Graduate Employability Research Articles

What employers really want: a deep dive into résumés and holistic competencies

PurposeThis research aims to understand employers' views and preferences on the assessment of holistic competencies (HCs) in graduates, a topic with existing gaps in literature. With the disparities between higher education practices and employer expectations concerning HC assessment, the study focuses on what employers wish to see in graduates' resumes. As resumes play a pivotal role in recruitment, influencing who gets shortlisted, this research seeks to discern how graduates can optimally make a good first impression. In essence, the study endeavours to enhance knowledge on employers' inferences about a candidate’s HCs and employability skills based on resume content.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive 12-item survey was devised to collect employers' perceptions and expectations of holistic competencies (HCs) assessment. The survey was informed by a synthesis of discussions with employers, teachers and a critical review paper. It aimed to understand employers' HC assessment expectations and bridge the teachers' understanding gap of students' HC achievements. Questions included demographic data, and specifics about employers' perceptions of graduates’ resumes. The survey was hosted on Qualtrics and disseminated via the authors' networks, social media and university departments in Hong Kong, with responses gathered from April to June 2021.FindingsThis study reveals that employers value holistic competencies (HCs), especially those developed through work placements and extracurricular activities, as indicators of job readiness in graduates. It is imperative for students to highlight these competencies in their resumes, potentially also demonstrating them through digital portfolios. The research underscores the need for higher education institutions to systematically document and report students' HC attainments. They can support students by informing them about employer expectations, offering writing workshops and resume samples. Integrating experience-based opportunities into the curriculum can also enhance HC development, preparing students for job market competitiveness and readiness.Research limitations/implicationsThe research limitations include the lack of a widely accepted, standardized method to document and evidence students' holistic competencies (HCs). The implications, however, stress the necessity for students to effectively communicate their HCs to employers, requiring awareness of expectations and adaptability to evolving technologies. Educators and higher education institutions must provide resources and opportunities to students to develop, demonstrate and document these HCs. In the absence of a standardised method for HC reporting, alternative solutions like e-portfolios and platforms like YOCLE can help students gather feedback and present evidence of competencies to prospective employers.Practical implicationsThe study’s practical implications revolve around enhancing job readiness in graduates. Universities need to bolster their support, helping students understand employer expectations, offering writing workshops, resume templates and resources. Incorporation of platforms like YOCLE can help gather and retain evaluations, while promoting internships and extracurricular activities enhances HC development. Graduates must include work experiences, HC achievements and extracurricular activities in their resumes, even exploring digital portfolios for broader evidence presentation. They should also prepare for digital interactions like Zoom calls or video resumes, adapting to the technological advancements propelled by recent global disruptions.Originality/valueThis research provides original insights into employer preferences regarding job candidates' holistic competencies (HCs) in resumes, an area not deeply explored in past literature. Focusing on how resumes can best demonstrate HC attainments, it offers practical guidance for higher education institutions preparing students for the job market. Although the study’s scope is limited by geographical and industry-specific sampling, it provides a foundational understanding of employers' recruitment expectations influenced by resumes. Its value lies in its potential to spur further research into varying contexts and industries, leading to broader implications for graduate employability and resume building practices worldwide.

Multilevel Logistic Regression Analysis of Correlates of Graduate Employment by Fields of Specialization

