Factors affecting the employability of private university graduates: an exploratory study on Bangladeshi employers

Md Sajjad Hosain,Mohitul Ameen Ahmed Mustafi,Tania Parvin

doi:10.1108/prr-01-2021-0005

Md Sajjad Hosain, Mohitul Ameen Ahmed Mustafi + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/prr-01-2021-0005

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Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to identify the factors that can affect the overall graduate employability (OGE) of the private university graduates of Bangladesh. The authors carefully selected six such employable factors after searching the existing literature. Those six factors: academic performance (AP), technical skills (TS), communication skills (CS), personality (PE), leadership & motivational skills (LMS); and teamwork and problem solving skills (TPSS), had been considered as the independent variables while OGE had been considered as the single dependent variable. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected the primary data from a valid sample of 360 employers through a structured questionnaire working as the hiring managers. Those respondents were selected on a random basis. The authors used exploratory factor analysis to validate the items under those independent variables and structural equation modeling with AMOS (24) to test the hypothesized relationship between each independent variable and the dependent one. Findings After proper statistical analysis, the results revealed that AP, PE, CS and TPSS can positively and significantly influence the OGE of Bangladeshi graduates while LMS and TS have positive but insignificant influence over OGE. Research limitations/implications Based on the findings, this paper can help scholars in further investigating the employability factors. Practical implications This explorative study will guide the fresh graduates in developing their required employability skills while assisting the employers in recruiting suitable candidates with the required skills and performance. Originality/value This is one of the few attempts that focused on the employability factors of private university graduates in Bangladesh. The authors are well confident that this empirical paper can shed some light on the fresh graduates’ employability and conducting further investigations on it.

Highlights

One of the pre-conditions of higher education is to produce entrepreneurs and employable graduates who can serve their respective organizations, society and the country in general through their dedication and innovative skills
The path diagram of this study revealed that four factors: academic performance (AP), PE, teamwork and problem solving skills (TPSS) and communication skills (CS) together can significantly explain 37.2% of employability of Bangladeshi private university graduates (Table 9) supporting the hypotheses H1, H3, H4 and H6
Conclusion within the present optimistic economy, a growing number of development projects and rapid industrialization are expected to create the necessary levels of employment for the university graduates, it cannot guarantee a perfect match between graduate qualities and employer needs

Summary

Introduction

One of the pre-conditions of higher education is to produce entrepreneurs and employable graduates who can serve their respective organizations, society and the country in general through their dedication and innovative skills. The employment rate of graduates is frequently considered as a performance indicator to determine the value of higher education by the governments and international rankings (Teichler, 2009). Universities and the graduates themselves are required to adopt newer sets of skills and techniques along with the traditional ones to get their expected jobs. In such a time, there is a fundamental and mounting requirement for conducting some empirical studies to investigate the skill sets that the employers are looking for

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Conclusion