Employability skills : essential requirements in health service manager vacancy advertisements

Background: Common understandings of what constitutes employability skills (ES), for graduate entry level jobs in health services management, are not well articulated. The Australian Department of Science and Training (DEST) provides a generic profile only which changes over time. In health, this is compounded by endemic reform. What is agreed is that a degree is not enough. Recruitment and personnel policies/practices have been found inconsistent, and wish lists for ES unreliable. In addition, different levels of managers in an organisation require different attributes for the same position. Higher education shows interest in generic skills because of pressure from employers. Method: As public documents, job advertisements provide accessible data on employer skill requirements listed as essential requirements. Using predefined search criteria, 100 consecutive advertisements for health managers in New South Wales were collected from two major Australian newspapers and two internet sites, mid-September to December 2009. Results: A total of 35 different essential requirements were identified. Communication skills were the most frequently listed followed by prior experience, tertiary qualifications and knowledge of the healthcare system. Findings were consistent with the DEST top three ES. Comparative analysis with competency requirements of the Australasian College of Health Service Management and overseas organisations is discussed. Conclusions: Although ES are stated in vacancy advertisements for health management, understanding of some terms needs to be agreed and sufficient detail provided to help identify suitable applicants. Key ES are consistent with generic listings but there are also health profession specific requirements. Higher education providers can use these findings to inform curriculum development and improve graduate employment outcomes