Student perspectives on employability development in higher education in South Africa

Abstract

PurposeThis study responds to identified challenges of poor work-readiness of many graduates and the inadequate relation between education and work. Through students' perspectives, the study examines the extent to which selected South African universities are supporting their students in developing employability skills and the influence of such employability support on students' enhanced employability.Design/methodology/approachThrough purposive sampling, information was obtained from a sample of 402 final year students at two universities in South Africa. After an exploratory factor analysis, 34 of the 35 items on the questionnaire successfully loaded for further analysis under seven components.FindingsSouth African universities that were analysed are adequately engaging their students with two of the six employability development opportunities (EDOs), while students' engagement with the other four is only to a fair extent. EDOs are found to jointly influence students' employability. The curriculum has the highest influence, followed by personal development planning, career development learning and work experience. Real-world activities and extracurricular activities were not found to influence students' self-perceived employability.Originality/valueBeyond identifying skills that graduates are expected to possess, which dominate the discussion and debate on graduate employability, this study elucidates the role of universities in providing support structures – EDOs – that enable students to establish an appropriate connection between theory and practice. It provides insight into the employability potential of South African universities and increases the universities' awareness of what they can do to ensure the production of work-ready graduates.

Perceived supervisor support and learner’s career curiosity: the mediating effect of sense of belonging, engagement and self-efficacy

“…Such actions may be interpreted as industry's favourable learning conditions as well as supervisors' or managerial support towards students' job-related skills development and career curiosity or an indication that the industry in which the learners undertake a placement intends to establish high-quality career exploration opportunities (e.g. Pitan and Muller, 2020). Such support for students undertaking a work placement can "enhance students' networking connections with professionals who can potentially provide employment references and future job positions, allow students to gain practical experience by observing and applying the methods and theories learned in the classroom to real-world scenarios or projects" (Burns and Chopra, 2017, p. 3).…”

How to develop higher education curricula towards employability? A multi-stakeholder approach

“…Regarding the perception of employers, Suleman and Laranjeiro (2018) also concluded, through a qualitative study of HRMs from ten firms in Portugal, that employers are unsatisfied with graduate training in soft skills and other personal traits. A similar situation is mentioned by Pitan and Muller (2020) for South Africa where employers complain that newly graduated employees are not work-ready, presenting limited work experience and a lack of important soft skills.…”

“…According to this model, industry acts as a source of production and can cooperate with universities by providing new research and development opportunities, helping them to increase their innovative capabilities; government provides regulations, stability and rules, assisting university-industry linkages through adequate policies and regulations and universities provide technology, new knowledge and innovative workers. Under these roles, universities are required to develop partnerships with industry in areas such as curriculum development, career awareness programmes, real-world assessments and student internships (Pitan and Muller, 2020).…”

What makes better career opportunities for young graduates? Examining acquired employability skills in higher education institutions

“…The youth unemployment rate becomes a global concern as it is generally higher than the adult unemployment rate. In Europe, the young graduates from higher education have suffered a lower employment rate (Garrouste and Rodrigues, 2014; Pitan and Muller, 2020). For example, the employment rates of young graduates in Ireland, Spain, and Greece were −7.1% points, −5.7% points and – 5.1% points, respectively between the pre-crisis period (2004–2007) and the crisis period (2008–2010).…”