the-changing-phd_final

The government’s Research Workforce Strategy acknowledged that there is a perception that a
knowledge and skills gap exists for PhD graduates and stated:
A growing body of evidence suggests that our researchers and recent higher degree by research
graduates lack core competencies required in the modern workplace. A 2010 study of researcher
employers conducted for DIISR by The Allen Consulting Group, for example, indicates that
communication, teamwork and planning and organisational skills are key ‘soft-skill’ areas in need of
improvement. The study also points to researcher knowledge gaps in areas important to the utility and
effectiveness of research staff in a business context, including business and financial management
skills, commercial acumen, commercialisation skills and intellectual property management, among
others. 80
Similarly, the authors of a 2008 Australian review found that:
Non-academic employers involved in the consultation phase of this research indicated that they found
those with higher degrees in science and mathematics had a ‘narrow focus’ of expertise, lacked both
verbal and written communication skills, and had been in the ‘cloistered’ environment of a university
too long to possess any business knowledge or commercial nous. ... those with the higher qualifications
were more likely to display some of the traits that employers were not impressed with – such as lack of
commercial acumen and a narrow focus – and ... tended to expect wages that were unrealistic. 81
Work done in this area tends to identify a number of generic skills that employers feel PhD graduates
either lack or in which they exhibit a poorer performance than the employers would like or expect. In
at least some cases these reflect the nature of the PhD experience as training rather than work. This
training environment may allow PhD candidates to operate in a more focussed way than is possible,
for example, in a business environment. The leadership, management and even communication
demands on a research student can be very different from those faced even by a junior researcher in
business. The latter has to communicate and explain to non-specialists and non-academics; will often
be working on several projects at the same time; will be working within stricter timeframes and often
non-negotiable deadlines; experience a very different research management regime in which factors
other than academic excellence play a predominant role; and so on. These differences mean that a
typical set of attributes that employers believe need greater emphasis in PhD training includes more
effective communication skills, ability to work as a team member, project management, and other
attributes that might vary according to the particular employment opportunities under consideration.
Attachment 1 provides a set of general attributes that an employer
might expect or aspire to have a PhD recruit exhibit. It includes
those specific to the research that formed part of the program
but also those that go beyond the disciplinary and research focus
– some of which bachelor graduates of the same age will have
developed through their experience in the workforce.
Does it make sense
to incorporate the
development of generic
skills into a PhD program?
Implications for PhD training
Students undertaking PhD training now are operating in a more demanding and more competitive
environment than similar students even 20 years ago. Their potential career paths are more diverse but
at the same time the expectations that potential employers have about the skill sets PhD graduates
80. http://www.innovation.gov.au/Research/ResearchWorkforceIssues/Documents/ResearchSkillsforanInnovativeFuture.pdf
81. Daniel Edwards and T. Fred Smith 2008, Supply, demand and approaches to employment by people with postgraduate research qualifications in
science and mathematics: Final Report, Report to the Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
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