The IP methodology should enable educational institutions to effect the necessary curriculum change most effectively by prioritising the skills that comprise the expectations gap between themselves and employers. Given the evidence that such change has not realistically been effected it is important to consider possible reasons for the inertia. The employers surveyed clearly indicate that in their view a lack of economic resources is not a limitation.
This would possibly not be the view of academic staff. There are clear differences in terms of the funding needed to underpin the development of some of the skills identified above. The development of IT skills is capital intensive whereas the development of “softer” skills is labour intensive and is not a quick fix installation. Many educational institutions have
in recent years increased their spending on IT facilities. The study indicates that IT skills
are no longer a priority to employers and that resources might more usefully be utilised to develop the prioritised “softer” skills. However, it is highly likely that tutors will need to be trained. Consequently even more funding will be required as the training of tutors should be carefully designed and continually developed to ensure that the relevant pedagogy is implemented. However, it should be noted that if there is no reward for the incremental
effort then the time that would need to be invested in the ‘innovations’ would be diverted elsewhere. Consequently reward systems within higher education should simultaneously evolve to recognise the changes needed.