The Impact of Electronic Portfolios on Employability of New Full Stack Developers: Insights from Students and Employers

Abstract

Graduating from Master’s degree programme in Full Stack Development is often inadequate by itself to guarantee employment in the industry when there is no previous work experience in the industry. The purpose of the thesis was to ascertain if electronic portfolios are perceived to be beneficial for the new Full Stack developers in terms of gaining employment and whether the employer and student perception on this differed. Additionally, it sought to establish what the contents of a good electronic portfolio, or career ePortfolio, should contain from the employer perspective. In order to reach these objectives, a mixed method study was conducted with representatives from the students of Master’s degree programme in Full Stack Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and the employers in the industry. Based on the finding of the study, both employers and the students view career ePortfolios as beneficial, but employers more so regardless of whether candidate had work experience in the industry. The study also found that from the employee perspective, these career ePortfolios should consist at least of work samples, skills and competencies, coursework samples, accreditation, and candidate’s video presentation of self. In addition to these findings, the study concluded that students underestimate the beneficial impact career ePortfolios may have on their employability.