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

Yıl 2017, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 1, 73 - 90, 01.02.2017

Ha Koloba

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

employability, employability skills, university students, South Africa