Collaborative tools: computer science students' skills versus software industry needs

Resumen

Software companies encourage and further the use of collaborative tools and skills at the workplace in pursuit of the benefits of their use: they improve communication, productivity and efficiency, and competitiveness. Besides, undergraduate and graduate software engineering computing curricula recommend subjects related to effective cooperative working and group learning. In order to align industry needs and curricula recommendations, universities should provide students with the collaborative knowledge and skills that they will require on the labour market once they finish their degrees. In this scenario, we asked three questions: Are collaborative tools beneficial to software projects? Is it easier for students with knowledge and skills of collaborative tools to find a job? Do enterprises use collaborative tools as a marketing strategy for the recruitment process or are they really empowering their employees to use collaborative tools? This paper explores these questions. We devised a survey addressing the above questions, which was administered to 86 recent computer science graduates. We applied statistical techniques to analyse the responses. From the data gathered during the survey, we conclude that the expected benefits of the use of collaborative tools are in fact corroborated, students skilled in the use of collaborative tools do find it easier to get jobs and companies are not only looking for people with collaborative skills but also use collaborative tools in their routine work processes.