Competing stakeholder understandings of graduate attributes and employability in work-integrated learning

Abstract

This study examined academics, students, professionals and careers advisors' perceptions of how the inclusion of of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) in Human Resource Management (HRM) undergraduate degrees influenced students' achievement of Graduate Attributes (GAs) in Australian universities. Prior research finds that student participation in WIL can strengthen the opportunities for acquiring GAs, thus influencing their employability. Utilising stakeholder theory 38 qualitative semi-structured interviews revealed different and sometimes competing understandings of GAs and employability, along with their link to WIL, across four stakeholder groups. Notably, a marked lack of understanding of GAs and employability was found in the student stakeholder group. These findings have practical teaching and learning implications for the embedding of GAs in higher education programs to increase student understanding of GAs and employability, and their importance for their future.