CIHE - 1111GlobalGradsweb

8/12/2019 CIHE - 1111GlobalGradsweb

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Global Graduates into Global LeadersExecutive Summary

In partnership with:


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We would like to thanks the following organisations for contributing to this report:

Employers Accenture

Barclays Wealth

BG Group

BNP Paribas

BP

Centrica

Cisco SystemsEADS

Enterprise Rent-a-Car

HSBC

Lloyds Register

National Grid

Nestle

Prudential

PWC

Royal Bank of Scotland

Shell

Standard Bank

Higher Education Institutions Plymouth University

Regents College

University College London

University of Surrey

Government & Policy Stakeholders Department for Business Innovation and Skills

Higher Education Funding Council for England

British Council

Confederation of British Industry

Other Key Stakeholders SHL

Produced by Dr Abigail Diamond and Liz Walkley at CFE, and Stephanie Scott-Davies at CIHEon behalf of AGR, CFE and CIHE


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Why are global graduates needed?

The market for high-skilled graduates is becoming increasingly global. The UK has a strong record of educatinginternational students to become global graduates of the future. Over three and a half million students worldwidestudy outside their country of citizenship.1While the UK is a strong provider of quality higher education and is thesecond highest receiver of international students worldwide,2it is only ranked 34th for external student mobility.3UK students, unlike some European neighbours, are reluctant to take up transnational exchange opportunities suchas Erasmus. During the 2009/10 academic year, more than 213,000 students received Erasmus grants but only11,723 of them were UK students compared to with Spain (31,158), France (30,213) and Germany (28,854).4With theincrease in course fee levels, the implication of paying up to 4500 for a placement may discourage UK studentsfrom pursuing these options and adding to their debt. BRIC nations such as China and India5, however, have grown

student mobility by around ten times over three decades, and their graduates are subsequently benefiting from aninternational education and immersion in another culture.

Globalised businesses require talent to compete in global marketplaces and have higher expectations of graduaterecruits than ever before. The UK can either sit back and wait for BRIC nations to develop the best global graduatesor can start to address this issue now. In order to rise to the challenge, it is crucial that UK universities and employerscollaborate to produce the best global talent, and indeed the next generation of global leaders. The UK must ensurethat its graduates keep pace with global expectations. This means growing future global leaders through its schools,higher education and its employers. Enhancing global employability therefore needs to be high on the agenda ofstudents, employers, universities and government. The question is howcan the UK develop its own globally equippedgraduates?

The significant growth and development in emerging markets, particularly the BRIC nations, means that tocompete effectively UK organisations must take the global view and seek out new opportunities in thesemarkets. A diverse and internationally minded workforce is vital, and UK universities must continue to respondto this through the provision of internationally focussed programmes.

Gregg Carnaffan, Emerging Talent Manager, HSBC

To start to explore these questions CFE worked in partnership with AGR and CIHE to consult multinational employers,

higher education institutions and representatives from government and public agencies. We set out to understandfirstly what competencies a global graduate should possess, and secondly to explore initial thoughts as to howglobal graduates can be developed.

1 OECD, Educaon at a Glance, (2011) p.318.

2 Higher Educaon Stascs Agency, Stascs - Students and qualiers at UK HE instuons, available online at: www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/

view/1897/239/ In 2009/10 there were 405,805 internaonal students

3 Number of UK students studying abroad, UNESCO, Higher Educaon Stascs, 2009, www.uis.unesco.org/Educaon/Pages/terary-educaon.aspx

4 Source: European Commission, Educaon and Culture Directorate General, 2011, accessible online at: hp://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/press/

frontpage/2011/1175_en.htm

5 Brazil, Russia, India and China.


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What we know so far...Employer expectations

Global employability skills, in the sense of being prepared for work on graduation, are expected by manyemployers, and thus increasingly need to take into account an international dimension.

What is a global graduate?

A global graduate is equipped with the skills and competencies to succeed in a global marketplace and enable themto perhaps one day become a global leader of a multinational organisation.

