Employability Skills as Perceived by Employers and University Faculty in the Fields of Human Resource Development (HRD) for Entry Level Graduate Jobs

Bassou El  Mansour; Jason C.  Dean

doi:10.4236/jhrss.2016.41005

Bassou El Mansour, Jason C. Dean

Abstract: The world of employment has changed dramatically, technology is impacting practices and experiences, and societies are becoming more global and multicultural. With the rise of globalization, employability is becoming one of the main goals for education systems. Today’s employers require employees to have soft or non-technical skills in addition to technical skills. The purpose of the study was to explore employability skills as perceived by employers and university faculty of human resource development (HRD) and management for entry level graduate jobs. As a result of this research, types of employability skills may be identified which are common among the faculty of HRD programs and employers of HRD graduates both in the U.S. and internationally. To evaluate the interrelationships between the variables of interest among employees and faculty members, both in the U.S. and internationally, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized. The overall results of this study indicate that with the exception of communication skills and the use of technology, there is a significant relationship between 16 of the 18 variables investigated and the type of respondents.

Keywords: Employability Skills, Human Resource Development, Soft Skills, Hard Skills

Cite this paper: Mansour, B. and Dean, J. (2016) Employability Skills as Perceived by Employers and University Faculty in the Fields of Human Resource Development (HRD) for Entry Level Graduate Jobs. Journal of Human Resource and Sustainability Studies, 4, 39-49. doi: 10.4236/jhrss.2016.41005.

References

[1] Yorke, M. and Knight, P.T. (2006) Embedding Employability into the Curriculum: Learning & Employability Series 1. The Higher Education Academy, York.
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resource/embedding-employability-curriculum

[2] Robins Resumes (2015) Why Technical People Need Nontechnical Skills on Their Resumes. https://robinresumes.com/tag/soft-skills/

[3] Joseph, D., Ang, S., Chang, H.L. and Slaughter, S. (2010) Practical Intelligence in IT: Assessing Soft Skills of IT Professionals. Digital Library.
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1646391 http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1646353.1646391

[4] Clagett, C.A. (1997) Workforce Skills Needed by Today’s Employers. Market Analysis, 5, 1-15.

[5] McNabb, J.G. (1997) Key Affective Behaviors of Students as Identified by a Select Group of Secondary School Teachers Using the SCANS Categories. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 34, 29-41.

[6] Murnane, R.J. and Levy, F. (1996) Teaching the New Basic Skills: Principles for Educating Children to Thrive in a Changing Economy. Free Press, New York.

[7] Oliver, K.M., Russell, C., Gilli, L.M., Hughes, R.A., Schuder, T., Brown, J.L. and Towers, W. (1997) Skills for Workplace Success in Maryland: Beyond Workplace Readiness. In: Workforce Readiness: Competencies and Assessment, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah.

[8] Imel, S. (1999) Work Force Education: Beyond Technical Skills. Trends and Issues Alert, No. 1.

[9] Shah, C. and Burke, G. (2005) Skills Shortages: Concepts, Measurement and Policy Responses. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 31, 44-71.

[10] Beebe, B. (1996) Probing the Process Called “Behavior-Based Interviewing”. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 56, 40-47.

[11] Marklein, M.B. (2008) Record Number of U.S. Students Study Abroad, in Diverse Locations. USA Today. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-11-16-study-abroad_N.htm

[12] Harvey, L. (2001) Defining and Measuring Employability. Quality in Higher Education, 7, 97-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13538320120059990

[13] McQuaid, R.W. and Lindsay, C. (2005) The Concept of Employability. Urban Studies, 42, 197-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0042098042000316100

[14] Hillage, J. and Pollard, E. (1998) Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis. Department for Education and Employment, London.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225083565_Employability_Developing_a_framework
_for_policy_analysis_London_DfEE

[15] Brown, P., Hesketh, A. and Williams, S. (2003) Employability in a Knowledge-Driven Economy. Journal of Education and & Work, 16, 107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080305562

[16] Yorke, M. (2006) Employability in Higher Education: What It Is-What It Is Not: Learning & Employability Series 1. The Higher Education Academy, York.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/tla/employability/id116_employability_in_higher_
education_336.pdf

[17] Nilsson, S. and Ellstr?m, P. (2012) Employability and Talent Management: Challenges for HRD Practices. European Journal of Training & Development, 36, 26-45.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090591211192610

[18] Little, B. (2011) Employability for the Workers: What Does this Mean? Education + Training, 53, 57-66.

