Does higher education equip graduate students with the employability skills employers require? The perceptions of employers in Ghana

Damoah, Obi Berko Obeng; Peprah, Augustine Awuah; Osei, None Kwabena Brefo

doi:10.1080/0309877x.2020.1860204

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…For instance, some studies ( Awayigah et al., 2010 ; Cory and Pruske 2012 ; Afolabi, 2013 ; Teferi 2015 ; and Sithole, 2015 ; Ismail et al. 2020 ; Damoah et al., 2021 ) revealed that employers were discontented with products generated from academic institutions. However, Lowden et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Be it AUs or TUs, they are not absolved of the allegation leveled against academia by the researchers ( Pitan and Adedeji, 2012 ; Bawakyillenuo et al., 2013 ; Oppong and Sachs, 2015 ; Ismail et al. 2020 ; Damoah et al., 2021 ) that institutions of higher learning have failed to equip graduates with relevant skills to secure and execute jobs satisfactorily. Following from this, the relevant questions are: what skills are suitable for the accounting related employment opportunities available?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was found that fresh graduates into the auditing field of work had not fully developed their technical knowledge, communication skills, and mastery of dealing with real-world situations. In Ghana, Damoah et al. (2021) conducted a study to question the equipment of graduates with employable skills by higher education institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Employability of accounting graduates: analysis of skills sets

Kwarteng

Mensah

2022

Heliyon

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Employability of accounting graduates: analysis of skills sets

Kwarteng

Mensah

2022

Heliyon

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“…These thoughts are consistent in a diverse range of contexts, e.g. studies in both New Zealand (Hodges and Burchell 2003) and Ghana (Damoah, Peprah, and Brefo 2021) have highlighted that employers consider willingness to learn as a vital skill in the work place. Within our study, it was clear that certain students were sufficiently reflective, those that were able to anticipate how they could incorporate what they had learned in the workshops into their future practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Students’ reflections on an employability skills provision

Scott

Willison

2021

Journal of Further and Higher Education

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For many years, a key driver for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has been ensuring that students are prepared for employment post-graduation. This has often resulted in HEIs providing specific modules of study focussing on employability and soft skills. The existing research literature presents a variety of strategies for embedding employability within curricula, often focusing on frameworks to review the provision of employability opportunities within a degree programme. The authors have previously investigated an employability module within an Undergraduate Chemistry Programme at their UK HEI, particularly focusing on students' perceptions -these coalesced around the themes of personal progression, relevance of the module and interactions. However, before using these findings to further develop the module, it was deemed necessary to investigate the module in a different context. This study investigates the employability module in an Australian HEI and its delivery to undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of different disciplines. Free text comments from questionnaires answered by 85 participants were subjected to thematic analysis in order to understand students' perceptions of the module in this new context. The new thematic map was compared to that from the original study to reveal several key similarities and differences between students' perceptions. However, the most important finding is thast employability modules should be tailored to a specific cohort to ensure they are aligned with their needs. This suggests that Central University employability module providers should work closely with individual departments to maximise the impact of these for students. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…A variety of factors has been blamed for the high rate of graduate unemployment in Ghana, including the claim that skills acquired in higher education fall short of labour market requirements (see Baah-Boateng, 2015;Damoah et al, 2021;Nwokolo, 2019) and inadequate job opportunities for young adults (Bugri, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the Job Search Behaviour Index (JSBI) in recent university graduates: a Rasch analysis

Teye‐Kwadjo

2021

Int J Educ Vocat Guidance

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School-to-work transition is a crucial period in the life of young adults, when they begin to realise their career aspirations. Yet, only a few young Ghanaian graduates find jobs one year after completing school. Understanding job search behaviour of graduates in Ghana would require a valid and reliable measure. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Job Search Behaviour Index (JSBI) using Rasch analysis. Data were from 429 recent graduates. Rasch analysis showed that the JSBI-7 was unidimensional and locally independent. There was no noticeable differential item functioning across gender. JSBI-7 is a promising measure for use in Ghana. Keywords School-to-work transition • Job search • Rasch analysis RésuméPropriétés psychométriques de l'indice de comportement de recherche d'emploi (JSBI) chez les jeunes diplômés universitaires : Une analyse de Rasch Le passage de l'école au travail est une période cruciale dans la vie des jeunes, où ils commencent à réaliser leurs aspirations professionnelles. Pourtant, seuls quelques jeunes diplômés ghanéens trouvent un emploi un an après avoir terminé leurs études. Pour comprendre le comportement de recherche d'emploi des diplômés au Ghana, il faudrait disposer d'une mesure valide et fiable. Cette étude a évalué les propriétés psychométriques du Job Search Behaviour Index (JSBI) en utilisant l'analyse de Rasch. Les données proviennent de 429 jeunes diplômés. L'analyse de Rasch a montré que le JSBI-7 était unidimensionnel et localement indépendant. Il n'y avait pas de différence notable dans le fonctionnement des items selon le sexe. Le JSBI-7 est une mesure prometteuse pour une utilisation au Ghana.

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Does higher education equip graduate students with the employability skills employers require? The perceptions of employers in Ghana

Cited by 30 publications

References 27 publications

Employability of accounting graduates: analysis of skills sets

Employability of accounting graduates: analysis of skills sets

Students’ reflections on an employability skills provision

Psychometric properties of the Job Search Behaviour Index (JSBI) in recent university graduates: a Rasch analysis

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