Graduate readiness for the employment market of the 4th industrial revolution

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is, first, to examine student perspectives of their university experience in terms of the soft employability skills they develop; second, how prepared those students feel for the future employment market and finally investigate whether there are differences in perceptions between Chinese and Malaysian students given their different educational experience. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 361 predominantly Chinese undergraduate students at two universities, one in China and the other in Malaysia completed the 15-item Goldsmiths soft skills inventory using an online survey. Findings The results, analysed using factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that the university curriculum develops student soft skills, particularly in the Malaysian university and supports the relationship between soft skill and student preparedness for employment. The results also indicate that compared with the respondents from the Chinese university, the Malaysian university respondents were more likely to be positive to statements concerning their respective university’s ability to develop their soft skills. Research limitations/implications Such findings have implications for education providers and business in that it is important for universities to embed soft skills into the curriculum in order to develop graduate work readiness. Originality/value What this research contributes is not only consolidation of existing research in the contemporary context of a disruptive jobs market, it takes research forward through analysing student perceptions from two universities, one in Malaysia and the other in China, of the skills they develop at university and the importance of soft skills to them and their perceptions of future employment and employability. Such research will provide insight, in particular, into the role of education providers, the phenomena of underemployment among graduates in China, and be of practical significance to employers and their perception that graduates lack the necessary soft skills for the workplace (Anonymous, 2017a; Stapleton, 2017; British Council, 2015; Chan, 2015).

The gap in soft skills perceptions: a dyadic analysis

“…The practical importance of this study is twofold: first to increase awareness among educational managers and employees of the importance of soft skills and second to reveal and assess the degree of any discrepancy in employer and employee perceptions. This paper empirically confirms the prevailing perception concerning the phenomenon of the "skills gap," which has been widely discussed in the academic literature (Stapleton, 2017;Teng et al, 2019;Chan, 2015). An identified gap could motivate further research on the causes of the gap and the ways it can be addressed.…”

“…Recently Succi and Canovi (2019) found that the large majority of employers (60.2%) agreed that students are not well or very well prepared by higher education institutions. The differences highlighted could help education units to reconsider the importance of soft skills and include them in their curricula, leading to the acquirement of skills in levels, closer to employers' standards (Teng et al, 2019).…”

Employability in the fourth industrial revolution

“…Moreover, employers are concerned with the shortage of employability skills, already demonstrated by the entry-level job applicants as this is considered a global issue (Teng et al, 2019). Despite employability importance, there are discrepancies in the visions on employability skills between higher education students and employers (Kőnig et al, 2016;Ahmad & Pesch, 2017;Singh et al, 2017).…”

To Concur or Conquer? Redirecting [Vocational] Accounting Education

“…Recent articles on education in industrial revolution 4.0 tackle the integration of technology into learning process. The discussion relates to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality, which can trigger creativity and pleasure in learning (Buasuwan, 2018;Shahroom & Hussin, 2018;Teng et al, 2019). I think that integrating information technology with edu cation is less significant compared to the values-transfer function in education.…”