Abstract

 The study investigated undergraduates' ratings of 2lst century transferable competences necessary for their career development as well as their current proficiency level in the competences. Three hundred and forty-six final year students (2014/2015 session) drawn in clusters from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Business/Management inclined disciplines in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike and Abia State University Uturu were used for the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The Undergraduates' 21st Century Transferable Competences Scale (U2IS) consisting of 18 Like rt-type items was used for data collection. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the survey. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses. Results of the study showed that University undergraduates unanimously agree that they require 2lst century competencies for their initial employment and that their proficiency level in several transferable competences necessary for their career development is deficient. The result also showed that significant differences did not exist between undergraduates of STEM-inclined and Business/Management-inclined disciplines in their ratings of 21st century competences required for their initial employment as well as between male and female undergraduates. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that universities update their curriculum to include activities that will ensure their graduates are properly equipped with competences needed for their career development. Keywords - Career development, transferable competences, Undergraduates, 21st Century