Employability skills of business graduates in Saudi Arabia: Do academia and employers speak the same language?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2024.0011Keywords:
graduate, graduate employability, business students, unemployment, soft skills, Saudi Arabia, skills, employer, academiaAbstract
Graduate education plays a role in improving the scope for employability of graduates. It empowers them with specialized skills, advanced knowledge, and critical thinking, which increases the scope for their employability. However, in the case of Saudi Arabia, it has been reported that there is widespread unemployment in the country. Though the Saudi Arabian government has initiated measures to nurture development in education through their ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ program, a gap exists. There are strong indictors which point at a mismatch of knowledge and skills possessed by graduates in Saudi, and the requirements of the labour market. Therefore, this paper examines the apparent gap between academia and employers in terms of employability, while focusing on whether graduate students have the same set of skills that employers require. Using a review method, information was derived from secondary sources, mainly from papers having examined the same topic previously. From the findings, academia believed that the educational system needed an overhaul and economic diversification, with the creation of new employment opportunities. Though employers believed that Saudi graduates lacked soft skills impacting their employability. It was concluded that a collaboration between students and employers was required, where employers could offer inputs supporting graduate employability.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, M. A. (2016). The Effects of Saudization on the Universities: Localization in Saudi Arabia. International Higher Education, 86, 25-27. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2016.86.9373
Alenezi, S. (2020). Exploring the Factors Affecting Saudi University Students' In-Class Willingness to Communicate in English. International Journal of English Linguistics, 10(5), 75. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n5p75
Alfalih, A. (2016). Labour flexibility: An analysis of the future trajectory of the employment of female graduates in Saudi Arabia.
Alghamedi, A. (2016). Enhancing employment opportunities in the Saudi Arabian private sector. Pepperdine University.
Ali Al-khateeb, B. A. (2020, September). Technological Skills and Job Employment in Universities in Saudi Arabia. Proceedings of The 6th International Conference on Opportunities and Challenges in Management, Economics and Accounting. https://doi.org/10.33422/6th.omeaconf.2020.09.209
Aloui, L., & Shams Eldin, A. Y. (2020). Socio-emotional competencies, socio-economic factors, and the employability process of female graduates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 12, 184797902098090. https://doi.org/10.1177/1847979020980903
Alrasheedy, A. (2019). The Cost of Unemployment in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 11(11), 30. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v11n11p30
Alzalabani, A. H. (2002). International briefing 11: Training and development in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Training and Development, 6(2), 125-140. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2419.00154
Alzu'be, A. F. M. (2012). The quality of Saudi graduates and the needs of Saudi labor market. Update, 2(9), 23-25.
Basahal, A., Forde, C., & MacKenzie, R. (2021). Labour market localisation policies and organizational responses: an analysis of the aims and effects of the Saudi Nitaqat reforms. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-03-2021-2681
Bearman, M., Smith, C. D., Carbone, A., Slade, S., Baik, C., Hughes-Warrington, M., & Neumann, D. L. (2012). Systematic review methodology in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(5), 625-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2012.702735
Belwal, R., Priyadarshi, P., & Al Fazari, M. H. (2017). Graduate attributes and employability skills: Graduates' perspectives on employers' expectations in Oman. International Journal of Educational Management.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-05-2016-0122
Blackmore, P., Bulaitis, Z. H., Jackman, A. H., & Tan, E. (2016). Employability in higher education: A review of practice and strategies around the world. Report Commissioned by Pearson Efficacy and Research. Https://Uk. Pearson. Com/Content/Dam/Region-Core/Uk/Pearson-Uk/Documents/about/News-and-Policy/Employability-Models-Synthesis. Pdf.
Brennan, J., Kogan, M., & Teichler, U. (1996). Higher education and work: a conceptual framework. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY SERIES-LONDON-JESSICA KINGSLEY PUBLISHERS LIMITED-, 23, 1-24.
Cook, E. J. (2022). A narrative review of graduate employability models: their paradigms, and relationships to teaching and curricula. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 37-64.
https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2022vol13no1art1483
Dinh, N. T., Dinh Hai, L., & Pham, H.-H. (2022). A bibliometric review of research on employability: dataset from Scopus between 1972 and 2019. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-02-2022-0031
Diwan, I. (2021). Fiscal Sustainability, the Labor Market, and Growth in Saudi Arabia (pp. 31-53). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5728-6_3
Domash, A. (2022). Evidence-based policy for the Saudi labor market.
Ebaid, I. E.-S. (2021). Employers' perceptions of generic employability skills of accounting graduates: evidence from Saudi Arabia. Journal of Management and Business Education, 4(2), 136-149.
https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2021.0008
Edgar, D., Azhar, A., & Duncan, D. P. (2016). The Impact of the Saudization Policy on Recruitment and Retention: A Case Study of the Banking Sector in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Business, 1(5), 01. https://doi.org/10.18533/job.v1i5.51
Gamage, D. G. M. P. ., & Henegedara, R. H. G. W. P. K. (2019). Employability of university graduates; Investigation of graduate's and employer's perspectives on employability. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 9(7), p91124. https://doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.9.07.2019.p91124
Green, B. N., Johnson, C. D., & Adams, A. (2006). Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-reviewed journals: secrets of the trade. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 5(3), 101-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-3467(07)60142-6
Griffin, M., & Coelhoso, P. (2019). Business students' perspectives on employability skills post internship experience. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-12-2017-0102
Hani, F., & Lopesciolo, M. (2021). Understanding Saudi Private Sector Employment And Unemployment. CID Research Fellow and Graduate Student Working Paper Series.
Harvey, A., Andrewartha, L., Edwards, D., Clarke, J., & Reyes, K. (2021). Student equity and employability in higher education.
