New index tracks future-readiness
The Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG) at NUS has developed a new index that helps NUS students evaluate their skillsets and gauge their readiness for the future. Known as the CFG Future-ready Index (CFG-FRI), the inaugural index was launched at the annual NUS Career Fair on 7 February.
In his opening address at NUS Career Fair 2017, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye said, “The Index enables us to clearly define the metrics that matter to the industry and track the progress of our students. It also serves as a benchmark for any organisation looking to assess and enhance the soft-skill competencies of their employees.”
Through focus group sessions and surveys involving more than 300 leading multinational and local employers across a spectrum of sectors, CFG has identified nine key mindsets and competencies that are valued by employers. These are Adaptability, Curiosity, Emotional Sensing, Empathy, Entrepreneurial Thinking, Insight, Pursuing Convictions, Resilience and Vision.
Based on these skills, the research team at CFG also developed a proprietary psychometric tool. Speaking of the CFG-FRI Tool, CFG Director Ms Crystal Lim said, “Our hope is that it becomes an industry standard, a measurement for assessing how future-ready we are, in terms of our students and also for employers.”
The tool consists of a list of 52 questions and was tested on 4,250 NUS undergraduates from various years of study to assess their future-readiness. Students were also asked in a CFG survey on what they looked for in a career and employer.
Key findings were encapsulated in the inaugural NUS Future-ready Report, also launched at NUS Career Fair 2017. One key discovery was that students with overseas experience scored higher for seven domains, namely Adaptability, Curiosity, Entrepreneurial Thinking, Insight, Pursuing Convictions, Resilience and Vision.
Secondly, senior NUS students achieved higher scores in three domains most valued by employers — Adaptability, Entrepreneurial Thinking and Pursuing Convictions. This suggested that the students’ education experience at NUS has helped them develop an entrepreneurial outlook and become more adaptable and dynamic.
Significant gender differences were also noted, with female students achieving higher scores for Empathy and Emotional Sensing.
In addition, the NUS Future-ready Report identified eight factors that motivate millennials in their career and employer selection — Autonomy, Challenge, Collaboration, Corporate Social Responsibility, Growth, Purpose, Trust and Well-being.
Prof Tan (right) and Prof Ashraf Kassim, Vice Provost (Special Duties) (2nd from from right) visiting an exhibitor’s booth
Prof Tan added that the University was working with industry partners to jointly develop a co-operative education programme that would integrate academic studies with relevant work experience over the final two-and-a-half years of a student’s candidature. The pilot would kick off in August for programmes such as Business Analytics; Data Science and Analytics; and Information Security. “This serves as a good way to bring important industry problems back to the University, where our professors have the tools to help students address some of these issues. This provides a strong synergy between industry, and research and education in the University,” shared Prof Tan.
The two-day NUS Career Fair 2017 attracted participation from more than 260 employers offering over 4,600 job opportunities in a range of industries.
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