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Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review

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 IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668
PP 85-90
www.iosrjournals.org

“Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature

Review”
Prof. Dr. Vinitaa Agrawal¹, Santanu Dasgupta²
¹(Amity Business School, Amity University Rajasthan, India)
²(Research Scholar, Amity Business School, Amity University Rajasthan, India)

Abstract: The importance of employability skills has increased with time. The term „employability‟ has been used by
researchers for many years in the perspective of employment and labour markets. Employability relates to the ability to be
in employment, and, in particular, the set of quality that enhance the probability of an individual being in work. At present,
most of the Higher education institutions as well as the employers give prime importance to employability skills. The key
factor for getting into a job today depends upon the additional skills apart from the subject specific skills. Employers today
seek employees with the right combination of generic, technical and job specific skills and ensure that they can transfer
skills from one context to another. The employers are more interested in recruiting a „right‟ candidate with multi
dimensional skills rather than a graduate with very high academic knowledge but poor interpersonal skills. The change has
taken place gradually but very steadily. With the gaining importance of employability skills, the higher education institutions
are also looking into these factors seriously and are trying to include these skills as a part of their curriculum so that the
students can readily adapt them during the study tenure and remain in the competition.
The purpose of this study is to perform an in-depth study of employability skills necessary for the graduates to achieve
employment in different fields. The entire exposition is supported by relevant literature review. So, the study is exploratory in
nature.
Key Words: Employability, employability skills, graduates, employers

I. Introduction
Being a multi-aspect concept, employability is difficult to define. The requirement of graduate skills by the labour
market and the employers differ from one country to another. With the changing business environment the importance of
employability in education has increased a lot. To provide the graduating students with an edge over others in the
employment race, the requirement of employability skills has gained parallel importance with subject specific knowledge.
The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are finding their own way out in the amalgamation of this requirement.
Employability skills refer to those skills that make a graduate able to obtain, sustain and perform well in a job. It can also be
termed as job readiness skills. Employability skills can be divided into three basic categories namely: (a) basic academic
skills, (b) higher-order thinking skills and (c) personal qualities. The basic academic skills comprise of writing, reading, and
communication skills. Higher order thinking skills comprise of reasoning, problem solving and learning skills etc. while the
personal qualities include team spirit, self motivation, teamwork, leadership skills etc. As stated by most of the employers,
the real problem is to find graduates with job readiness skills.

II. Objective And Methodology

The methodology adopted for the entire elucidation is on the basis of deductive reasoning. In a way, the exposition is based
on exploratory work but it is theoretical in a sense that its issues have not been studied in the empirical setting. The purpose
of this research is to acquire deeper insight into employability and employability skills. The entire elucidation is supported
by relevant literature review. So, the study is exploratory in nature and the broad objectives are to include:
a) Study definitions of employability and employability skills
b) Analyze the need of employability skills
c) Appraise the importance of employability skills for the graduates.

III. Employability
J Hillage and E Pollard (1998) in their research paper “Employability: Developing a framework for policy
analysis” discussed about the origin of employability. They stated the concept of employability has been in literature for
many years. They defined employability as an ability to be employed i.e. a) ability to gain initial employment b) ability to
maintain employment c) ability to obtain new employment if required. Employability in other words is about being capable
of getting and keeping full filing work. Individuals‟ employability assets comprise of basic skills, occupation specific skills
and involvement skills. Employability is not just vocational and academic skills, an individual requires relevant and updated
market information to take the right decision.
Lee Harvey (2001) in his paper “Defining and Measuring employability” indicated about effectiveness of the
institutions in developing employable graduates. The ability to obtain a job depends upon the institutional effectiveness. The
effectiveness may also be measured by an audit of developmental opportunities as well as the satisfaction of graduates in
their programme of study. The employability development indicator of institutions are sometimes closely related with future
employment like in case of courses such as engineering, nursing, hospitality etc and at times may not be linked with studies
like philosophy, literature, social science and many more. Morley (2001) reported that the concept of employability has
gradually become a performance indicator in the quality framework in HEI‟s. The researcher argued that academic
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 “Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review”

