Computer technology students - what skills do they really need?

Abstract

As part of a continuing desire to improve the employability of computer technology students, we are focussing on the knowledge and skills that graduates need in the workforce. In order to do this we solicited the opinion of working graduates with regard to the usefulness of technical and non-technical knowledge in the workplace and to the skills that they learnt during their studies at University. This paper analyses the replies that graduates made to a questionnaire and describes both the teaching methods and the content of the three key subjects that are offered as co-requisites in the Bachelor of Science, Computer Technology. This work is of interest to all educators, especially those involved in course development and those interested in graduate outcomes. The ranking of time management as the most important skill to be learned and applied in the workplace was unexpected, but on reflection, given the calibre of many of the students, is understandable.