Employability outcomes of human resource management and employment relations graduates

ABSTRACT

Knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes (KSAAs) are important attributes required of university graduates to become effective Human Resource (HRM)/Employment Relations (ER) professionals. However, is what is taught and practiced at universities sufficient to equip graduates with the necessary KSAAs to meet employer expectations in industry? Furthermore, do graduates feel confident and job ready entering professional practice post completion of their undergraduate study? These questions raise important considerations around the effectiveness of the broader ‘employability’ agenda, and whether the immediate needs of both employers and graduates are being met. Insights into HRM/ER graduates’ transition into employment were collected from 33 semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 HRM/ER graduates, 14 employers and four industry stakeholders within the field. The paper discusses graduates’ transition from university to employment and whether they felt prepared in meeting employer expectations. Contrasting perspectives emerged as graduates indicated that they were satisfied with their university experience and subsequent transition to employment, while employers were mostly satisfied, they provided recommendations towards improving graduate outcomes. The research initiates new ideas for exploring the employability of university graduates and suggests further research in supporting the transition of future graduates into roles and careers in HRM and ER.

KEYWORDS:

• Employability
• employment relations
• graduates
• human resource management

Acknowledgements

We extend our thanks to Dr Kim Ball who assisted with the literature search and data coding and analysis of the participant interviews, for this research and Dr Ellen Meissner who assisted with editing. We would also like to thank Dr Fiona Christie for providing feedback on this paper, and Professor Adrian Wilkinson for his insights during the development phase of the initial reserch project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics details

This research was approved by the Griffith University Research Ethics Committee, reference number 2017/1018 fully approved date 20/12/2017.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Susan Ressia

Susan Ressia is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources at Griffith University. Her research interests include the areas of migrant employment, work–life balance, managing diversity, intersectionality, equality and social justice issues and graduate employability, and she has more recently focused on how managers manage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Susan is co-author of Work in the 21st Century: How do I Log on?. She has published in Gender, Work and Organization, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Labour and Industry: A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Human Resources.

Amie Shaw

Amie Shaw is a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management at Griffith University. Her research is in the broad field of human resources management with a focus on diversity and inclusion, career development and employability. Amie is the lead author of Employment Relations: An Integrated Approach (2nd ed) and co-author (1^st ed) and has published in journals such as Personnel Review, International Journal of HRM, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues, Journal of Health, Organisation and Management, International Journal of Management Education and Leadership and Organization Development Journal.