ICT Skills: An Essential Graduate Skill in Today’s Global Economy?

This paper reflects on the skills required by university graduates to participate successfully in today’s global economy. The development of these skills in students throughout Australian universities has been guided by Core Graduate Attributes (CGA) policies. While information literacy skills have been recognised in most policies, more advanced information technology and communication (ICT) skills and digital literacy have been largely overlooked. Yet, digital technology is all-encompassing with applications that permeate every aspect of the economy. Thus, the skills that graduates require increasingly revolve around knowledge creation and information sharing, insight and analysis, and collaboration and advanced communications skills. The paper discusses the growing need for the development of advanced ICT skills in university graduates; it shows the disparity between CGA policies, current university practice, and the expectations of the world at large; and, it proposes explicit incorporation of these skills to university curriculum, including suggestions for effective implementation.