A Survey of Soft Skills Expectations: A View from Work Integrated Learning Students and the Chemical Industry

Abstract

Universities tend to focus on the hard skills required within disciplines, with a general lack of focus on the teaching of soft skills, specifically in the hard sciences, while a graduate with good attributes ought to have both. There is an uncertainty over whose responsibility it is to teach soft skills between industry and universities, with the chemical industry in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, having expressed concern regarding the lack of soft skills from students joining the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program. This study aimed to understand the gap between industry’s expectations regarding these skills and what students expected from their industrial supervisors. Surveys were administered to students and industrial supervisors, the results indicating that students are mostly aware of what soft skills they have and how important they are in the workplace. Despite their high ranking of soft skills, such as discipline, determination, teamwork, and communication, they do not always apply them in the work environment. The differences between the supervisors and the students’ responses highlight the latter’s lack of specific knowledge about the world of work.