Skills Taught vs Skills Sought: Using Skills Analytics to Identify the Gaps between Curriculum and Job Markets

Higher education often aims to create job-ready graduates. Thus, the skills and knowledge taught in professional degrees are expected to align with the needs of the labor market. However, the dynamic nature of the job market makes it challenging to ensure that this alignment occurs. In this study, we show how Skills Analytics can be used to identify critical skills in the workforce, mapping these to the curriculum offerings of a university. This enables us to identify skill gaps between what is taught and what is needed in the job market. Methods are presented that allow universities to test the alignment of their curriculum offerings with the job market. Where gaps are identified, this would enable universities to update their curriculum more rapidly to produce graduates equipped with up-to-date skills required by the local job market. Our contributions include: a new method for ranking skills in curricula based on their relative importance in the job market; and proof of concept methods to find skills gaps between curriculum offerings and an identified job market that can lead to curriculum redesign and enhancements.