Transferable Skills Unit at UL aims to empower students with skills for lifelong success

A new Transferable Skills Unit (TSU) at University of Limerick aims to ensure that students are better prepared for the workplace by empowering them with the skills needed for lifelong success.  

The TSU, which was established within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), will support students on their academic journey and future career by equipping them with the essential skills, abilities and attributes needed to address the complex problems, which graduates now face both in the workplace and in society at large. 

The TSU will meet market demand for graduate skills and will initially focus on seven transferable skills, with more to be added at a later stage. These seven transferable skills include critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, communication, digital literacy and sustainability literacy.  

The unit was officially launched during last week's Transforming Higher Education conference, a one-day event that focused on the transformative impact of the University’s UL@Work initiative. 

Dr Chris McInerney, Director of the Transferable Skills Unit at UL, explained: “Traditionally, universities have focused mainly on subject specific knowledge and understanding and applying skills to the workplace was left to the individual graduate. Here at UL, we are now introducing a stronger focus on skills that can produce more balanced graduates who are work and career ready. We have worked closely with Digital Mid-West and others in industry to determine the needs of employers and have designed our programmes to meet those needs.” 

AHSS will offer three new programmes each with a distinct transferable skills component. These programmes include the BA Professional Pathways, MSc Communications, Emerging Technologies and Industry Practices, and Professional Diploma in Transferable Skills. The seven transferable skills will also be integrated within a range of existing modules on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across the faculty.  

Professor Sandra Joyce, Dean of UL’s Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Sciences, said: “To prepare ourselves, our young people and our workplaces for the challenging times ahead, we need to embed transferable skills at the heart of what we do at universities. This newly established Transferrable Skills Unit at UL demonstrates our commitment within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Sciences to producing curious graduates who can think critically, be creative, communicate and collaborate for better problem solving. These transferable skills will increase the employability of our graduates and equip them with skills to tackle and even begin to embrace unpredictability in the workplace.”  

Speaking at the recent launch of the TSU, Professor Ann Ledwith, Interim Provost and Deputy President at UL said: “Part of the mission of any university must be to prepare our students for employability. That is a top concern for most students, and a concern for their parents. Change is happening at an exponential rate and with it, the demands of workers and graduates are also changing. This is why this initiative from UL’s Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to boost its focus on transferable skills is so important. It signals that the faculty is beginning a journey, a journey that retains the traditional intellectual, knowledge-oriented mission of a university, while at the same time preparing students for a workplace that is looking for more.”