Mind the Gap

I’ve always had a soft spot for student employability. Helping to establish the Employability Hub remains one of my proudest moments and not just because it won the national AGCAS Award for Excellence for Building Effective Partnerships in 2024 (though I’m still smiling about that!). It actually attempted to tackle something vital: making the journey from education to employment more inclusive, accessible and supportive for every learner.

When I saw the new research from Medr and Advance HE sitting in my inbox when I got back from hols, it caught my interest.

The report - Are we speaking the same language? - explores a surprisingly persistent challenge: the mismatch between the way universities describe graduate skills and how employers phrase them in job adverts.

It’s an issue that goes deeper than just confusing language.

Why this matters

The research found that students performed significantly better when job descriptions were written in clear, explicit language and were aligned with the skills frameworks used by universities. But when faced with the more implicit phrasing typical of employer ads, responses dropped off.

Terms like “fast-paced environment” or “team player with initiative” might feel second nature to hiring managers but to students, especially those who are neurodiverse or from underrepresented backgrounds, they can be vague, abstract, and even exclusionary.

The report also makes a strong case for inclusive recruitment. It flags potential risks under the Equality Act 2010 when job language excludes or disadvantages certain groups of applicants.

What we can do

The recommendations in this report go beyond simply asking employers to change how they write job ads. While there's value in clearer, more inclusive language, we can't expect the world of work to be rewritten around graduate comfort zones and nor should we. BUT what we can do is equip students with the tools, confidence and context to decode what’s in front of them and to translate their own experiences into language that resonates in the workplace.

This is a shared responsibility:

• The recommendations aren’t just for employers. There’s something here for all of us:

• Universities can help students translate their learning into the language of the workplace.

• Employers can rethink how they write job descriptions especially if they want to access a wider, more diverse talent pool.

• Students can be empowered to spot the real skills behind the buzzwords and confidently connect their experiences to what recruiters are asking for.

As someone who’s worked across the education, charity and employability sectors, I see huge potential here. The gap is fixable but only if we meet in the middle.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this research shapes future practice:

• clearer connections between learning and employment

• more inclusive language in recruitment

• and most importantly in my view, stronger collaboration between universities, careers services and employers to help every graduate recognise their potential.

You can read the full report here: Are we speaking the same language?

Let’s keep the conversation going because how we talk about work really does shape who gets to do it.