I think were starting to see a particular generation where they think of themselves as quite literally worldcitizens. I dont mean conceptually. I mean they see the world as boundary less: that they are able to move,

shift, work anywhere, and do anything. (Prudential)

Global graduates require a blend of knowledge, competencies and corresponding attributes spanning globalmindset, cultural agility and relationship management and must be able to apply them flexibly. Cross functionalawareness and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams can differentiate valued graduates.

I think cultural dexterity is important: an ability not to impose ones own culture on another, to be sensitive toother cultures and how to do business in different environments. (PWC)

International Graduate Development Programme (IGDP) at BG Group

The IGDP is a structured two year programme, designed to give youngprofessionals the opportunity to gain management skills and hands onexperience in different locations.BG Group are a global organisation operatingin 27 countries, with 20,000 employees worldwide. Their graduate developmentprogramme offers participants the chance to take responsibility and makedecisions on real projects from early on in their career. Its design introduces

an international dimension to development, reflective of BGs global presence.Candidates have the opportunity to do at least one international assignmentduring the programme and also work in one of BGs many international locationson completion. One graduate trainee on the IGDP reflected on the value of BGsglobal workforce: Its a truly multi-cultural company there are people from allaround the world here and theres a great interaction between them. You can seethere are people from everywhere - Oman, Egypt, the UK, Kazakhstan - and itsgood to have several nationalities in the same team.

Source: www.bg-group.com/Careers/graduates/life/Pages/SamiNasri.aspx


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Over and above a sound platform of core graduate competencies (familiar skills and competencies such as team-work, communication, presentation skills, time and self-management, and professionalism), critical competencies forglobal graduates include:

A global mindset- the ability to see the world from a cosmopolitan6viewpoint; to have an awareness of differentcultures and values, and how ones own culture and values differ.

Global knowledge alongside a global mindset is the need for knowledge of global business activity and specificbackground knowledge of the economics, history, and culture of different countries.

Cultural agility the ability to understand the perspectives of individuals from different cultures andbackgrounds and to empathise with these views, and respond to them. And also the ability to cope with andadapt to living in different environments.

Advanced communication skills the ability to communicate effectively (speaking, listening and presenting) withothers from around the world and, where required, communicate in the native language.

Management of complex interpersonal relationships the ability to manage relationships with diverse teams andclients from across the globe and deal with inherent challenges (e.g. socio-cultural, political).

Team-working and collaboration the ability to work collaboratively and empathetically with diverse teams fromacross the globe.

Learning agility the ability to rapidly assimilate knowledge and develop understanding in order to rapidlyrespond and adapt to new challenges, circumstances and cultures.

Adaptability, flexibility, resilience, drive and self-awareness these attributes underpin the above global

competencies and are essential, enabling qualities.6 See quote above from Prudenal which talks about a cosmopolitan viewpoint; this relates to ideology originally from Ulrich Beck, A new

cosmopolitanism is in the air, (2007), hp://print.signandsight.com/features/1603.html and Cosmopolitan Vision, (2006).

Global Graduate Programmes at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas run global graduate programmes for 12 to 18 months the emphasis is onpersonal and professional development, relationship building and global networking.BNPParibas operate a number of graduate programmes on a global basis. Graduates are recruited

into a variety of internship and training programmes across the world. Graduate developmentforms an essential part of helping to build the business for the future. A dedicated globalgraduate website is provided to facilitate global connectivity among participants. The websiteencourages relationship building and knowledge exchange with future peers and colleaguesanywhere across the globe. The programme concludes with an annual global graduateconference which provides a face to face opportunity to network. One Graduate trainee felt thatthe conference at the end of the programme was particularly valuable: We went to Paris lastweek to finish the graduate programme and all the 2010 global graduates gathered from acrossthe world: New York, Milan, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, London,Bahrain and Paris. Wed all met in September last year and we all met up again. It was amazing.Source: www.graduates.bnpparibas.com/meet-our-people.html


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Priority global competencies

Twelve leading employers, who collectively recruit over 3,500 graduates each year in the UK alone, ranked a list ofglobal competencies by order of importance using a 10 point scale (Figure 1). Employers felt that the most importantglobal competencies and attributes were: an ability to work collaboratively; communication skills (both speaking

and listening); drive and resilience; and an ability to embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking (culturalagility). Interestingly multi-lingualism was not an important pre-requisite for most global graduate roles (it scored amean ranking of 1.7) it was viewed as a complementary, not an essential skill.

