Business Education and Employability - Are they Strange Bedfellows?

Abstract

Business education is education in the basic principles and practices of industry and commerce, imparted in a business school/college/university as a part of formal education. Employability consists of a set of skills, knowledge, understanding and personal attributes that make persons more likely to choose and secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful. There exists a strong disconnect between business education and employability. Unfortunately, 'qualification' which is measured in terms of academic degrees and grades are not matching the 'competencies' defined and determined by the employment market. In this fast changing business world, the shelf-life of competencies (knowledge, attitudes, skills, habits and values) is always short-lived and as such the existing knowledge suddenly becomes outdated, skills obsolete, attitude untenable, values unpardonable and learning habits unsustainable. Previous research studies revealed a set of thirty-one factors determining the employability potential of graduates and post-graduates. Employability is not just confined to the process of getting the offer of employment in campus recruitment drives but extends to the workplace and also includes self-employment avenues. In this paper, an attempt is made to raise major implications and provide some directions for enhancing the employability potential of business education graduates and post-graduates. Organizations increasingly seem to ask for highly competent, talented, committed, multi-skilled and flexible employees. Proper training in various non-academic/technical skills, if systematically provided to students alongside their academic study, would eventually result in the better employability of students. It is the responsibility and commitment of all stakeholders to bring about a 'happy marriage' between business education and employability with the help of purposeful, meaningful and effective industry-academia interface. Business education and employability are just like two sides of the same coin and therefore cannot afford to behave like strange bedfellows.