Employers are looking to hire graduates who can demonstrate non-cognitive skills such as integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility, interpersonal skills, positive attitude, professionalism, flexibility, teamwork and work ethic (Robles, 2012). Studies have found that company executives want employees with the proper technical skills for the job, but also value strong communication skills, teamwork skills, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, organizational skills, and presentation skills (Kretovics & McCambridge, 1998). Even college graduates believe that they require strong interpersonal abilities, teamwork skills, and work ethic to land a job (Velasco, 2012). Despite this understanding of desired skills, employers report that they are unable to find enough workers with the complete skillset they desire (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2013; Ellis, Kisling, & Hackworth, 2014). George Mason University, much like colleges across the United States, must find a way to both offer students programming to develop these skills but then understand how the programming assists in the development of these necessary skills.
Scholars have discussed the connections between learning,
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The four core question to accomplish this are: How is this job fitting in with your academics? What are you learning here that’s helping you in school? What are you learning in class that you can apply here at work? Can you give me a couple of examples of things you’ve learned here that you think you’ll use in your chosen profession? (University of Alaska Anchorage Student Affairs, 2015). This discussion is had one-on-one with a supervisor and also in a group setting with other student employees during the