Keywords

1 Introduction

In the face of new challenges, the list of competencies required from employees of modern companies has expanded significantly. Globalization has had a significant impact on this, which contributes to the integration of national economies and the expansion of professional cooperation between enterprises of different countries. In the 21st century, information and communication technologies are being widely introduced into society, leading to changes in education, occupation and employment. These changes require continuous adaptation to the environment and the acquisition of new skills. Researchers call them “21st Century Competencies” [6]. Today, along with professional competencies, soft skills are of particular importance. They include: communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, teamwork skills, lifelong learning, and leadership skills [8]. Soft skills have a significant impact on the ability of employees to perform their work, so they are of great importance in the employment of university graduates. The development of soft skills should begin at the university level. In Russia, the question of developing soft skills among students in higher education institutions is especially acute, which is associated with the transition to a competent approach in education.

2 Methodology

The subject of this study is the processes of teaching soft skills in higher education institutions and their impact on the employment of graduates in the context of globalization. The object of the study was one of the leading Russian universities - Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Samara State Technical University (SSTU), which annually graduates a large number of bachelors, specialists and undergraduates of technical and economic orientation. Also, SSTU is the largest scientific center. In studying the literature on the topic of research, methods such as analysis and synthesis were used. Experimental study of the object was carried out through observation and survey. The survey was attended by students of FSBEI HI SSTU. The sample size was 30 people. In summing up the study, the authors used mathematical methods, namely the data visualization method. The results of the study are presented in the form of diagrams.

3 Results

Before the transition to the Bologna system in 2003, a qualification approach was the basis of Russian vocational education, the main task of which is for students to obtain knowledge, but not skills (especially soft). The reform carried out in Russia in the 21st century to introduce the Bologna system changed this state of affairs. If you follow the model of the Bologna process, teaching should be aimed at developing both professional and social competencies aimed at future professional activities. At the same time, researchers give social competencies no less important than professional ones [11]. Thus, soft skills are today the competencies of the future, since in the context of ongoing globalization they determine the competitiveness of both graduates in the labor market and institutions of higher education themselves. Nevertheless, the conducted studies (on the example of Samara State Technical University) show that there are a number of problems in introducing soft skills into the teaching processes, although there are also successes in this direction. A survey conducted among students of the Faculty of Engineering and Economics showed that less than half (41.94%) are familiar with the notion of “soft skills” (Fig. 1). For others, this notion is either unfamiliar, or they have heard about it, but do not understand the meaning. This suggests that students do not attach special importance to the acquisition of these competencies for future professional activities and are not interested in this issue.

Fig. 1.
figure 1

(Source: authors).

Results of a survey on the notion ‘soft skills’

Full size image

Accordingly, an important task for the university is to develop measures for informatization and the development of soft skills among students. The list of suggestions is presented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.
figure 2

(Source: authors).

Activities to develop soft skills in higher education institutions

Full size image

First of all, information work should be strengthened in terms of explaining to students what soft skills are in the framework of the training sessions. It is also necessary to increase the number of trainings with the participation of the leadership of higher education institutions, authorities and employers, who can directly voice the requirements for employees and share personal experience in the use of soft skills in work. The second recommended direction is the use of modern ways of mastering soft skills in educational process, for example, such as trainings, coaching and mentoring (with the participation of practitioners from the field of potential employers). These forms of interaction with enterprises will allow you to gain the soft skills required in future work.

It should be noted that in FSBEI HI Samara State Technical University there exists a whole range of measures for the professional orientation of youth and interaction with employers, and many of them have a good effect. So, the university has a department for organizing practices and promoting the employment of graduates. Every year, SSTU students go to enterprises in different parts of the country and even the world to test their knowledge and ideas about the chosen profession. Practice allows students to see the organization of activities, the list and content of professional duties of the enterprise where they will work. A developed innovative infrastructure has long been operating at the university that contributes not only to the educational and scientific, but also to the professional activities of students, since it helps in practice to get acquainted with the future profession. It is represented by training engineering centers created together with leading world manufacturers of applied research and industrial equipment [5]. However, these activities are more aimed at developing professional skills, but not soft ones. The third direction in the development of soft skills among students of Russian universities may be the introduction of educational technologies of subject-language integrated learning (CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning). This technology implies that a foreign language is used as a tool in teaching a non-language subject. At the same time, both language and subject are of equal importance.

