Employability skills are increasingly crucial in the modern job market, as employers seek specific qualities and competencies in addition to academic qualifications when hiring new employees. The quality of education provided by higher learning institutions, among other factors, is often linked to the presence or absence of these skills. This article aims to identify the essential skills that finance and banking graduates must possess in order to increase their employability within the industry. The study utilizes the nominal group technique (NGT) analysis approach, involving fourteen experts from the banking and finance sector, to determine a consensus on the key employability skills. The findings highlight eleven skills that the industry values in finance and banking graduates. Notably, decision-making and problem-solving skills, teamwork and leadership competency, and self-management skills emerged as the top three skills sought after by employers. On the other hand, practical experience through part-time work or internships was considered less critical. The significance of this research lies in its potential to inform universities in enhancing their curricula to bridge any existing skill gaps, thus better preparing graduate students for the demands of the workforce. This proactive approach not only benefits the graduates by increasing their employability prospects but also contributes to the overall development of a skilled and competent workforce in the finance and banking sector.

Online Distance Learning (ODL) has been implemented in universities for over two years. Despite advancements in technology, ODL has proven to be challenging for students, which indirectly affects their self-esteem, regardless of gender. Thus, the study aims to investigate students’ self-esteem and to examine any significant mean difference between gender and students’ self-esteem. A survey was conducted on 378 students, and SPSS 26.0 was used to analyse the hypotheses of the study. It was found that students’ self-esteem level during ODL is moderate. The findings also revealed no significant difference between gender and student perception on self-esteem. The findings are expected to benefit academicians, policymakers, and university management in enhancing ODL implementation and preparing them for future learning challenges.