A number of research settings involve data having a multilevel (hierarchical) structure. Failing to take into account such hierarchical structures may lead to wrong statistical inference. The objective of this study was to explore the correlates of employment status among graduates of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions nested within their fields of specialization using hierarchical two‐level logistic regression model. The study sample consisted of 2569 graduates nested within 20 fields of specialization. The impact of level-1 covariates and fields of specialization on employment outcome was explored using average marginal effects. The estimated variance of the random (field of specialization) effects was found to be significant – an indication that a multilevel model is appropriate. Likelihood ratio test confirmed that the multilevel random coefficients model was a better fit to the data. Besides demographic and socio-economic characteristics of graduates (and their households), the dimensions related to the skills and competences of graduates, namely perceived level of training of graduates on technical/practical skills and soft skills at their universities as well as cumulative grade point average, had significant influence on employment outcomes. The results also revealed that the effect of practical skills on graduate employment varied across fields of specialization. Average marginal effects analysis indicated that the probability of employment was lower for graduates who were unmarried, aged below 25, with disability, from a low income family and those graduates who perceived that their preparation for practical as well as soft skills required in the job market was less than expected/very poor. Moreover, practical and soft skills differentials in the probability of graduate employment were found to diminish with an increase in cumulative grade point average. To improve graduate employment, provision of adequate training in practical/technical and soft skills is recommended.

Evolvement of new professions in the sphere of career guidance as an imperative of our time

Introduction. The current situation with the employment of graduates, when almost half of them do not work in their speciality, is a negative phenomenon for both the state and the citizens. One of the reasons for this situation is a gap between the graduates’ expectations and the real content of labour activity. The core of the problem is inefficient career guidance. The need to modernise the career guidance system is recognised worldwide. Forecasting of new professions for career guidance should be one of the directions of this modernisation. Specialists having new competencies will be able to ensure the systemic and planned nature of transformations in the sphere of career guidance in order to optimise it. The aim of the study is to justify the need for and predict the emergence of new professions to improve the efficiency of career guidance. Materials and methods. The study involved the materials of the European Training Foundation, the World Economic Forum; the documents of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation: letters, orders, methodological recommendations; the data of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service; scientific articles by Russian and foreign authors. The following methods were used: theoretical analysis of the career guidance development sphere; inductive inferencing; forecasting based on the study of documents and scientific literature on the problem. Results. At present, there is a problem connected with the professional training of specialists engaged in career guidance. People with education in the fields of pedagogy, psychology, sociology and social work are not able to efficiently solve the numerous tasks of modern career counselling. The solution can be achieved by the introduction of new specialisations of employees in this sphere matching the needs of modernity and development trends. It is predicted that these specialisations will be transformed into new professions in the future. For instance, such new professions for career counselling as career research foresighter (prognosticator), career guidance playwork specialist, career guidance testing specialist and developer, career guidance imagemaker, etc. will presumably appear. Conclusion. The modernisation of the career guidance system requires innovations not only in its content and technical fit-out but also in its staffing. The research results can be further used in the process of development of new qualification requirements; for substantiation of proposals on training specialists in upand-coming professions in the sphere of career guidance. They can also serve as a basis for the development of training programmes in new specialities.

Analysis of employment factors for university graduates in Kazakhstan

Having a university degree provides only a slight advantage over those without higher education, making other factors crucial in determining a graduate’s employment prospects. This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the employment of university graduates and define opportunities for public administration and university management in Kazakhstan. A logistic regression model based on primary data was used to examine the impact of the availability of practical experience and jobs in their specialty, social connections, technology development, and entrepreneurship on the likelihood of employment. The survey was conducted in 2022 and involved 300 graduates of the 2020–2021 academic year from all regions of Kazakhstan. Findings show that personal connections (F3) and technology and entrepreneurship (F4) positively impact graduates’ job prospects. However, lack of experience (F1) and the limited number of job offers (F2) reduce employment likelihood. If a graduate responds with 3 points for F1, 7 for F2, 7 for F3, and 1 for F4, they are less likely to secure a job in their specialty within a year of graduation. The main practical value of this study is that university career centers can use this model to predict the likelihood of graduates being employed. Providing a sophisticated online platform and different analytics-driven career services, open access to administrative data on the labor market, and new programs for students’ job experience and entrepreneurship will prepare university graduates for a dynamic labor market and reduce the mismatch between education and employment needs.

