Graduate professional development (GPD) has helped PhD students prepare for careers beyond academia, but its ability to meet their broader professional needs may be nearing its limit, writes Carleton University Professional Development Coordinator David Lafferty. Lafferty critiques the dominance of the transferable skills discourse, arguing that the skills developed through doctoral education are often less applicable outside academic contexts than assumed. While GPD is important, he contends that it cannot resolve the deeper misalignment between doctoral education and the labour market. “Instead of relying on GPD and the language of transferable and translatable skills, academic disciplines can work to expand the definition of what constitutes scholarship, who can carry it out, and where it should take place,” concludes Lafferty.
