Suplementos

This section highlights the key contributions made by the study. The results of the study may inform the undergraduate higher certificate level of the information systems curriculum based on the case study using a specific private higher education institution in South Africa. The results may also assist in informing any IT education sector within the higher education space in South Africa. With reference to Table 1.4 on the research contributions and themes in terms of wanting to produce better prepared graduates for employment, this study uncovered key skills lacked by graduates for employment purposes. It also uncovered the impacts on industry when employing unprepared graduates, the time taken for graduates to become productive as well as measures put into place to further assist the graduates to become more productive. Industry recommendations were collected on possible curriculum enhancements to better assist graduates for the workplace.

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For each expected contribution listed in Table 1.4, the following suggestions may be made as the results were cross referenced against the various participants and the two data collection tools used as illustrated in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1: Key contributions

Research questions

Theme Expected contribution Findings What keys skills do

South African IT graduates lack upon employment?

Skill set A better understanding of the key skills lacked by IT graduates who have not been fully prepared for employment.

Contributing factors to be addressed in the IT curriculum include:

• practical skills • soft skills:

o professional skills

o communication skills What is the impact

of graduates not being fully prepared to enter the workplace productively?

Skill set An understanding of the impacts experienced by IT companies when

underprepared graduates are employed.

A financial impact on the workplace.

What measures does industry take when performance gaps are identified among employed IT graduates?

Skill set A greater understanding of the actions taken by IT companies to ensure employed graduates attain productive levels. Measures taken: • training • certifications • courses • coaching What is the impact

of graduates not being fully prepared to enter the workplace productively?

Employability A perception of the time taken for the employed graduates to become productive.

Time taken to become productive: • 1 week • 16 weeks • 26 weeks • 36 weeks Employability An understanding of whether or not a graduate’s pass level contributes to a faster pace to productive levels.

Findings showed:

• One participant indicated that the results attained by the graduates shortened the time required to become productive. • Remaining participants

indicated the results attained by the graduates did not impact on productively levels. What keys skills do

South African IT graduates lack upon employment?

Curriculum design

A richer knowledge of qualities that IT

recruitment personnel seek when trying to source a possible graduate for employment. Findings showed • communication skills • technical skills What would industry recommend to improve the higher education IT curriculum so that graduates are fully prepared to enter the workplace productively?

Curriculum design

A clearer view of the recommendations made to improve the higher education IT curriculum in South African institutions so that more product graduates may be produced.

Contributory aspects entailed in strengthening the skills set involved:

• soft skills • industry aligned

practical/technical skills • more exposure to industry

related practices

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Table 5.1 explains the key contributions of the study as follows:

1. A better understanding of the key skills lacked by IT graduates who have not been fully prepared for employment:

• The majority of the participants indicated that the factors that should be addressed in the IT curriculum included both practical and soft skills. It was also highlighted that the soft skills of professional and communication skills require further refinement to assist employed graduates to communicate more effectively.

2. An understanding of the impacts on companies when underprepared graduates are employed:

• A financial impact was the common trend seen which emerged from the study’s results. The participants mentioned that if the curriculum were mapped to industry requirements, then industry would not experience the apparent financial implications of underprepared graduates in the workplace experienced at the time of the study.

3. A greater understanding of the actions taken by companies to enable employed graduates to attain productive levels:

• It is recommended that specialised training, certifications, courses and coaching are used to upskill graduates are included the graduates’ study life cycle as this would enable graduates to be productive upon employment. Graduates took the initiative to upskill themselves when they found gaps with their performance. This could be due to the nature of the MLM study mode which enforces self- study of topics prior to lecturer engagements. As such, this mode of study can also be recommended as a way to develop some of the soft skills graduates need. 4. A perception of the time taken for the employed graduate to become productive:

• There was a significant variance in the length of time in weeks required for graduate to become productive upon employment. This ranged from one week, 16 weeks, 26 weeks to 36 weeks.

5. An understanding of whether the graduate’s pass level contributes to a faster pace to productive levels or not:

• Only one of the participants indicated that the results attained by graduates did affect the time required to become productive while the rest of the participants

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maintained that the results attained by graduates did not impact on productivity levels.

6. A richer knowledge of the qualities on which recruitment personnel focus when trying to source a possible graduate for employment:

• The participants indicated that communication and technical skills are required for graduate employment.

7. A clearer view of the recommendations made for South African higher education IT curriculum enhancement so that better geared graduates may be produced:

• Recommendations included strengthening the skills set involving soft skills and industry aligned practical/technical skills. This included greater exposure to industry related practices and the latest trending tools used.

As a final contribution the next section outlines recommendations for improving the IT curriculum in South Africa, as based on the results from the study combined with the recommendations which emerged from literature review.