Influence of Sample Sizes in Extraction of Employability Skills of Engineering Graduates Using Factor Analysis

Abstract

Abstract-Identification of employability skills expected by employers in engineering disciplines is vital for fresh engineering graduates who enter to Sri Lankan work force. Factor Analysis was found to be one of the best methods for identifying these skills, and use of proper sample sizes in such an analysis is essential for reliable results. From this view point, this study establishes a method for investigation of applicable sample sizes in extraction of employability skills of civil engineering graduates. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was carried out among civil engineering organizations to measure employer expectation on thirteen technical and fifteen nontechnical specific attributes identified as important. These attributes were measured using five point Likert scale based on their importance levels. In the factor analysis process, the communality values of each attribute that represent the degree of participation in the analysis was considered as the key indicators to examine their consistency with effective sample sizes. This study used fifty random samples generated for sample sizes ranging from 25 to 100 with 25 increments and the total sample size 122. From the results, it was found that the communality values showed consistent trend above the sample size 75. Moreover, it should be noted that questionnaire should be properly designed and also respondents should be correctly chosen when this sample size is selected for questionnaire surveys. Finally the finding of this study will help in planning and conducting questionnaire surveys effectively and data analysis with a proper sample sizes in order to make reliable predictions in related studies.Index Terms-Employability skills, factor analysis, random samples, sample size.

Development of Employability Skills of Vocational School Students in Bogor, Indonesia

“…Jurnal Pendidikan Indonesia Gemilang Vol.3, No.1, 2023, pp. 97-102 e-ISSN 2809 101 employability skills in students will certainly help them in working, surviving in work and getting a better career than individuals who do not master employability skills (Shyamalee, Wickramasinghe, & Dissanayake, 2013;Adi & Ni'am, 2013;Omar, Bakar, & Rashid, 2012;Yusoff, Omar, Zaharim, Mohamed, & Muhamad, 2012;Zaharim, et al, 2010). The results of other studies also show that employability skills can determine a person's success in carrying out their work (Burgaz, 2008;Kwok, 2003).…”