institutions in UK while trying to promote the transferable key skills, fear that education is getting replaced by instruction
and training. Globalisation has had a negative impact on higher education policy by driving out its cultural and the social
essence. Over regulations and surveillance of the professional groups with poor remuneration and tough employment
conditions has made many professionally trained graduates leave the labour market. The need for „employer – ability‟ to
balance out the power relations embedded in the employability discourse for retention of employees is the need of the hour.
The values of the consumer society are now embedded in educational relationship. Education has been redefined in terms of
skilling young workers and providing professional and in-service courses rather than expanding the minds and developing
citizens. The political decision of expansion of higher education in UK in early 1990‟s was due to the shortage of graduates
in the labour market. But with the saturation of industry, graduate unemployment has increased rapidly with employers
adding more and more parameters in the employment condition with surplus supply of students.
McQuaid et al (2005) in their paper introducing employability explained the term employability from various
concepts illustrated by different researchers for over 100 years. They specially argued about the narrow and broad
perspectives of the approach to employability. “In dealing with different facets of employability policies range from those
seeking to improve employability skills and attributes, to helping the job search process, influencing personal circumstances
or dealing with aspects of labour demand.” An important facet of employability relates to the job search process.
Dependency on higher education qualification and associated transferable skills and competencies has increased in recent
years. A decline in traditional occupation has left many unemployed. Geographical location has a very important role in
creating access to employment and training opportunities. Policies are required to enhance the mobility of disadvantaged
people in the labour market to make them more experienced and confident. Communication technologies particularly
internet should be utilised to improve the job search provision among the unemployed people. Policies to link local labour
demand to training including local partnership is required to meet the difficulties of unemployment.

Determinants of Employability: Hogan et al, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6 (2013), 3–16.
Darce Pool and Sewell (2007) mentioned that the term employability is carelessly used with enterprise and in turn
confused with entrepreneurship. Employability measured in simplistic terms indicates the ability of a graduate to achieve
employment within six months of graduating. The authors argued that employability is much more than gaining
employment. The four main elements of employability as proposed are
1) Employability assets- Knowledge, skill and attitude
2) Deployment – Career management skills, job search skills
3) Presentation n- Job getting skills (CV writing, work experience and interview techniques)
4) External factors- opportunities available in the present market condition
A career EDGE model proposed by the authors described the step by step achievement of employability through
1) Career development learning
2) Experience
3) Degree subject knowledge
4) Generic skills
5) Emotional intelligence

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 “Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review”

Career EDGE – The key to Employability: Dacre Pool, L. and Sewell, P. (2007)

Gunn, Bell and Kafmann (2010) argued that „Employability‟ is about development of range of attributes and skills that is
transferrable in situations ahead of education. The HEIs should take into account the skills and abilities required during
employment and develop the curriculum so that the programs can be designed keeping in mind the employability agenda.
The challenges with the employability agenda are as follows:
1. Confusion and ambiguity on the definition of employability
2. Non engagement of students
3. Inter-professionalism mismatch between academicians and industry experts
4. Unrealistic needs requested by employers
5. Ideology and priority mismatch
Effective inter-professional working is required to maximize the opportunities for the students to develop their attributes
beyond the university curricula. Embedding personal development programs (PDP) through workplace-based learning across
different levels of study may likely fulfil the employability agenda.