Prospectiva de la empleabilidad en educación matemática en la región de influencia de la Sede del Atlántico, Universidad de Costa Rica

This article analyzes the employability of the Mathematics Teaching major graduates, considering theoretical backgrounds on the “employability construct” and results obtained through research regarding job opportunities in the mathematics teaching field. To achieve this, a qualitative study with the new cohort of graduates from the Bachelor’s and Licentiate Degrees in Mathematics Teaching major on the Atlantic Campus, University of Costa Rica (Guápiles, Turrialba, and Paraíso branches) was carried out with the aim of analyzing different perspectives regarding potential jobs, values, attitudes, current employment situation, and employees’ perceptions about the mathematics teachers’ performance around the country. Finally, outstanding reflections are highlighted about the teaching training, the labor demand in the Costa Rican teaching context, and the difficulties graduates face in finding a job related to their major. The need to align academic training with labor market requirements and enhance job prospects for future mathematics educators in Costa Rica is stressed.

Aligning HR Innovation with Industry Strategies: Enhancing Technical Graduate Employability through Industry-Institute Engagement Practices

This study aims to investigate the strategic approaches utilized by industries to enhance the employability of graduates through industry-institute engagement practices, seeking to understand the effectivenessof these strategies in addressing the increasing demand for skilled technical graduates with high competitiveness and employability skills. Employing a cross-sectional research design, the study was conducted in the Peenya Industrial area from December 2022 to March 2023, focusing on its high concentration of engineering industries. A quantitative approach was used to survey 120 executives from Peenya involved in recruiting engineering graduates, utilizing a structured questionnaire to assess strategies like placement cell activities, social media use, and entrepreneurial training. Data analysis involved descriptivestatistics and ANOVA.Results indicates that placement cell activities are the most employed strategy (63.3%), followed by socialmedia (21.7%) and college databases (11.7%), with entrepreneurial training and Centers of Excellencebeing less utilized. While age did not significantly affect perceptions, firm size did, particularly regardingentrepreneurial training effectiveness. The study highlights the increasing demand for skilled technicalgraduates and the challenges in ensuring their readiness for employment, emphasizing the predominantuse of placement cell activities, social media, and college databases in recruiting engineering graduates.It underscores the need for aligning HR innovation with industry strategies and collaborative efforts toenhance technical graduate employability

해외 대학의 학부교육 개편 사례 비교 연구

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to explore the modification of the university model in three post-colonial institutions—the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Melbourne—which share the legacy of the British undergraduate education model that emphasizes specialization in specific majors. This study aims to analyze the background and content of the recent undergraduate education reforms undertaken by these universities and to investigate the similarities and differences in their processes of transformation. [Methods] This study applied a multi-case analysis and compared commonalities and differences between case universities by analyzing various literature data (prior studies, research reports, media articles, university websites, and official documents. [Results] Common drivers for undergraduate education reform include global higher education norms that emphasize competence-based education to enhance graduate employability and bolster internationalization strategies. Consequently, all case universities reinforced the general education component and increased flexibility in curriculum structure, moving away from the British legacy of specialization in specific disciplines. However, the specific drivers and content of the reforms varied depending on the institutional context, resulting in each case university developing distinct formats of undergraduate education models. [Conclusion] The results of this study revealed that, although the case universities incorporated various components from the US education model, these borrowing practices did not necessarily result in homogeneity among the three institutions. Furthermore, the study identified a hybridity in the university education models of some case universities, which selectively integrated educational models from various regions during the process of undergraduate education reform. Based on these findings, theoretical and policy implications were presented.

The Evolving Landscape of Employability and the Promise of NEP 2020

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a comprehensive education policy that aims to transform the Indian education system. One of the key goals of the NEP is to enhance the employability of graduates. This paper explores the challenges posed by the current system, and the key elements of the National Education Policy (NEP) that affect employability, particularly in India's revised education system. The paper also examines the potential impact of NEP on new job creation. The aim is to provide insights that can help maximize the effectiveness of NEP in enhancing graduate employability. Keywords: NEP, employability, graduates

Оценка успешности формирования профессиональных компетенций руководителя в процессе обучения на программах бакалавриата

The article is devoted to the issue of forming the professionalism of a manager in the process of studying at higher education programs. The purpose of the study was to assess the success of the formation of managerial professional competencies of the head in the process of obtaining higher education through the analysis of students' perception of the importance of qualities needed by an employee of the management system for effective work. The research method used was the assessment methodology of the Federal State Statistics Service, used in a sample observation of the employment of graduates who received secondary vocational and higher education, with the addition of the author. The article presents the results of the assessment and suggests ways to increase students' motivation to study and interest in working in their chosen specialty, including the development of professional competencies that are really required in practice.

