PERCEIVED EMPLOYABILITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA. IS IT RELATED TO EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS?

Abstract

The on-going changes in the workplace demand that the current and future generation of workers should be well trained since their knowledge, skills and positive attitude are essential to cope with the demands of the modern world. For this reason, university students, who are the future generation of the labour force, need to gear themselves up for a tough journey in the prevailing economic conditions. Previous research has revealed that the possession of employability skills has the potential to ascertain successful careers for students, as they will be more employable during their working life. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between employability skills of university students and their perceptions of employability. A quantitative research approach was adopted. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among university students at four universities in South Africa and data were analysed from 485 participants. Exploratory factor analysis was used to establish the factors. Correlation analysis was used to establish whether there is any relationship between employability skills and perceived employability among university students in South Africa. The majority of students regard themselves as possessing employability skills. Furthermore, the findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between students’ employability skills and their perceptions of employability. The conclusion drawn from this finding is that university students, with the appropriate knowledge and skills acquired from different fields of study, are likely to have higher self-confidence and may, therefore, influence the state of the labour market. It is recommended that employability skills should be incorporated into the curriculum in order to enhance employability of students.

Keywords

• employability, employability skills, university students, South Africa