The role of soft skills, technical skills and academic performance on graduate employability

Abstract

This study examined the role of soft skills, technical skills and academic performance on graduate employability. The study was underpinned by the Human Capital Theory. By using a positivist quantitative approach data were collected from one higher education institution in Tanzania. The study used a sample of 217 final year students who filled a standard questionnaire. Data analysis employed descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that soft skills (r=.644, p<.05), technical skills (r=.593, p<.05) and academic performance (r=.376, p<.05) individually predict perceived graduate employability. As per the findings, students with better soft and technical skills have a higher chance of getting employed. On the other hand, students with higher academic performance as measured by grade point average (GPA) are more employable than those with lower performance. Controlling these three independent variables depends on efforts of various stakeholders. This research calls for collective efforts of educators, policy makers, students, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders to work in ensuring that right and relevant skills are provided in HEIs and there is a supportive environment for students to perform better academically.

Keywords: {'name': 'soft skills, technical skills, academic performance, graduate employability, human capital theory.'}

Authors & affiliations

Kelvin Mwita
Affiliation not supplied

Nivad Mwilongo
Affiliation not supplied

Imani Mwamboma
Affiliation not supplied

Deposited references

Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.

DOI: 10.1186/s41239-020-0177-7

Bennett, D. (2018). Graduate employability and higher education: Past, present and future. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 5, 31–61.

Bhatti, M. A. (2023). Enhancing Expatriate Performance: The Role of Cross-Cultural Competence and SelfMaintenance Skills. Croatian International Relations Review, 29(93), 366–391. https://doi.org/DOI 10.2478/CIRR-2023-0065

DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2020.1842866

DOI: 10.1080/1360080X.2019.1646378

DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00565-8

DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2017.1294152

DOI: 10.1080/09639284.2019.1697937

DOI: 10.1177/21582440211036105

DOI: 10.1515/eng-2020-0072

DOI: 10.1108/ET-10-2017-0159

DOI: 10.3390/educsci11100641

DOI: 10.1108/PRR-01-2021-0005

DOI: 10.1108/ET-12-2018-0258

DOI: 10.1177/0018726715591636

Ismail, Z., Ahmad, A. S., & Ahmi, A. (2020). Perceived Employability Skills of Accounting Graduates: The Insights from Employers. Elementary Education Online, 19(4), 36–41.

Jones, M., Baldi, C., Philips, C., & Avinash, W. (2016). The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: What Recruiters Look for in Business Graduates. College Student Journal, 4(Fall), 422–428.

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-9-19

DOI: 10.1080/13538322.2020.1728836

DOI: 10.1002/jid.3820

Kumar, S., Agarwal, M., & Agarwal, N. (2021). Defining And Measuring Academic Performance of Hei Students- A Critical Review. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(6), 3091–3105.

DOI: 10.32479/irmm.13040

DOI: 10.1108/ET-12-2020-0367

DOI: 10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2012.0147

DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2017.1359823

DOI: 10.1177/21582440211006709

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13943

DOI: 10.4103/aca.ACA_157_18

DOI: 10.1016/j.procs.2017.11.342

Mutalemwa, D., Utouh, H., & Msuya, N. (2020). Soft Skills as a Problem and a Purpose for Tanzanian Industry: Views of Graduates. 9(4), 45–64.

DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v12i3.2435

DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1920

DOI: 10.5296/ijhrs.v8i2.12921

DOI: 10.51983/ajms-2019.8.3.1627

DOI: 10.1177/1478210319864824

DOI: 10.1108/HESWBL-10-2018-0098

DOI: 10.1177/1052562917703679

DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2009.05.002

Saleh, H. (2019). Employer Satisfaction With Engineering Graduates Employability: A Study Among Manufacturing Employers In Malaysia. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 8(09), 813–817.

Salkind, N. J. (2010). Autocorrelation describes sample that are related to each other across time, space, or other dimensions. CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

DOI: 10.37227/jibm-2021-03-87/

DOI: 10.12691/ajams-8-2-1

DOI: 10.3390/su14031749

DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420

DOI: 10.1007/s10734-017-0207-0

DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v8i2.18128

DOI: 10.1057/hep.2011.26

DOI: 10.1029/2022GL101499

DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2020.1742964