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Purpose of the study: This study aims to investigate the perception of employers on the skill deficiency of graduates. The study also attempts to explore the nature and importance of employability skills with emphasis on the areas of deficiency that could be addressed by higher education institutions (H.E.I.s) to make their graduates more employable. Methodology: This paper is a theoretical exploration based on existing literature. Relevant research papers were sourced from prominent online databases, notably Emerald and Elsevier, including journals, articles, and scholarly conference proceedings. and carefully analyzed. These studies provided an insight for the researchers to understand employability skills and also it helped to suggest the steps to be taken by the H.E.I.s to address the lack of employability skills and make the students ready to face the job market. Main Findings: The results of the study suggest that a lack of employability skills is a major cause of unemployment among graduates of universities, colleges, and other H.E.I.s.The findings reflect the increasing desire of employers for graduates to possess soft skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and effective communication, and collaboration. It also underscores the critical role of H.E.I.s in addressing graduate skill deficiencies. Applications of this study: The study shows that employability skills are the foremost skills graduates require to successfully compete in the job market. The research encourages graduates to understand the skills deficiencies from the employers' perspectives and to discover some bespoke methods or ways of addressing their competency gaps, thereby enhancing their effectiveness and innovativeness. The study further offers a clear roadmap for H.E.I.s to enrich the quality of teaching and learning, thereby enhancing graduate employability. Thus, the outcome of this study will help not only the students but also the H.E.I.s and employers. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study extends the current literature on graduate employability by integrating the three pivotal dimensions of the problem – the students, the H.E.I.s, and the employers. Previous studies have focused more on some specific aspects such as employability skills needed or expectations of the employers or stressed on H.E.I.s to create employability skills. Students are dependent on H.E.I.s for their studies while they are also dependent on employers for getting jobs; similarly, the H.E.I.s cannot function without the students, while the employers also cannot function without the human resource provided by the H.E.I.s.

The study investigated the causal relationship between currency exchange rate (EXR) and export growth (EXP) Contribution/ OriginalityThis study documents the causal linkages between foreign exchange rate management and export performance in an emerging market economy and the policy implications for sustainable private sector development. Empirical evidence is provided on the limitation of exchange rate policy to drive export growth in a peculiar developing economy like Nigeria.

<p>The paper rethinks the role of sustainable human resource management practices in achieving corporate excellence, using the case of Oman, an emerging Arab Gulf economy currently pursuing an economic diversification strategy tagged Oman Vision 2040. The paper is based on the survey data collected from 212 workers and managers working in the nation’s capital city, Muscat, between December 2020 and February 2021. The respondents were randomly surveyed across Oman Vision 2040’s priority economic diversification agenda sectors: investment management, infrastructure, energy, banking, and telecommunication. The analysis includes 22 data points covering essential HRM practices, including recruitment, compensation, motivation, organisational training, and learning and development. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analysis. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing of Karl Pearson’s <em>r</em> correlation, emphasising the p-value &lt; 0.01 interpreted to be highly significant at a 1% significance level, are presented. Adopting HRM as a strategic partner in a business model significantly impact organisational excellence, especially concerning staff training and appraisal system. However, while country-specific factors might influence the HRM practice in the domestic context, the expected association between Omani strategic HRM factors, such as labour laws, expatriate workforce, and foreign education and organisational excellence, may not be supported by the current empirical evidence. The research also found a weak correlation between job performance and employee appraisal systems. This paper used survey data from human beings, workers and HRM managers, whose responses might be open to distortions; further research is required to confirm these results using multiple data sources. The need to encourage creativity and innovation in job performance through continuous on-the-job training and development leveraging technology and data analytics applications is acknowledged. The implications for rethinking SHRM practices and policies towards developing a new intrapreneurial, well-motivated, adaptive, and trained workforce are documented. Human capital’s adequacy and quality have been widely recognised as critical to any organisation's value-creation goal. Still, research to date is somewhat inconclusive on what the priority HRM practices should be in the contemporary fast-paced, technology-driven business environment. This research makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to scholarly discussions on the role of SHRM practices in modern organisations. It also adds value to SHRM research and practice. The present research may be the first Oman-specific SHRM study with empirical perspectives from the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>

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