Man: Perhaps I can begin by asking you why you think it's important for business leaders to be involved in higher education?
首先,我想问您,为什么您认为商业领袖们需要受过高等教育呢?
Woman: Well, although most graduates still enter the teaching profession, an increasing number are employed by the business community -
尽管大多数毕业生依然从事教学工作,但现在越来越多的人进入商界——
this is a major destination for new graduates.
这是新毕业生们的主要去向。
So it's only natural that we should want to have a say in higher education, the courses that are being offered, and so on.
因此,我们想要在高等教育、提供课程等事宜上发声就十分自然了。
Man: And why do you think the supermarket chain, Robertson's,needed to be represented on the government committee?
为什么您认为连锁超市罗伯森需要在政府委员会上被代表呢?
Woman: Well, about 50% of jobs that come onto the market don't require a specific degree, so they're known as non-specialist.
市场上大约一半的工作不需要一个特定的学位,因此他们被称为非专业人士。
This area's made up mostly of the service and retail sectors, with the retail sector alone accounting for 11% of graduate jobs.
这一领域主要包括服务业和零售业,仅零售业就包揽了毕业生工作的11%。
The high-tech industries, for example, IT and manufacturing, were already represented on the committee,
例如,高科技行业、信息技术和制造业都已经在委员会中被代表,
and we thought that the opinions of the non-specialist employer, like Robertson's, should also be taken into account.
我们认为罗伯森等非专业人士雇主的观点应该被列入考虑范围内。
Man: What about the findings of the committee?
委员会有什么发现?
What was important to you there?
对您来说,那里有什么是重要的吗?
Woman: Well, firstly, that employers are looking for more than a body of knowledge.
首先,雇主不单单在寻找知识体系。
In today's world, the knowledge that a student gains has a short life span - it won't necessarily be relevant in 20 years' time.
在当今世界,学生获取的知识期限很短——它在20年的时间里不是必然相关的。
The committee recognised that higher education needs to take on board the fact that employers are looking for important, universal skills -
委员会意识到,高等教育需要接受这个事实:雇主正在寻找重要且通用的技能——
in particular, those of communication, numeracy and IT.
特别是通讯、计算和信息技术方面的能力。