Conducting courses in specialized disciplines in foreign languages contributes to the development of foreign language competence among students and such soft skills as: the ability to conduct business negotiations and business correspondence in a foreign language, as well as the ability to develop and carry out projects in a foreign language. These skills in the context of globalization and the expansion of international relations are of particular importance for successful professional activities and career growth. In Russia today there are many foreign companies that urgently need employees who have foreign-language competence (first of all, we are talking about proficiency in English, to a lesser extent - German, French, Chinese, etc.) A similar situation is observed in Samara region, where one may find the largest international companies in the field of mechanical engineering, IT technologies, food industry, banking, trade, etc. FSBEI HI Samara State Technical University is the leading center for training personnel for these industries.

However, as a survey among students (Fig. 3) showed, less than 10% of respondents speak English on advanced level, which is necessary for full-fledged work in an international company. The same number of respondents admits that they have a zero level. No one speaks advanced German. There was no one speaking French (at any level) among the interviewees (Fig. 4).

Fig. 3.
figure 3

(Source: authors).

Foreign language proficiency survey results

Full size image
Fig. 4.
figure 4

(Source: authors).

Results of the survey on teaching professional disciplines in a foreign language

Full size image

However, the positive point is that most respondents want to improve the skill of foreign language competence and would like to study specialized subjects in English (64.52%). The situation with German and French is worse: 21.05% and 11.11% respectively.

Besides, the soft skills acquired with the help of CLIL technology can be useful already at a grade level in institution of higher education as they promote increase in communication between foreign and local students. Today, Russian universities cooperate with many leading international scientific and educational centers. Since joining the Bologna process, the number of foreign students has increased significantly. At the same time, studies show that among foreign students there is a very high level of emotional stress associated, among others, with academic problems. In addition, they increase as foreign students that try to master the Russian language and local specifics [7] CLIL technology would contribute to faster socialization and the development of soft skills for both foreign and Russian students. Given the advantages of using CLIL technology, it is necessary to accelerate the processes of its implementation in Russian universities, since foreign-language competence is necessary now, and it can be safely called the competence of the future.

4 Discussion

Numerous studies show that many companies around the world lack employees with the required skills. Moreover, this situation is characteristic of different fields of activity, despite the fact that institutions of higher education each year produce a large number of specialists. For example, a shortage of professionals with relevant skills is felt in the IT field. At the same time, we are talking not only about technical skills, but also soft ones, that is, skills for working with people [3]. The need for training and the development of soft skills among workers is indicated by the research of the hotel business. The survey showed that applicants in the hospitality industry lack such skills as responsiveness to customers, organization, oral communication and teamwork [1]. An analysis of nursing training programs also showed that in order to increase the level of medical care, attention must be paid not only to acquiring professional knowledge, but also soft skills [9].

Research into the professional training of future accountants [4] and marketing specialists [2] demonstrates the importance of soft skills. Soft skills in the professional activities of teachers and faculty members of higher education are also important [12]. Thus, the problem of the lack of specialists of various fields with not only professional, but also soft skills is relevant and discussed throughout the world. At the same time, studies conducted in the educational environment show that the use of innovative pedagogical approaches significantly improve the soft skills of students – future specialists [10].

5 Conclusion

Today, one of the urgent tasks for the university is the training of bachelors, specialists and undergraduates with competencies of the future, which include not only professional, but also soft skills. The authors, on the example of FSBEI HI SSTU, investigate the level of proficiency of modern students in soft skills, the degree of demand for these skills in the labor market and the prospects for teaching soft skills in higher education institutions. Studies have shown that, despite the demand for soft skills by employers, graduates do not own them sufficiently. To solve this problem, it is suggested to introduce a number of measures into the educational process of universities, namely: conducting information work; the use of modern ways of mastering soft skills; application of CLIL technology. In general, it can be said that although teaching soft skills in Russian higher education institutions is at the initial stage of implementation, competition and ongoing globalization contribute to the introduction of changes in their educational processes.