ABSTRACT

Increasingly, employers are seeking candidates with transferable skills in addition to technical and educational requirements. Thus, university students seek opportunities to develop transferrable skills, often through extra and co-curricular programs. With this in mind, our research explores student assessments of their own development of transferable skills after participation in a co-curricular, experiential volunteer program (McMaster Children and Youth University) in Canada. Using pre/post-survey methods, we find statistically significant increases in participants’ self-assessments of leadership, problem solving, knowledge translation, and knowledge mobilization. Adaptability emerges as an unexpected skill several participants report developing as a result of working with young people. We conclude that co-curricular programs play an important role in transferable skill development. Further, we argue that social contexts of experiential learning opportunities play a significant role in shaping transferrable skill development.

摘要

除了技术和教育要求外，雇主越来越多地寻找具有可转移技能的候选人。因此，大学生通常通过课外活动和课外活动来寻求发展可转移技能的机会。考虑到这一点，我们的研究探讨了学生在参加加拿大的课外体验式志愿者计划（麦克马斯特儿童与青年大学）后对自身可转移技能发展的评估。使用前/后调查方法，我们发现参与者对领导力、问题解决、知识转化和知识动员的自我评估在统计上显着增加。一些参与者报告说，由于与年轻人一起工作，适应性成为一种意想不到的技能。我们得出结论，课外项目在可转移技能发展中发挥着重要作用。此外，我们认为体验式学习机会的社会背景在塑造可转移技能发展方面发挥着重要作用。