Research Skills and Employability of Graduate Students

Employment in Nigeria has been a matter of concern for several years. Several studies have shown that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria is rising year after year. There is also a bit of debate in the labor market, as recruiters and employers have argued that some graduates are unemployable due to lack of a variety of employability skills, leaving a lot of jobs empty until today.

Furthermore, this threat, called unemployment, has given birth to a number of other organizations concerned with equipping graduates with both soft skills and hard skills to make them more employable. Indeed, the influence of these organizations cannot be underestimated, as this has led to an improvement in the employability skills of many graduates, and as a result, many of them are able to obtain their dream job, while others have also been able to build companies that prosper and employ more people into the workforce.

Despite all this, the unemployment rate is still high. The biggest challenge faced by employees is their ability to retain their jobs. It is one thing to get employed, it is another to stay on the job. Employability goes beyond getting a job, it extends to the ability to retain that job and do well on the job. A broader concept of employability is provided by Yorke (2006) as a set of achievements in terms of skills, understandings and personal attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations that benefit themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy” (Yorke, 2006, p.8).

Employability Skills can also be described as the transferable skills required by a person to make them ‘employable.’

Having understood the meaning of employability skills. What is research skills?

Research skills refer to the ability to search for, locate, extract, organise, evaluate and use or present information that is relevant to a particular topic. Simply put, it is the skills needed to conduct research. They can be characterized as hard skills, soft skills and transferable skills. Examples of research skills include, Critical thinking skills, time management, problem solving skills, analytical skills etc. By constantly doing research these skills are developed unconsciously. Tentatively, these skills can also be regarded as employability skills.

You can read more on our previous post on “Skills you need to become a researcher” https://heyresearch-edu.medium.com/skills-you-need-to-become-a-researcher-7dc9a922e752

One of the main requirements used to award a graduation certificate to any candidate in any part of the world is that he has successfully carried out and completed the academic research assigned to him. You would also agree with me that academic study is not only meant as a graduate project, but is used as a benchmark from which your employability skills can be measured and strengthened. Simply put, your research work is intended to develop your employability skills and also to prepare you for the challenge that lies ahead, whether at work or in your future career.

Research skills and employability are very much in common. By participating in collaborative research, you can develop your ability to work in a team and be a great teammate. Also the first and best chance of developing your organizational, communication and presentation skills as an undergraduate or graduate student is through your research.

Furthermore the value of research in many companies cannot be downplayed. That is why large corporations often set up a research and development team to manage all activities related to the operation, products or services of the organisations. For smaller businesses, they are relying on the research skills of all their workers. Organizations would demand the ideas and creativity required to boost their company growth from their employees on an ongoing basis.

To conclude, research helps to develop a range of employability skills. Employability skills is what gives you a role in an organisation, and it also keeps you relevant in that organisations. The company demands workers who are not constrained in their thinking and are constantly proposing better ideas and creativity to move the company forward.

So, if you really want to remain important to your company, one way is to develop your employability and research skills.

To begin this journey as a student, reach out to hey research on heyresearch.edu@gmail.com for mentorship and training.