Let's talk employability

Few phenomena will shape the future as profoundly as digital transformation and the emergence of new technologies, such as widely accessible AI. 

Our agenda through March 2024 is available here. Find out about our new and exciting GEURS RADAR and our upcoming trends in digital jobs and entrepreneurship.

Employers worldwide are increasingly turning to their own specialized internal programs to bridge the graduate skills gap, according to the 2023-24 Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS). When reflecting on how universities and corporations can successfully cooperate to produce workforce-ready new graduates, employers surveyed in the 2024 GEURS pointed out a few reasons why establishing in-house training programs are currently preferred to joint programs with universities.

When thinking about the role of universities in graduate employability, employers in the U.S. were outliers in stating that universities should prioritize graduate employability rates as a Key Performance Indicator.

As higher education strives to prepare its graduates for an increasingly global and technologically sophisticated modern workplace, the 2023-24 Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS) provides a wealth of insights into which skills employers are looking for in first-time employees as well as a list of the Top 250 universities that employers feel best prepare students for their first jobs. 2024’sresults show that well-known trends in post-graduation employability continue to be priorities for employers while, at the same time, employers’ expectations for new university graduates are changing with broader, prevailing trends as Generation Z enters the workforce.

Our agenda through January 2024 is available here. Find out about our new and exciting GEURS RADAR.

Experts recommended to "integrate AI into courses." In our annual Global Employability University Survey, we submitted this question to employers worldwide. The Geurs 2024 survey results revealed that 77% of them acknowledged that "rapid AI technology progress has created new skill requirements for graduates entering the workplace." Almost in tandem, 75%believed that "Universities should introduce digital literacy courses in all curriculums."

Every year Emerging releases the GEURS Global Employability University Ranking, a top 250 listing based on employers’ point of view, whereby respondents from companies around the world rank universities for the employability of their graduates. The GEURS is also a survey in which, year after year, employers worldwide are questioned extensively on several subjects: on their recruitment processes, their relationship with universities, or the skills they are looking for in graduates. In 2022 employers worldwide were also asked about HOW they tend to assess the quality of a university,

Worldwide, 71.4% of all employers report that their companies have put in place a graduate program. The GEURS 2020-2022 data shows a significant upward trend in employer-led graduate programs in most countries. What does this reveal about the relationship between universities and employers ?