Socio-Emotional Disposition’s Mediation in Technical Skills and Graduate Employability in Tourism and Hospitality Industry—South-Western Uganda

Abstract

Despite possessing technical skills, many hospitality graduates in Southwestern Uganda struggle to secure employment. This suggests a possible deficiency in their socio-emotional abilities. The study investigated the mediating effect of socio-emotional disposition in the relationship between technical skills and graduate employability. The research design employed in this study was the cross-sectional quantitative research method with a population of 640 graduates and a sample size of 400 was established for hospitality graduates based on Krejcie, & Morgan’s (1970) table and formula. The data was collected employing questionnaires and the data analysis was done by SPSS V. 23 and Smart PLS V 4. The results revealed that the technical skills and socio-emotional disposition of graduates have significant direct effects on the graduates’ employability, with path coefficients of (β = 0.348, p < 0.001) for technical skills and (β = 0.716, p< 0.001) for socio-emotional disposition. Sensitively, socio-emotional disposition was also reported to mediate the link between technical skill and employability (β = 0.438, p<0.001). Thus, socio-emotional disposition increases the level of readiness for employment. The study indicates technical competencies are mandatory prerequisites to getting a job in the hospitality industry; socio-emotional competencies enhance these results. The study recommended that carrying out tracer studies and skills audits, mentorship schemes, certification of future graduates, creating a strong linkage between higher educational institutions (HEIs) and the hospitality sector, and authorities should take into account the programs that encourage socio-emotional enhancement appropriate to the needs of the sector