Employability skills
Leroux and Lafleur (1995) elucidated that employability skills can be grouped into three categories.
1) Academic Skills- Communication, Critical thinking, Problem Solving, Life Skills
2) Personal Management Skills- Goal Setting, Positive Attitude, Self Esteem , Initiative
3) Team Work Skills – Inter Personal Skills, Leadership Skills, Respect for others, Learning Skills
The researchers in their study took samples from two secondary schools in rural and sub urban areas. The students
of the ninth and tenth standard have shown reluctance about awareness and importance of employability skills while the
higher secondary students were eager for the application as they felt that these skills will be helpful for their future. The
teachers strongly agreed on the importance of employability skills and majority advocated for the inclusion of the same in
the education programmes in the secondary level. One of the concerns shown by some of the teaching staff in regard to the
addition of employability skills in the curriculum was about inadequate time for them to prepare the student academically.
Instead some proposed workshops on professional development at a regular basis.
Mgangira (2003) advocated on problem based learning approach for development of employability skills in Civil
Engineering curriculum. Groups required to be formed with projects planned in such a way so that a form of partnership can
be developed among different groups. Group managers were formed to ensure fulfilment of specific tasks. Samples were
provided for preparing material out of soil samples and a single group report was prepared. The whole process enhanced the
presentation skills, teamwork; inter personal relationship as well as skills in data collection and analysis. Students perceived
that the problem solving skills, communication skills and team work had been enhanced during the process.
Robinson et al (2007) in their paper discussed about the employability skills required in the work place as per
supervisors of college of agriculture. As per research “the skills most in demand are least in supply”. Companies provide
employees more in technical areas for fulfilling their respective jobs rather than offering training to develop employability
skills. The reason why HEI‟s fail to understand the importance of employability skills is, that the faculties do not understand
what is lacking or do not possess the necessary resources to teach the students. Partnership between HEI‟s and employers is
required to teach the necessary skills for industry success. System model for performance improvement (SMPI)
conceptualised by Swanson (1994) was used and further worked upon to check the individual performance and productivity
in the organisations. The five phases of the model consists of analysis , design, development, implementation and
evaluation. The study found that the perception of employability skills is having the highest demand for novices. 67
employability skills (Evers, 1998) were identified and questionnaire was developed to collect data. As per supervisors
perception the most important employability skill was working well with fellow employees. Maintaining a positive attitude

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 “Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review”

