The employer data was far harder to obtain than student data. An initial mailshot of questionnaires to employers yielded insufficient information. The data reported on here stems from interviews conducted by placement officers during their student visits. It was only possible to gather data from 34 employers but some of the results are interesting, if not altogether unexpected.

Operating systems in use

Data for the operating systems in use clearly demonstrates the pre-eminence of Microsoft's position in the marketplace. There was no evidence of the use of Unix or Linux platforms and only 2 employers appeared to be using Apple Macintosh machines running MacOS7.

Housekeeping and file maintenance

A significant proportion of employers were keen that students have some housekeeping and file maintenance capability. The figure of 16 accounts for about half the sample. There may therefore be some merit in ensuring that all students are at least familiar with Windows Explorer to carry out basic housekeeping tasks.

Word-processing

It was not at all surprising to find that the greatest ICT application was word-processing. Over half the sample indicated that they expected students to have intermediate skills in this area. Nor was it surprising to find that, in their overwhelming majority, employers rely on Microsoft Word, the figure being 20 users.

Desk-top publishing

Spreadsheets

The second most popular application, again perhaps not surprisingly, was spreadsheet work. Here again, Microsoft takes pride of place with 12 employers using Excel, although there were a number of cases where students were expected to know Lotus 123. The returns here indicate that, by and large, the employers are happy with a basic skill level.

Databases

There was much less demand for a knowledge of databases but, interestingly, a large number of employers were keen for the students to have intermediate level skills. Although the most popular package was Microsoft Access, a number of employers also used Paradox. This would suggest that, if one were preparing students in this area, it might be more appropriate to adopt a generic approach to database work and not prepare them exclusively for one package.

Presentation packages

Somewhat to my surprise, the demand for a knowledge of presentation packages was not as great as I would have expected. The most frequently used package was Powerpoint, but it was trailed very closely by Freelance. Again, therefore, if one were seeking to provide training in this area and the employers were requesting only a basic knowledge, a generic approach might be more appropriate.

Data entry

Nineteen employers indicated that they would like students to undertake data entry of various kinds. A large number involved forms and/or order processing. Other employers simply required customer details to be updated. In this case, there is some overlap with database work although students were not expected to have any understanding of the underlying record structure. Some degree of keyboard proficiency would be a good preparation for this activity as well as an appreciation that accurate data entry is important, despite its being a rather tedious process

E-mail

A significant number of employers expected students to work with e-mail. There was evidence of a much wider range of mail clients being used than might have been expected. I accept that, if one knows one mail system, a new one is fairly easily learnt, but I noted with interest that a number of employers use the Eudora client, others use Microsoft Outlook. Students should expect to find a package that behaves somewhat differently from the one they are accustomed to use at their home university. Half the employers expected the students to undertake e-mail work at intermediate or advanced level. There was a clear expectation that students would feel comfortable working with attachments of various types. This could therefore be usefully integrated into any pre-placement training

World Wide Web

An area that is gaining in popularity with employers is some familiarity with the World Wide Web (WWW). Twenty-two employers indicated that this would be a desirable skill, primarily with a view to searching for information, although some were also interested in students having authoring skills. At a more anecdotal level, it is apparent that quite a large number of companies are interested in using students to update and translate existing Web sites. I rather suspect that this is an area that will develop rapidly with the exponential growth of e-commerce.

Fax

One of the skills that a significant proportion of employers expected students to have was knowing how to use a facsimile machine. That is something that could easily be tackled before the student goes away on placement.

Other IT skills

The Value of IT Skills

Employers were asked whether the possession of ICT skills by a student would affect their decision to employ her or him. Half the sample indicated that it would make a difference to their decision to employ or not. A similar number were interested in having a detailed indication of the student's areas of competence and a similar number again were keen that we be able to show evidence of their having acquired the skills. However, only five indicated that ICT skills would make a difference to the pay they were prepared to give the students.

Only one employer in the sample indicated that, without the ICT skills, a student would not be employed. Much more frequent was an indication that the skills were not essential but a desirable 'plus'. Generally speaking, employers preferred to see students with other, personal qualities, indicating that they could provide the ICT training locally if it was needed.