoots from their first week of uni.

Before UTS students are assigned their readings or turn up for their first tutorials, they’re offered their pick of workwear from clothing racks to pose for the best LinkedIn profile picture a pro with a sweet lighting setup can snap. They’re also invited to sign up to a number of networking workshops where they learn skills such as how to best behave at a business lunch.

Discussing the new programs, UTS vice-chancellor Attila Brungs told news.com.au that ensuring graduates were equipped with professional attributes was “essential” for universities.

“The need comes from the fact that the nature of the workplace is changing and it’s more and more competitive out there to get a job,” he said.

“What’s expected of graduates is increasing and there are things we can do, some outside of the courses we offer and some that are embedded in all of our courses, to make sure our graduates have those attributes.”

Professor Brungs said helping students to clean up their online image was one of the “very simple” ways universities could better prepare students to think of themselves as professionals.

“We have professional photographers, photo booths, bucketloads of jackets, scarfs, all sorts of clothing so if they wish they can dress in a professional way,” he said.

“It’s these little things that help them think like a professional. There are even things where we can help students think through if they go to a business lunch or dinner. How do they best network, hold good conversation? That’s what we try to teach our students.”

On top of the LinkedIn strategy, Prof Brungs said the university had developed its courses to integrate teamwork, flexibility, and preparing students to be agile professionals in most of its courses.

“Forty per cent of the jobs our students will have in their lifetimes don’t yet exist, so it’s very exciting but also a challenge for the university,” he said.

“We’ve got to think how do we prepare them for not only the first job, but the first 20 jobs, because it’s likely they’ll have that many jobs and some of them they might create themselves. Being flexible is the most important attribute.”

Prof Brungs said the “students as professionals” strategy went some way to address continued concerns from disgruntled employers dissatisfied with graduates emerging from university and other educational institutions unprepared for work.

It’s a problem YourTutor chief operating officer Michael Larsen, whose company offers students advice and a revision services for university assessment items, has experienced first hand.

In advertising for a recently filled graduate position, Mr Larsen said he was shocked at the poor quality of applications he received from university students.

“They were very poor, surprisingly so, which is disappointing,” he said.

“We had about 60 responses and only half of those actually provided us with a cover letter, which we specifically requested. Of those that did include one there were probably five of the 30 whose cover letter was of what we’d consider an acceptable standard, the other ranged from extremely poor to average, as in, perhaps writing at a more year 10 or 11 level.

“I’m not going to say illiterate but the standard of literacy was disappointing. Maybe we’re literacy nerds but with all the talk of people developing higher level skills and soft skills, I hope in higher education we’re not ignoring the bread and butter skills.”

Lack of skills and poor quality of graduates has seen some employers turned off hiring them altogether.

The increased commentary around the quality of graduates coincides with graduate employment rates hitting an all-time low.

Though employers are quick to blame universities, TAFE colleges and other training institutions for unprepared workers, supporters of universities have dismissed demands that universities should be “all things to all people”, and argued the institutions needn’t bow to the pressure of demanding bosses.

Melbourne University Youth Research Centre director Professor Johanna Wyn has previously criticised the pressure on universities to become “conduits for people getting jobs”, but says initiatives like UTS’s were beneficial to both students and employers.

“I think mainly universities should stick to what they do, to providing education that opens up people’s minds, but I think it’s entirely appropriate for institutions to think more about how they can open up path ways to navigate these difficult waters more easily,” she told news.com.au.

“I really would focus on universities doing as much as they can to equip students with a range of skills that enable them to take things into their won hands, to feel confident to ask for help, to develop a top-notch CV, and to understand what kind of voluntary work, internships or other work they should do while they are studying. I don’t think it cuts across the university’s main mission.”

Anticipating criticism that tertiary education providers should focus on its traditional, educational roles rather than students’ social media status, Mr Brungs said it was “absolutely the university’s role” to go beyond and equip students for the workforce.

“It’s complementary to what university is all about, and that’s broadening horizons and teaching people to have big thoughts. If you can’t communicate those thoughts, if you can’t have impact from those ideas when you go into the workplace, you’re at a disadvantage.

“It doesn’t mean we have to help train our students in the minutiae of work life, but it’s certainly part of the university’s role to have students as prepared for work as they can be.”

Found at http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/university-responds-to-criticism-of-unprepared-graduates-with-linkedin-strategy/story-fnkgbb3b-1227585879455