Bridging pre-professional identities: the contribution of trustworthiness and academic socialisation to undergraduates’ employability

PurposeThe evolving dynamics of the labour market make graduates’ future employability an important issue for higher education (HE) institutions, prompting universities to complement the conventional graduate skills approach with a wider focus on graduate forms of capital that may enhance their sense of employability. This study, adopting a capital perspective, explores whether and how teachers in HE, when acknowledged as knowledgeable trustworthy actors, may affect graduates’ employability. It investigates how they can mobilise undergraduate cultural capital through socialisation, and shape their pre-professional identity, paving the way for university-to-work transition.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypothesised model, a self-report online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 616 undergraduates attending different Italian universities. Multiple mediating models were tested using the SEM framework.FindingsResults supported the tested model and showed that trust in knowledgeable HE teachers was associated with undergraduates’ perceived employability both directly and through both mediators (i.e. academic socialisation and identification with future professionality).Research limitations/implicationsThis research explores a capital conceptualisation of graduate employability, identifying possible processes for implementing graduates’ capital across their academic experience and providing initial evidence of their interplay and contribution to transition into the labour market.Originality/valueThese findings provide empirical support to possible forms of capital that HE institutions may fulfil to enhance their undergraduate employability throughout their academic career, which serves as a liminal space allowing undergraduates to begin building a tentative professional identity.

Graduate Competency and Employer Satisfaction: A Concern for Employment Sustainability of Nigerian Real Estate Graduates

Graduate Competency and Employer Satisfaction: A Concern for Employment Sustainability of Nigerian Real Estate Graduates

Gender, religion and politics: a qualitative analysis on the role of women to a sustainable quality of work-life (QWL)

Purpose Employability skills have transformed from the acquisition of university degrees to possessions of cognate skills other than only degrees that can help employees secure employment in contemporary work environments. This study evaluates essential skills that will prepare millennia of youths and graduates for employment in the present job market. The study investigated four major hypotheses to underscore the employability opportunities of graduates in challenging 21st-century work environments.Design/methodology/approach To clearly gain an understanding of women’s disparity in society, the study employed a qualitative approach to evaluate the incidence of gender prejudice in a men’s dominant world. The study utilised two distinguished sampling strategies, purposive and snowballing sampling techniques, which were deemed suitable and useful due to the nature of the study. The study recruited 42 participants by conducting semi-structured interview sessions for the study. The study employed a deductive approach to analyse the data obtained from participants. A thematic content analysis was used to take away prejudice and establish an overarching impression of the interviewed data. Atlas.ti was used to analyse the transcribed interview data from the participants to establish common themes from the surveyed informants.Findings The results of this investigation indicated that there is a deep-rooted trend of institutionalised men’s dominance in politics and religious leadership. Women perceived less representation and men dominated the two domains of existence in their local environment. The study established that women are optimistic about a turnaround narrative on gender equality in politics and religious leadership. They expressed their concern about strengthened public debate and campaigns on women’s representation, and against gender discrimination. The study further shows that women are influencing the ethical and moral sense for change against women’s neglect in society. They expressed their concerns against the selection of people into political offices for elected political posts and observed the peculiarity of political godfathers fixing their favourite men into those offices.Originality/value The study discovered that women are leading campaigns for their representation in politics as well as church leadership today. The novelty of this study bothering around two domains of women’s lives – politics and religion, in particular, church leadership. These have not been evidence before in a study.

