Work-readiness skills in the Fasset Sector

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the work-readiness skills that are regarded as important by employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used to achieve this objective. Two convenience samples, namely 24 employers and 333 graduates, completed the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This scale was validated as a one-factor model with an alpha coeffi cient of 0.88. Oral and written communication, self-discipline, time management, interpersonal skills and teamwork, problem-solving skills and positive work ethic were rated as important skills for securing employment in this sector by employers and graduates alike. In addition, employers valued numeracy skills and motivation, whereas graduates regarded confi dence and leadership skills as important. The results have implications for the curriculum design of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme presented to graduates in this industry.

Distance Learning Students’ Graduateness as Predictors of Their Job Satisfaction and Optimism about Future Career Prospects

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“…Growing evidence suggests that work readiness is an important global construct with implications for secondary and higher education in industrialized countries (Cavanagh et al, 2015; Gazibara et al, 2015; Raftopoulos et al, 2009). Creating opportunities for students to learn about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and their skill sets may increase work readiness.…”

Measuring student graduateness: reliability and construct validity of the Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale

“…Seeing prospective and current employees' graduateness skills and attributes as being vital in creating the type of workplace culture in which innovation, adaptability and flexibility thrive (Thompson, Treleaven, Kamvounias, Beem, & Hill, 2008;Van Dam, 2004), employers generally consider these generic, transferable skills and attributes as signifying an employee's employability and work readiness (Griesel & Parker, 2009;Raftapoulous, Coetzee, & Visser, 2009). Measures of the skills and attributes that underpin the graduateness of employees and prospective employees as distance-education learners have, therefore, become important for employers, educators and individuals pursuing a career in a changing occupational world that demands graduate employability (Coetzee, 2012;Rigby et al, 2010;Tomlinson, 2007;Yorke & Knight, 2007).…”