Komparativní analýza očekávání a vnímání přenositelných kompetencí u studentů doktorského studia VŠB-TUO a zaměstnavatelů

Abstract

Transferable competencies are becoming an increasingly important prerequisite for individuals’ employability in the labour market, with their importance being particularly evident among groups with limited work experience, such as graduates. A specific group comprises graduates of doctoral programmes, whose training is primarily oriented towards research and academic careers, while a considerable proportion of these graduates are employed in careers in non-academic settings. In these career pathways, employers expect not only disciplinary expertise but also well-developed transferable competences, such as lifelong learning, flexibility, communication, and problem-solving. A review of the literature and an analysis of institutional doctoral-school platforms in the Czech Republic suggest that support for the development of transferable competences is present at a number of universities; however, its form and degree of systematic provision vary considerably across institutions. The aim of the dissertation is to comparatively analyse the assessment of transferable competencies from the perspectives of doctoral students and employers, with a focus on (i) agreement in the evaluation of the importance of competences and (ii) differences in the assessment of their level as an indicator of a potential competence gap. The thesis draws on multiple data sources, including a systematic review of the literature, an analysis of job advertisements, and a questionnaire survey administered to two groups of respondents (doctoral students and employers). Respondents assessed the importance and actual level of competences using a five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using methods appropriate for ordinal-scale data, both for paired comparisons within a single group and for comparisons between two independent groups. The results show a relatively high level of agreement between students and employers regarding which competences are considered important for graduates’ employability. At the same time, substantial differences were identified in assessments of the actual level of competences: students generally rate their own level higher than employers rate the level of these competences in graduates. The findings therefore suggest the existence of a competence gap, particularly with respect to the practical level and application of competences in a work-related context.