Employers will struggle to fill graduate vacancies because university leavers lack the right soft skills for the job.

Team-working, leadership and communication skills are in short supply among academic students, according to research by the Association of Graduate Recruiters. The research predicts up to 40% of employers will struggle to fill their vacancies.

Is there enough training for these soft skills in universities today?

Andrew

What a sad place you must live! I have two daughters, age 3 and 6, and lots of friends with kids. I don't see what you're seeing at all. I encounter great parents doing the best they can – and really great kids who are smart, active, and respectful.

I also teach at the college level – and those kids are great, too.

I like how this post is in essence "teach your kids to be smart." All of the elements that you mentioned could easily just be lumped together as "excellent thinking" and in that way be easily dismissed by people who consider themselves average. But really, all the benefits of being smart stem from developing good mental habits and self-discipline. So an average person who uses the habits associated with being smart will always outperform (and be a better choice) than a smart person who lacks those habits.

Sorry that was so recursive.

1.Teach their kids to quit when things are hard. They want their kids to like them so they cave in when the kids want to quit soccer or Karate. They "cheat" and do their homework for them when the kid looks distraught. They kiss up and make excuses for the kids all day long.

2.Teach their kids to avoid choices. They give them both. When faced with all the trendy "cool" toys they buy them all rather than making the kids choose one item. More is always better to these families, as they dont want the kids to feel deprived of anything that the kid down the block has, so they buy it all.

3. Be a self centered pessimist, and treat the kids like adults who can share the burden. I see parents all the time who view the world through a glass that is half empty. They point out all the bad with the government officials, global warming and the evils of religion. They see no need to shelter kids from the crap in the world and think they are doing them a favor by treating them as adults too early.

4. Teach your kids to spend and show off. Many parents in our society do not teach kids how to save, but instead lead by an example of over-spending to have fancy things. Many would rather have a Wii and other gadgets than college funds and retirement.

5.Know no limits. People who act superior to all around them raise kids who are bullies and selfish. But they dont know or care that they are doing this because they are superior to others in their own minds, and thus so are their children.

Penelope, I think you are right in what you say, but there are a lot of parents who do the exact opposite and are raising our future. YIKES.

Another one that I would add to the list is "insist on personal standards." I'm constantly amazed at how meeting my own minimum standards sets me apart from about 80% of the workforce. Basic things like showing up on time, honoring your word, and doing what's asked of you seem to be the difference between workplace mediocrity and increasing levels of reward. By supplementing the basics with congeniality, a few new ideas, and occaisional extra effort you seem to fall into the category of top-performer.

The art of self-evaluation is closely related. One of my greatest musical teachers always reminded us to ask ourselves "if everyone else in the group were working and performing at my level, how would the group sound?" Applying this concept to day-to-day life has had more impact than any middle-school social studies assignment I can remember.

I think the philosophies of trying new things and am not being afraid to fail can coexist with the axiom "if it's not worth doing well, it's not worth doing."

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This comment makes me realize that being a top performer is not really about looking at what other peoples' standards are for top performance. It's asking ourselves why OUR OWN standards do not put us on top. It's a really interesting question, I think. And I do see how most top performers have basic standards that put them above most people without even trying to do anything but be true to themselves. This is such an interesting way of thinking about performance. Thanks, Brian.

Penelope