MAPPING TRANSVERSAL SKILLS REQUIRED IN THE WORKPLACE: A CASE STUDY ON ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION GRADUATES

In the recent period, equipping graduates with the right skills has become a great concern to education institutions worldwide. The scope is to increase the employability and future work performances of graduates which has multiple benefits for individuals, companies and societies. Transversal skills are particularly important for a smooth school-to-work transition, as well as for facilitating further job mobility. Moreover, such skills play an important role in times of economic crises as they permit workers and companies to adapt to new conditions. This paper gives an insight on which transversal skills are needed on the labour market, with focus on higher education graduates. The analysis is built on data collected in 2012 via a questionnaire-based survey among 400 Romanian higher education graduates who left university in 2002, 2005 and 2007. Results show that top three transversal skills that are needed in the workplace include: communication abilities, ICT skills and capacity to work under stress. However, the required skills differ by economic sector, type of organization and position.