Abstract
The major purpose of this study was to determine the extent of effectiveness of learning employability skills at university level. This research intends to study the impact of the syllabus in developing fresh graduates’ knowledge and skills required for self-marketing as well as to determine their level of career readiness. It also aims to evaluate the degree of usefulness of the Employability Skills Development module among fresh graduates of the National University of Science and Technology, College of Engineering in the Sultanate of Oman. The research design used in this study is descriptive as the results obtained are presented as inferred from the analysis. The study was conducted in NUST College of Engineering. Data collection for this study was done by administering a questionnaire to fresh graduates. Simple random sampling method was used. The raw data was tabulated and the percentages were calculated for each questionnaire item along the five response options besides the overall percentages were also computed for each dimension. The sample size was 134 fresh graduates, covering both male and female fresh graduates from different engineering specialisations. The data was collected using simple random sampling method. A questionnaire consisting of 20 items was developed by the researchers to collect data. The questionnaire had three dimensions; namely self- assessment, job search techniques and self-marketing tools. The results strongly confirm the effectiveness of the ESD module with an overall 89.55% of students expressing their confidence in facing career challenges. The results show a clear indication of career readiness through the three dimensions namely self-assessment, job search techniques, and self-marketing tools. Eightyone percent of the students were equipped with skills to make winning moves in the modern day competitive job market. Students found the ESD module useful in increasing their career readiness. It confirms the usefulness of having such kind of training at university level and likewise applauds the effectiveness of the module.
Highlights
In the current study the results show that 86% of the fresh graduates have made a self-assessment indicating their career readiness. (Figure I) This suggests that students have reviewed the concrete learning received through the employability skills module and are positive about their career readiness
The data was analysed by calculating simple percentages for each response item, along five response options and for the three dimensions namely self-assessment, job search techniques and self-marketing tools
Self-Assessment The Employability Skills Development (ESD) module asserted and convinced the students of the many career challenges ahead of them as revealed by the result of 89.55% (Strongly Agree). This proves that the ESD module opened doors and widened horizons of students’ understanding of employability and its optimum impact to one’s self improvement
Summary
Employability skills are considered the most important factors while recruiting fresh graduates to the world of work. Higher education institutions today interact with the industry to understand the skill requirement that fresh graduates need when they are preparing themselves for the dynamic job market. Higher education institutions are incorporating employability skills curriculum within their respective programmes to educate fresh graduates about the significance of developing these skills to be better prepared for careers in the future. This is supported by Lowden, K., et al (2011). To ensure that fresh graduates are equipped with these skills, universities have integrated the curriculum within the mainstream programmes
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