Figure 1: Ranking of competencies

Global Competencies MeanRanking

An ability to work collaboratively with teams of people from a range ofbackgrounds and countries

8.2

Excellent communication skills: both speaking and listening 7.5

A high degree of drive and resilience 5.6

An ability to embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking 5.4

A capacity to develop new skills and behaviours according to role requirements 4.6

A high degree of self-awareness 4.4

An ability to negotiate and influence clients across the globe from differentcultures

4

An ability to form professional, global networks 3.9

An openness to and respect of a range of perspectives from around the world 3.6

Multi-cultural learning agility (e.g. able to learn in any culture or environment) 2.4

Multi-lingualism 1.7

Knowledge of foreign economies and own industry area overseas 1.7

An understanding of ones position and role within a global context or economy 1.6

A willingness to play an active role in society at a local, national andinternational level.

0.5


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How can global graduates be developed? Global graduates can be developed if schools, higher education institutions and employers are prepared to

raise their aspirations and learn from organisations that have been pro-actively developing approaches to globalgraduate development.

Achieving global graduate competence is not just about attaining qualifications and excelling in a knowledge-based or professional capacity. It is also about holistic development including outlook, values and character.

Experiential learning is a valuable part of professional development alongside formal education. Placements,study trips, years out and even holidays can all contribute.

An international dimension should feature in the school curriculum, degree programmes and graduate

development programmes. Students too have a role to play in acquiring global competencies and choosing appropriate pathways to enable

them to develop a global mindset.

Experience of working outside their home country and immersion in a different culture can catapult a graduateinto being considered for rewarding and challenging roles. However, many UK graduates are reluctant to acceptthe demands of mobility, whether within their home country or beyond and may even choose to study close tohome.

Shell Graduate Engagement

Shell provides a five-year graduate development programme including rotation acrossthe globe. Potential applicants are engaged at an early stage, and encouraged to developinternational business and strategic leadership skills.One such example of interactiveengagement is the Gourami Business Challenge- a one-week residential event, intended forstudents in their final year at university. Designed to offer applicants insight and experienceinto life at Shell, activities include strategic decision-making on the supply and marketing ofproducts to customers, leading to the creation of a mock five-year business plan for Shell. Aparticular strength of the challenge is its ability to introduce real-life teamworking scenarios to

the individual, offering first-hand work experience of an international business environment.It also provides structured feedback on performance and opens up the possibility of a full-time job offer upon graduation for successful participants. One Gourami participant found thechallenge particularly valuable: The experience gave me a very real life experience into theways and workings of an oil company. Also it provided me with new insights into the differentbackgrounds and cultures of other participants. This was my biggest learning experience: tosee how students from different backgrounds and cultures can work together and achieve agreat result The experiences made me see how diverse Shell really is and how important it isto take into consideration what other parts of the business are doing.Source: www.shell.co.uk/home/content/gbr/aboutshell/careers/students_and_graduates/meet_our_students_graduates/

gourami_proles/gourami_prole_arnold_europe.html


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What can businesses, universities andstudents do to help?To develop the best global leaders it is crucial that schools, higher education, employers, students and governmentunderstand the challenges facing the UK around global talent development and then work collaboratively to addressthem and respond to the evolving requirements of workplaces in 2020. Government and educational institutionsneed to provide the right environments and opportunities for young people to flourish and enable them to developnot only sound employability skills, but global competencies and a global mindset.

While we outline below some examples of approaches to global graduate development, it is important to recognisethat these are the exception rather than the norm. There is still a long way to go to influence global employability

more broadly and ensure learning is being shared and sufficiently integrated into day to day recruitment and talentdevelopment practices. The following questions require urgent attention and this report represents a call to action toeach stakeholder group.

