Employers' view on studies abroad - Svenskt NÃ¤ringsliv

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Introduction/Background 5 International experience is valued higher, not surprisingly, at companies that conduct business internationally. This shows clearly when respondents have been asked to rate general skills such as reliability, social competence, language skills and intercultural competence. Skills that typically are acquired during studies abroad, such as language skills and intercultural competence, were generally ranked very low by employers. It is however worth noticing that 20 % of respondents rated these skills as highly important. From this, Garam draws the conclusion that international experience may be of great significance when applying for jobs with internationally related tasks, but that exchange studies may have negative effects when applying for a job in purely domestic companies. 6 1.5 …and Denmark The Danish institute for international education, CIRIUS, presents in the survey “Betydningen af uddannelsesophold i udlandet” a fairly positive <strong>view</strong> of studies abroad among students. Employers tend to have, in light of an increased internationalization generally, a higher need for employees with international competence. International experience is valued as an important asset in recruitment, and such experiences are considered necessary for someone aspiring to an international career. A number of international companies in the study state that the lack of Danish workers with international competence makes the companies more prone to hire non-Danish workers. Apart from this, the study also shows: • The importance of genuine academic exchange; “academic tourism” should be avoided. • That work experience is more important than studies abroad. • That students mainly attain personal skills and experiences during studies abroad and few practical skills, according to employers. • That employees on the contrary find that it is mainly practical skills one attains during studies abroad. 7 1.6 But what about Sweden? The report Utlandsstudier – till vilken nytta? 8 from the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education describes employers’ <strong>view</strong> on the value of studies abroad. The report has a qualitative focus and is based on inter<strong>view</strong>s with 34 companies, which show that: • Most employers regard social competence as highly valuable. • A majority of companies has hired employees with foreign experience, but without having asked about it. • 1/3 of respondents believe workers with international experience more easily can advance quickly in their career. • Employers prefer a Swedish degree with part of the studies conducted abroad. • Employers fins it difficult to assess the value of studies abroad. 6. Ibid.. 7. CIRIUS, 2008 8. Swedish National Agency for Higher Education reports (Högskoleverkets rapportserie), 1999:10R. Svenskt Näringsliv
Introduction/Background 6 In addition to this, the report points out that both students and the higher education sector need more robust knowledge about employers’ competence needs. The report however also states that the results from the inter<strong>view</strong>s are not sufficiently representative to draw any conclusions from. One other survey should also be mentioned. A thesis from Jönköping International Business School, entitled “Studies abroad – an investment for the future?”, surveyed through qualitative studies the priorities made by eleven companies in the recruitment process. The results of this survey point to a very limited knowledge among employers about exchange studies. Based on this, the authors draw the conclusion that employers, finding it difficult to assess the value of work practice or studies conducted abroad, tend to place less emphasis on these merits in the recruitment process. Instead, as in the case of the aforementioned ERASMUS-study, it is the personality of the employee that is considered the most important factor, level of education/degree being equal (grades matter little). The study was conducted among both medium-sized and large companies, but no noticeable difference was found between the two categories concerning the <strong>view</strong> of exchange studies, or the need thereof. Here, though, the material for the study must be considered too narrow for any conclusion to be drawn regarding the national level. Svenskt Näringsliv
Page 1 and 2: Employers’ view
Page 3 and 4: Content 2 Content Summary .........
Page 5: Introduction/Background 4 The study
Page 9 and 10: Method 8 3 Method The study has bee
Page 11 and 12: Results 10 Figure 2 - How many of y
Page 13 and 14: Results 12 Figure 4 English 73% 76%
Page 15 and 16: Results 14 Figure 8 - How important
Page 17 and 18: Results 16 Figure 11 - How importan
Page 19 and 20: Results 18 Figure 14 and 15 - To wh
Page 21 and 22: Results 20 The results show that th
Page 23 and 24: Results 22 Figure 20 - When recruit
Page 25 and 26: Results 24 Figure 23 - When recruit
Page 27 and 28: Conclusions 26 5 Conclusions This r
Page 29 and 30: References 28 6 References Bengtsso

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