Professional Service Firms (PSFs) employability skills development for social sciences students in UK higher education

Thesis

Background: Amid neoliberal marketisation and growing labour market precarity, employability skill development has become central to the UK higher education (HE) agenda. This debate is especially pronounced in the social sciences (SS), which face persistent scrutiny over perceived deficits in employability and graduate work readiness. Employer-reported skills gaps—particularly in Professional Service Firms (PSFs), where effective skill application is critical—have heightened these concerns. Whilst SS graduates are often credited with generic skills, no research has explored how they adapt to PSF careers, or how skills developed in SS programmes align with PSF demands. This study addresses this gap by examining how SS graduates from UK HE acquire employability-related skills and apply them in PSF contexts.

Methodology: Sixteen recent SS graduates from UK HE working in PSFs were recruited via convenience and purposive selection. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematically analysed to explore their employability skill development, application, and perceptions of programme preparedness.

Findings: UK SS programmes can foster PSF-relevant skills through both curricular and co-curricular ways, though the latter was largely absent in practice. Beyond generic skills, SS education also fosters disciplinary knowledge, with those developed applicable across all stages of PSF work. Whilst skill development varied across degree levels, instructional design, rather than UG or PGT status, emerged as the key determinant. Despite these gains, participants generally viewed SS programmes as offering limited preparation for PSF roles, attributing this to outdated instructional strategies, degree-related stereotypes, restricted opportunities, and a broader negative stance toward SS from the UK government. Notably, external PSF dynamics were observed to hinder the effective application of these skills, warranting further attention.

Conclusion: This study offers a holistic understanding of the relationship between SS education and PSF employability through graduate interviews. It addresses a key scholarly gap by analysing the specific nexus between SS education and PSF work, while providing practical insights to guide curriculum reform and strengthen institutional strategies for enhancing graduate employability. The findings challenge the notion that SS is inherently misaligned with PSF careers, emphasising instead that its potential can be fully realised only through deliberate, context-sensitive reform. The study calls for a shift from generic, one-size-fits-all employability agendas toward discipline-sensitive approaches that foster both individual development and systemic change, paving the way for a more integrated and sustainable future for SS education.

Authors: Wang, Y

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-zb9qrpazx
• Type of award: MSc
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: professional service firms; employability skills; UK higher education; social sciences
• Subjects: Education, Higher; Professional corporations; Employability