Students and Employers Don't See Eye to Eye: The Case of Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering

Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relationship between discipline-based learning and employability is poorly understood. Applying the Career Information Literacy Learning Framework, we address this gap in a study on STEM students and employers/industry stakeholders. This paper reports findings from a subset of STEM disciplines: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering. Student data were collected from capstone units from the STEM faculty in an Australian university. A parallel STEM employer study was conducted concurrently. Four learning approaches and career development learning components across three levels of information literacy were examined. The study found this student cohort’s (N=160) emphases on and views of career development consistent with their peers within the same STEM faculty (N=492). However, their focuses differ significantly from STEM employers (N=62). Students focus on discipline-specific knowledge while employers value transformative capabilities most. The finding presents implications for STEM workforce preparation.

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