Abstract:

Technological advancement and economic considerations are focusing increasing attention on generic skills as a result of the observation that the nature of work is changing uninterruptedly, and social and information skills are increasingly important. These changes are so significant that workers need several attributes to be more employable. The basic equipment of the new workers consists on proficiency in the wide range of generic skills. Employers and organisations increasingly expect from high education to provide graduates with generic skills. Integration of generic skills in university accounting programmes derives from an economic view of the role of universities, and is a reflection of the strategies of government and employers who perceive graduates as economic assets to business and the economy. The generic skills discourse is transversal to international borders and disciplinary boundaries because the knowledge economy needs graduates across disciplines with flexible mindsets and transferable skills.

This work is focused on detecting transferable skills for PhD graduates in the context of the Basque industry (Spain). With this aim, the following methodology has been used. A set of generic skills required for Basque enterprises is compared to the transversal skills defining the graduates of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

Transversal skills defined by UPV/EHU are summarised in a catalogue:
1) The first is autonomy and self-regulation, and it is related to the metacognition processes that people carry out to understand the actions they develop.
2) Next, the catalogue of UPV/EHU skills includes social commitment, as an empathetic and responsible attitude towards the social, environmental and economic challenges, and the fundamental democratic values of today's society.
3) The third competence is communication and multilingualism, and implies the ability to understand and express ideas, taking into account the gender perspective, within an inclusive, multicultural and multilingual context.
4) Next, the catalogue mentions ethics and professional responsibility, referring to ethical and deontological conceptions, and those related to intellectual integrity.
5)The fifth competence is the management of information and digital citizenship, which is associated with the management of information sources with a critical and responsible attitude.
6) Sixthly, innovation and entrepreneurship allude to the generation, transformation and implementation of an idea.
7) The seventh skill is critical thinking, as an intellectual and systematic process that requires questioning, analysis, interpretation, synthesis, assessment and the issuance of reasoned judgments.
8) Finally, teamwork is defined as the relationship and integration in a group, actively collaborating to achieve common goals, exchanging information, assuming responsibilities and leadership functions, solving difficulties, contributing to improvement and collective development, and respecting at all times the diversity of gender, culture and language.

Dublin descriptors are used to modulate the UPV/EHU transversal skills for PhD graduates, and a as result, the work herein presented can be used to enhance the employability of the UPV/EHU doctors in the Basque industry.

Keywords:

Doctoral studies, transferable skills, Basque industry.