[19] Aamodt, P., Hovdhaugen, E. and Bielfeldt, U. (2010) Serving the Society? Historical and Modern Interpretations of Employability. Higher Education Policy, 23, 271-284.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/hep.2010.6

[20] Nilsson, S. (2010) Enhancing Individual Employability: The Perspective of Engineering Graduates. Education + Training, 52, 540-551. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400911011068487

[21] Harvey, L. (2005) Embedding and Integrating Employability. New Directions for Institutional Research, 128, 13-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ir.160

[22] Baciu, E. and Lazar, T. (2011) Skills Supply and Skills Demand Among Youth: Object of Concern or Object of Hope? Revista De AsistentaSociala, 4, 85-101.

[23] Goodwin, S., McDonald, R., Perkins, K., Wignall, L., Gale, G., O’Callaghan, K., Murray, F., McGraw, J., Redman, K. and Hopwood, J. (2012) Employability Skills Framework: Stage 1 Final Report.

[24] Clarke, M. (2009) Plodders, Pragmatists, Visionaries and Opportunists: Career Patterns and Employability. Career Development International, 14, 8-28.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910933556

[25] De Vos, A., Dewettinck, K. and Buyens, D (2008) To Move or Not to Move? The Relationship between Career Man- agement and Preferred Career Moves. Employee Relations, 30, 156-175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01425450810843348

[26] Hansen, F. (2009) Recruiters Still Courting College Grads, but Signing Fewer New Hires. Workforce, 88. http://www.workforce.com/articles/recruiters-still-courting-college-grads-but-signing-fewer-new-hires

[27] Kurtzleben, D. (2013) ADP: Job Market Improving, But Slowdown on Its Way. U.S. News & World Report, 1.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/06/adp-job-market-improving-but-slowdown-on-its-way

[28] Connor, H. and Shaw, S. (2008) Graduate Training and Development: Current Trends and Issues. Education + Training, 50, 357-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400910810889048

[29] Eisner, S. (2010) Grave New World? Workplace Skills for Today’s College Graduates. American Journal of Business Education, 3, 27-50.

[30] Rasul, M.S., Rauf, R.A.A., Mansor, A.N. and Puvanasvaran, A.P. (2012) Employability Skills Assessment Tool Development. International Education Studies, 5, 43-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n5p43

[31] Moradi, M.A. (2011) A Case Study of How Students Enrolled in CTE Programs and Faculty Understand and Assess the Implications of Globalization on Career Preparation. Ph. D. Thesis, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

[32] Rodrigues, A. and Machado, I. (2011) Employability Itineraries of Graduates in Marketing: An Exploratory Study. Revista Portuguesa De Marketing, 14, 90-96.

[33] Robinson, J.S., Garton, B.L. and Vaughn, P.R. (2007) Becoming Employable: A Look at Graduates and Supervisor’s Perceptions of the Skills Needed for Employability. NACTA Journal, 51, 19-26.

[34] Tillman, C. and Tillman, W.R. (2008) What’s CTE Gotta Do With It: Are CTE Graduates Employed in The Fields in Which They Received Their Training? Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict, 12, 25-41.

[35] Ramakrishnan, K. and Yasin, N.M. (2010) Knowledge Management Portal: Connecting Higher Learning Institution and Employer. Journal of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 1, 1-18.

[36] Bhanugopan, R. and Fish, A. (2009) Achieving Graduate Employability through Consensus in the South Pacific Island Nation. Education + Training, 51, 108-123.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400910910941273

[37] Rao, A., Shah, S., Aziz, J., Jaffari, A., Ejaz, W., Ul-Haq, I. and Raza, S. (2011) Employability in MNCs: Challenge for Graduates. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3, 189-200.

[38] Zhiwen, G. and van der Heijden, B.M. (2008) Employability Enhancement of Business Graduates in China: Reacting upon Challenges of Globalization and Labour Market Demands. Education & Training, 50, 289-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400910810880533

[39] Wickramasinghe, V. and Perera, L. (2010) Graduates’, University Lecturers’ and Employers’ Perceptions towards Employability Skills. Education & Training, 52, 226-244.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400911011037355

[40] Baker, G. and Henson, D. (2010) Promoting Employability Skills Development in a Research—Intensive University. Education + Training, 52, 62-75.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00400911011017681