Viability of Employability Skills for Islamic Banking and Finance Graduates Employment; Case of Islamic Banks of Pakistan

Abstract

The Islamic finance human capital demand is accelerating with a rapidly growing Islamic banking and finance (IBF) industry. In Pakistan, the IBF industry moves forward to be more competitive and sophisticated. Therefore, there is a need to explore the employability skills, which the IBF employers mainly require from the new Islamic finance graduates. This study examines the viability of employability skills for the employment of Islamic bank graduates in Pakistan. A quantitative method was adopted to collect data from 120 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. The findings of the factor analysis suggested five variables deemed to be relevant in IBF graduates' employability skills for Islamic banks which are communication, interpersonal, technical, social, and subject knowledge skills. This study attempts to obtain the employer's perspective that will be used to refine and strengthen the existing skills, knowledge, and course structure in academia.