Some employers are working collaboratively withschools, colleges and higher education institutions

to: Facilitate opportunities for industry to introduce the

idea of global business activity and global roles toyoung people as early as possible e.g. through talksand industry projects

Enable inspirational role models (alumni or graduatetrainees on international programmes) to engage withstudents and talk about what its really like to work for

a global organisation

Provide opportunities for students to experienceimmersion in the world of the global workplacethrough internships, enternships and placements

What more can UK schools and employers dotogether to inspire future global graduates and

leaders? And how should they do this?


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The best employers are proactively seeking to attract global talent by:

Looking for evidence in graduate applicants of potential capability to develop global competence as well asacademic or personal achievement - e.g. through adopting psychometric testing approaches.

Adopting exciting ways of interacting with potential talent and giving a real taste of global business activitythrough competitions, bootcamp style challenges and social media.

Developing global graduate programmes and competency frameworks which incorporate a global dimension.And provide real-life global projects for the new graduate intake to work on, including assignments overseas.

Encouraging and facilitating internal and external (global) networking with colleagues and clients acrossbusiness functions and sites.

How can employers go further to embed a global dimension in graduate programmes andnurture their graduates to become their future generation of global leaders?

And how can they adopt social media and new technologies to aid the development and

coaching of global graduate trainees?

The most forward-thinking Higher EducationInstitutions are starting to think about globalemployability and some are embedding it inpedagogy and learning, by:

Broadening and enriching students learning experiencesthrough encouraging them to take up a diverse range ofextra-curricular activities, e.g. joining societies and takingpart in multicultural events.

Supporting students to develop a platform of highly agilelearning skills which can be applied to different contexts andsituations e.g. self-didactic learning, self-assessment, criticalanalysis.

Providing viable opportunities for students to study part oftheir programme overseas or enabling students to work withproject teams from across the globe and address problemswith a global context.

How can government, public agencies, employers,and schools work with higher education institutionsacross the UK, to help embed global employability

into all aspects of the learning experience?


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The most aspirational young people are starting their journey towards becoming globalgraduates by:

Seeking out opportunities to gain rich lifeexperiences on a day-to-day basis and to develop life skills

e.g. by gaining exposure to different cultures and societies or living overseas. Building aspirations for a globally oriented career whilst at school.

Gaining sound work experience with a global organisation, preferably an international placement or aninternship, or getting involved in entrepreneurial activity.

Choosing to incorporate study overseas in their learning experience by taking part in a transnationalprogramme or placement e.g. Erasmus.

How can employers and the education system best support young people to build their

global aspirations and help them gain meaningful experiential learning?

Government has an important roleto play in driving forward globalemployability and exploringopportunities to increase the

development of global talent.The question is where should

government focus its efforts?

Two suggested areas for governmentintervention are:

Reviewing opportunities forinternational talent to benefit UK-

based companies. For example,through broaching reciprocalinternship arrangements withcountries such as the US and India.

Incentivising higher educationinstitutions to offer affordabletransnational exchange programmesand sandwich courses (such asErasmus) and increase participation.


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Areas for furtherexplorationThese findings are only just the beginning of theglobal graduate journey. Areas which we aim toexplore going forward include:

1. Global graduate competency frameworks howdo they fit with current competency frameworksand graduate development programmes? Andwhat would an ideal global graduate competencyframework and development programme looklike?

2. The graduate perspective insights fromgraduate trainees and alumni who haveexperienced global graduate programmes orinternational immersion. What benefits have theygained?

3. The global leader perspective exploration of

global role models and the journey taken fromgraduate trainee to leader. What insights can theyoffer new trainees?

For further information

If you are interested in becoming involved in orsponsoring these areas of research please contactAbigail Diamond at CFE.

E: [email protected]

W: www.cfe.org.uk T: 0116 229 3300

For more information on AGR

W: www.agr.org.uk T: 01926 623 236

For more information on CIHE

W: www.cihe.co.uk T: 0207 383 7667

ISBN 1 874223 94 7 November 2011

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CIHE - 1111GlobalGradsweb