Enhancing critical thinking through collaborative learning: the impact of a partial pre-release assessment format

ABSTRACT Critical thinking has been identified as a very important skill by employers for the employment of graduates. A need exists to develop and assess critical thinking skills in tertiary institutions as employers have noted a gap in these skills among graduates. This skill can be developed, over time, by collaborative learning and given that student assessment, to a large extent, drives student learning this study proposed a revised assessment format: the ‘partial pre-release’ (PPR) assessment to attempt to cultivate critical thinking skills through collaboration. The PPR provided a pre-released case study where students had the opportunity to collaborate with peers before the assessment day. New information presented to students on the assessment day required increased depth in answering to showcase the cultivation of critical thinking skills. Quantitative data were collected over a period of two years using a survey. The PPR assessment format was found to show a statistically significant relationship between collaboration and the level of perceived depth when answering the required task. From these results, the study acknowledges the role that collaborative learning can play in cultivating a critical thinking mindset when an appropriate assessment tool is used.

The Moderating Effect of Gender and School Type on the Nexus between Soft Skills and TVET Graduates’ Employability

As the global economy evolves, the need for highly skilled workers becomes increasingly vital. In response to widespread unemployment throughout Africa, TVET programs offer opportunities for citizens to receive professional training. For potential employees, self-perception plays a critical role in their employability. Thus, this study examined the moderating roles of gender and school type in the relationship between soft skills and employability for TVET graduates. Using a survey research design, 327 respondents were systematically sampled and surveyed. The instrument's reliability was assessed with ordinal alpha coefficients of 0.89 and 0.77. The inferential analysis, specifically -the regression statistic, was used to evaluate the hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. Hayes model 2 was also used to determine the moderation effects. Results revealed that gender does not moderate the relationship between soft skills and employability, but school type significantly moderated the relationship between soft skills and employability, with graduates from technical colleges having a stronger and more positive relationship between soft skills and employability than those from Brigade schools. To enhance employability, governments, professional institutions, and TVET program administrators should provide development programs on soft skills for educators, regardless of school type, to transfer relevant skills to their learners.

Effect of Apprenticeship to Vocational College Graduates Employability

Effect of Apprenticeship to Vocational College Graduates Employability

Mapping Of Occupation In Quality Management Within National Qualification Framework To Close The Gap Between Education And Industry Needs

In the face of rapid industrial changes and globalization, there is a growing demand for highly skilled professionals in quality management within Indonesia. The Indonesian National Qualifications Framework (IQF) seeks to align vocational education with industry demands by establishing a clear framework of work competency standards. However, discrepancies persist between the competencies taught in vocational programs and those required in the industry, particularly in advanced areas such as data analysis and strategic quality planning. This study undertakes a systematic occupational mapping in the quality management sector to identify these gaps and develop strategies to address them. Utilizing methodologies like the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP), Gall and Borg's educational research methods, and Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS), the study formulates a comprehensive occupational matrix. This matrix serves as a crucial tool for planning human resources, developing relevant educational and training curricula, and fostering career development aligned with market trends and needs. The research outcomes are aimed at enhancing the alignment of vocational education with industry standards, thereby increasing the employability and effectiveness of graduates in the quality management sector.

Graduate employability skills, trending avenues and research gaps: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