Hasanov, F. J., Mikayilov, J. I., Javid, M., Al-Rasasi, M., Joutz, F., & Alabdullah, M. B. (2021). Sectoral employment analysis for Saudi Arabia. Applied Economics, 53(45), 5267-5280. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2021.1922590
Hassan, A. E. H., & Ahmed, E. Y. E. (2015). The Availability of Solve Problems Skills among students in Special Education-Faculty of Education, University of Jazan, Saudi Arabia. International Research Journal for Quality in Education, 2(2), 15-21.
Hernández‐March, J., Martín del Peso, M., & Leguey, S. (2009). Graduates' Skills and Higher Education: The employers' perspective. Tertiary Education and Management, 15(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583880802699978
Holmes, L. (2013). Realist and relational perspectives on graduate identity and employability: A response to Hinchliffe and Jolly. British Educational Research Journal, 39(6), 1044-1059.
https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3022
Husam, H. A., & Abraham, P. (2019). Employability skills development through assessment in higher education: Students' voices on reflective assessments. Glob Acad J Econ Buss, 1, 36-42.
Ibeaheem, H. A., Elawady, S., & Ragmoun, W. (2018). Saudi Universities and higher education skills on Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Higher Education Management, 4(2).
https://doi.org/10.24052/IJHEM/V04N02/ART05
Iqbal, A. (2010). Employee turnover: Causes, consequences and retention strategies in the Saudi organizations. The Business Review, Cambridge, 16(2), 275-281.
Iqbal, A., & Zenchenkov, M. (2014). Market Tested Business Education: Corporate Sector Perceptions of Saudi Graduates Competencies. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 15(2), 91-106.
Jamjoom, Y. (2016). Private higher education and graduate employability in Saudi Arabia. In A Global Perspective on Private Higher Education (pp. 189-204). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100872-0.00011-2
Jouili, T. A., & Khemissi, F. M. (2019). Impact of economic diversification on graduates employment. International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, 6(3), 35-39. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2019.03.006
Joynes, C., Rossignoli, S., & Amonoo-Kuofi, E. F. (2019). 21st Century Skills: evidence of issues in definition, demand and delivery for development contexts.
Kammer, A. (2013). Assessing Saudi Arabia's Systemic Role in the Oil Market and Global Economy. 13.
Kenayathulla, H. B., Ahmad, N. A., & Idris, A. R. (2019). Gaps between competence and importance of employability skills: evidence from Malaysia. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 13(2), 97-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/HEED-08-2019-0039
Kwiek, M. (2016). From growth to decline? Demand-absorbing private higher education when demand is over. In A Global Perspective on Private Higher Education (pp. 53-79). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100872-0.00004-5
Lauder, H., & Mayhew, K. (2020). Higher education and the labour market: an introduction. Oxford Review of Education, 46(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2019.1699714
Little, B. (2001). Reading Between the Lines of Graduate Employment. Quality in Higher Education, 7(2), 121-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320120060015
Lopesciolo, M., Muhaj, D., & Pan, C. (2021). The Quest for Increased Saudization: Labor Market Outcomes and the Shadow Price of Workforce Nationalization Policies. CID Research Fellow and Graduate Student Working Paper Series.
Mohamed Meteb, A. (2017). Unemployment and Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia 2000-2015. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 9(9), 83. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v9n9p83
Moore, T., & Morton, J. (2017). The myth of job readiness? Written communication, employability, and the 'skills gap' in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 42(3), 591-609. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1067602
Nagarajan, S. V., & Edwards, J. (2014). Is the graduate attributes approach sufficient to develop work ready graduates? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 5(1), 12-28.
https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2014vol5no1art565
Okolie, U. C., Nwosu, H. E., & Mlanga, S. (2019). Graduate employability. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(4), 620-636. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-09-2018-0089
Pauceanu, A. M., Rabie, N., & Moustafa, A. (2020). Employability in the fourth industrial revolution. Economics & Sociology, 13(3), 269-283. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2020/13-3/17
Rusznyak, L., Balfour, R., Van Vollenhoven, W., & Sosibo, L. (2016). Why academic depth and rigour in university-based coursework matters for prospective teachers. Perspectives in Education, 34(1). https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v34i1.1
Salam, A. A. (2022). Saudi Arabia's Labor Market Transitions to Thrive Vision 2030: A Demographic Appraisal. In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems (pp. 1-22). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_315-1
Sin, C., & Amaral, A. (2017). Academics' and employers' perceptions about responsibilities for employability and their initiatives towards its development. Higher Education, 73(1), 97-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0007-y
Tran, T. T. (2015). Is graduate employability the 'whole-of-higher-education-issue'? Journal of Education and Work, 28(3), 207-227. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2014.900167
Tran, T. T. (2019). Graduate Employability: Critical Perspectives (pp. 93-111). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8918-4_6
Velciu, M. (2017). Job matching as a new challenge for work performance. Balkan Region Conference on Engineering and Business Education, 2(1), 14-19. https://doi.org/10.1515/cplbu-2017-0003
Yorke, M., & Knight, P. T. (2006). Embedding employability into the curriculum (Vol. 3). Higher Education Academy York.
Yusuf, N., & Jamjoom, Y. (2022). The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Developing Employability Skills of Saudi Graduates Amidst Saudi 2030 Vision. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 11(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2022.v11n1p31
Zhao, Z., & Kularatne, I. (2020). Relationship between Generic Skills and Employability Skills: An Exploratory Study in the Context of New Zealand Postgraduate Education. Management, 15(4), 291-307. https://doi.org/10.26493/1854-4231.15.291-307
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Management and Business Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License terms at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode
