IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/reoecp/v18y2018i1p45-60n3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Soft Skills of Czech Graduates

Author

Listed:
  • Balcar Jiří

    (VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Economics, Sokolská třída 33, 701 21Ostrava, Czech Republic.)

  • Šimek Milan

    (VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Economics, Sokolská třída 33, 701 21Ostrava, Czech Republic.)

  • Filipová Lenka

    (VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Economics, Sokolská třída 33, 701 21Ostrava, Czech Republic.)

Abstract

Finding a job is easier for people who are better equipped with soft skills, as they are more productive. Therefore, this article deals with the evaluation of soft skills of graduates from Czech public universities. The results show that the same soft skills are required from university graduates as from the population as a whole (only problem solving is more pronounced with them), but the required level of these skills is 42% higher in the case of graduates. Unfortunately, employers perceive the level of graduates’ soft skills insufficient as their level is by 16.46 to 31.15% lower than required. A more detailed analysis showed that, in terms of the development of soft skills, Czech universities provide a very homogenous service. Graduates of universities have nearly the same level of soft skills, while they can also identify similar strengths and weaknesses. These findings suggest that Czech universities should pay more attention to the systematic development of soft skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Balcar Jiří & Šimek Milan & Filipová Lenka, 2018. "Soft Skills of Czech Graduates," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 45-60, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:reoecp:v:18:y:2018:i:1:p:45-60:n:3
    DOI: 10.2478/revecp-2018-0003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/revecp-2018-0003
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/revecp-2018-0003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiří Balcar, 2016. "Is it better to invest in hard or soft skills?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(4), pages 453-470, December.
    2. Borghans, Lex & Weel, Bas ter & Weinberg, Bruce A., 2005. "People People: Social Capital and the Labor-Market - Outcomes of Underrepresented Groups," Research Memorandum 002, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    3. Lex Borghans & Bas ter Weel & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2008. "Interpersonal Styles and Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
    4. Jiří Balcar & Lenka Janíčková & Lenka Filipová, 2014. "What General Competencies Are Required from the Czech Labour Force?," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(2), pages 250-265.
    5. Orazem, Peter F. & Vodopivec, Milan, 1997. "Value of human capital in transition to market: Evidence from Slovenia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 893-903, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fiji Phuti & Setlhomo Koloi-Keaikitse & Gaelebale Nnunu Tsheko & Seth Oppong, 2023. "Developing and Validating a Soft Skills Assessment Scale for Psychoeducational Assessment," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiří Balcar, 2016. "Is it better to invest in hard or soft skills?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(4), pages 453-470, December.
    2. By Tyas Prevoo & Bas ter Weel, 2015. "The importance of early conscientiousness for socio-economic outcomes: evidence from the British Cohort Study," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 918-948.
    3. L. Rachel Ngai & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "Gender Gaps and the Rise of the Service Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 1-44, October.
    4. İ. Akçomak & Lex Borghans & Bas Weel, 2011. "Measuring and Interpreting Trends in the Division of Labour in the Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 435-482, December.
    5. Okumura Tsunao & Usui Emiko, 2014. "Do Parents’ Social Skills Influence Their Children’s Sociability?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1081-1116, July.
    6. Jiří Balcar, 2012. "The “Soft Five” in Romania," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 15(43), pages 23-44, March.
    7. repec:prg:jnlpep:v:preprint:id:651:p:1-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Climent Quintana‐Domeque, 2011. "Preferences, Comparative Advantage, and Compensating Wage Differentials for Job Routinization," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 73(2), pages 207-229, April.
    9. Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2008. "Preferences, Comparative Advantage, and Compensating Wage Differentials for Job Routinization," Working Papers 1063, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    10. Efrat, Alon, 2022. "A significant improvement was found in the Emotional stability following the training. Participating in the training changed the way people associate personality traits with Interaction management," MPRA Paper 118558, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Bas ter Weel & Tyas Prevoo, 2013. "The Importance of Early Conscientiousness for Socio-Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the British Cohort Study," CPB Discussion Paper 251.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    12. Bas ter Weel & Tyas Prevoo, 2013. "The Importance of Early Conscientiousness for Socio-Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the British Cohort Study," CPB Discussion Paper 251, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    13. Suzanne Kok, 2013. "Matching worker skills to job tasks in the Netherlands: Sorting into cities for better careers," CPB Discussion Paper 247, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    14. Bertrand, Marianne, 2011. "New Perspectives on Gender," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 17, pages 1543-1590, Elsevier.
    15. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde, 2017. "When the opportunity knocks: large structural shocks and gender wage gaps," GRAPE Working Papers 2, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    16. Campos, Nauro F. & Jolliffe, Dean, 2003. "After, before and during: returns to education in Hungary (1986-1998)," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 377-390, December.
    17. C. Kirabo Jackson & Shanette C. Porter & John Q. Easton & Alyssa Blanchard & Sebastián Kiguel, 2020. "School Effects on Socioemotional Development, School-Based Arrests, and Educational Attainment," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 491-508, December.
    18. Suzanne Kok, 2014. "Matching worker skills to job tasks in the Netherlands: sorting into cities for better careers," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-36, December.
    19. Mary Eschelbach Hansen, 2006. "The Value of Adoption," Working Papers 2006-15, American University, Department of Economics.
    20. Marina Bassi & Matías Busso & Sergio Urzúa & Jaime Vargas, 2012. "Disconnected: Skills, Education, and Employment in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 79504, February.
    21. Fleisher, Belton M. & Sabirianova, Klara & Wang, Xiaojun, 2005. "Returns to skills and the speed of reforms: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, China, and Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 351-370, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    graduates; language skills; professional skills; skill gap; soft skills; university;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:reoecp:v:18:y:2018:i:1:p:45-60:n:3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.