PurposeCurrent study theoretically and technically analyzed the empirical literature on Graduate Employability Skills (GES) and aimed to investigate ten research questions: 1) the specific features of the retrieved empirical studies on GES, 2) the trends of empirical scientific production of GES, 3) the most relevant and high-impact sources in the field of GES, 4) clustering the sources through Bradford’s Law of Scattering, 5) the highly cited articles on GES, 6) the most relevant countries on GES, 7) the most pertinent and high-impact authors on GES, 8) authors' productivity through Lotka’s Law of authors’ Scientific Productivity, 9) the trending research avenues for future investigations on GES, and 10) identified research gaps relevant to the field of GES.Design/methodology/approachThe Scopus database was used to extract data, and VOSviewer and Biblioshony tools were used for the study's bibliometric analysis and systematic literature evaluation.FindingsThe present study analyzed 864 sources containing 1816 articles from 4378 authors that address GES. Publications on GES were steadily increasing, with a notable upswing beginning in 2010 and reaching a record high of 232 articles in 2019. The UK, Australia, and Malaysia are the top three nations in terms of number of publications and cumulative citations. The thematic map of keywords revealed which themes future researchers need to investigate: work-integrated learning, entrepreneurship, industry 4.0, sustainability, management education, business education, project-based learning, education, curriculum development, learning, and graduate skills.Originality/valueThe present study provides theoretical, practical, and social implications for graduates, the higher education industry, policymakers, the economy, and society.

Introducing Green, Eco-Friendly Practices and Circular Economy Principles in Vocational Education Through a Novel Analysis-Synthesis Method: Design, Implementation and Evaluation

Purpose: A novel, Project- and Collaborative Learning-based educational method is proposed, implemented and evaluated in this paper. The aim is to exploit hands-on laboratory modules in Vocational Education in order to experientially introduce students to green, eco-friendly practices and the principles of sustainability and circular economy. Besides their apparent individual and social benefits, such knowledge and skills are also expected to raise qualifications and employability of Vocational Education graduates. Methods: The proposed method is tested through a quasi-experimental methodology, via an educational intervention with a class of Vocational Lyceum students, in the field of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The learning content focuses on the reclaiming and reuse of operational components from damaged electrical/electronic equipment at end-of-life stage. Through repeated Analysis and Synthesis phases, students learn to extract, measure, classify and reuse operational components either to repair similar equipment or to design and construct novel devices. Results: Evaluation is carried out via closed and open type activities as well as by observation sheets of the teacher. Learning outcomes are evaluated through knowledge post-tests of the closed type while social/emotional outcomes are evaluated through questionnaires. Evaluation results indicate that the proposed method does produce cognitive and social/emotional skills gains for the students. The development of metacognitive skills and the stimulation of imagination and innovative thinking in the students is also observed by the teacher, but not formally evaluated due to practical constraints. Conclusions: The proposed method is implemented and pilot-tested with positive results both as to the cognitive and as to the social/emotional domain – yet, these results are of an indicative value, due to the limited scale of the educational intervention. Future research is necessary in order to evaluate the proposed method in extent and possibly compare results across education grades or engineering fields, as the method is generic enough to be easily adaptable for different ages/grades and engineering/technical fields of study.

How does career coaching in higher education help graduate employees adjust to the workplace?

How does career coaching in higher education help graduate employees adjust to the workplace?

Unemployed Biotechnology Graduates: Need of Modernization of Education and Training in Tunisia

Biotechnology is a priority higher education and economical sector for Tunisia. However, there is an ever-increasing unemployment rate of the biotechnology graduates in the country. Indeed, this huge problem warrants immediate attention and necessary actions from various stakeholders. This study presents the results of a benchmarking visit, which was arranged by Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) in Finland, as part of 'BiotechTunisia' Erasmus+ project entitled ‘Modernization of Biotechnology training for better employability of graduates in Tunisia’. There are four Tunisian and three European partners in this project that leads to modernization of skills of teachers, researchers, and students to improve employment and opportunities for entrepreneurship of young graduates in Tunisia. The project aims to modernize the education and the scientific research in the biotechnology field. During this benchmarking visit, Tunisian partners attended seminars, workshops, visited advanced learning facilities, participated to many group discussions, learned about teacher tutoring concept, and student counselling method. Delegation learned about new learning methodologies, pedagogy, and soft skills of students, which could be replicated in their home country education system. The benchmarking visit is seen as an opportunity for Tunisian partners to transfer the good practices from Finland to their home country. Tunisian delegates agree that the learnings could have a positive impact in their education system in coming years towards modernization of education and training of biotechnology students.