was given top priority in competency. All 67 skills were moderately important to supervisors where listening attentively was
perceived to be the most important in skills dealing with communication.
Maxwell G et al (2009) explored the view of employers as critical stake holders group in post graduates
employability skills. They argued that the employability skill development should become a nation wide agenda at the
university level. They insisted on regular dialogues between employers and academicians to bridge the employability skill
gap. They mentioned that managers in organisations who recruit graduates and post graduates are the key stake holders in
employability skills. So their understanding of employability skills becomes the key factor for the employment of students.
Ten core skills areas were identified, namely
 Communication skill
 Decision making skill
 Independent working skill
 Information retrieval skill
 Leadership Skill
 Numerical Skill
 Personal Learning and Development Skill
 Problem solving skill
 Strategic skill
 Team working skill
The employers have shown concern about hard and soft skill components but mainly with outcome oriented skills.
The communication skills had the highest importance amongst employability skills followed by problem solving skills while
numerical skills were the last in order.
Bridgstock (2009) argued about the importance of employability skills in the context of rapidly changing industry.
The fundamental ways of education have been affected by the change in the government policies especially in UK, Australia
and Canada emphasising on the production of “work ready graduates”. The researchers prioritized the necessity of Career
Management Skills (CMS) during graduation. They explained that CMS is an ongoing process which includes self
management skills, career building skills, discipline specific skills and generic skills. The researchers suggested that
universities must begin to comprehensively and actively engage the students with employability agenda in order to make
them market ready. The balance between orthodox pedagogy of curriculum and CMS is required where a careful integration
should be done into the courses from the first year with ongoing input and feedback from faculties, industry and students.
Rasul et al (2010) worked on employability skills assessment in manufacturing industry. Kepner-Tregoe (K-T)
method is used in this research which consisted of 107 employers from 5 types of Malaysian manufacturing industry. Seven
important employability skills broadly categorised in the manufacturing industry were
 Basic skills
 Thinking Skills
 Resource Skills
 Informational Skills
 Inter Personal Skills
 System and Technology skills
 Personal Qualities
The researchers proposed an assessment tool development model using K-T method. In the model the first phase
included assessment item followed by item chosen / eliminated, weight factor, determining skills scores and validate
assessment tools. This employability skills assessment tool is an analysis instrument in making decision on students and
employees and can be used in comparing the decision made on two or more individuals to select the best amongst them. It
can act as a guide to develop any skill assessment tool.
Omar , Bakar and Rashid (2012) used the employability skill measuring instrument developed by Secretaries
Commission On Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) to measure the acquisition of employability skills in Malaysian
community colleges. As explained and proved by earlier researchers both technical skills and soft skills are important in
achieving employment. Lack of either of the skills creates difficulty in obtaining jobs. The main purpose of community
colleges is to impart training for skills required to enter the labour market after higher education. The researchers found that
prior experience does not play an important role in getting placement. Employability skills of male and female students did
not differ significantly. Irrespective of any branch of study in high schools, no significant difference was noticed in the level
of employability of students. Suggestions on soft skills integrated curriculum was given to the institutions for better shaping
up of students.
Auwal (2013) in his research article elucidated the role of employability skills as a part of the class room
curriculum. Employability is often most sought by the supervisors in the industry where problem solving skills are having
the highest importance. Strong verbal communication skills are also having high importance. Super visors on one hand look
for skills like problem solving, taking initiative, flexibility, listening skills, while educators emphasize on team building
skills and subject knowledge. Most important skills, as agreed by the super visors as well as the students are motivation,
organisation and team management. Skills like leadership, inter personal skills, adaptability, life skills and perseverance are
also to be given importance. For advancement in career, skills like acquiring new occupational skill and technological
advancement are very important.
Beerepoot and Hendricks (2013) analysed the skills and knowledge acquired by the workers in BPO sector through
the concept of employability and general skills in global labour market. The research was carried out in Baguio sector of
Philippines. The researchers surveyed the perception of the BPO employees in terms of longer-term employment prospects
and the knowledge & skills acquired by them during employment. Employability of an individual is correlated with multi-

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 “Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review”

tasking, which enhances the range of job availability of an individual. The „hidden skills‟ if identified, can be used in a
broader spectrum of job. The BPO sector in Philippines stared way back in early 1990s with more than 5 lakh present
employment. The job profile is broadly categorized into high, medium and low end jobs. More than 90% of the respondents
termed their job to be „not difficult‟ and does not require much intellectual effort. Most respondents emphasized that the job
has resulted in the improvement of Basic computer skills, followed by English communication, management skills and
emotions management. Most perceived that BPO work is a stepping stone for them for enhancing their employability
through development of both generic skills and personal competencies.
Saludin and Salahudin (2014) in their study on employability competencies of business management an accounting
graduates explained the importance of employability enhancement and stated that it should be an integrated activity that
should be undertaken in collaboration with the employers, students and HEI‟s. The Malaysian government in their agenda
„Vision 2020‟ has decided to prepare skilled professional work force through a number of HEI‟s to achieve the status of a
developed country. The business education employability not only depends upon the academics alone it also describes the
position of the requisite job performance competencies by a graduate as the degrees are strongly related to practice. The
employability competencies can be broadly divided into three categories a) Basic academic skills b) higher order thinking
skills and c) personal qualities. Employers today give priority to higher order thinking skills and also look for personal
qualities along with basic academic skills while finding god workers. So a graduate with masters or PhD degree without
correct attitude or employability skills hardly land up getting a job. In every job the requirement of both hard skills and soft
skills are equally important to function well.
Dissanayake (2015) discussed about the importance of soft skills as an employability factor in Sri Lanka. It has
been found that in spite of rigorous admission procedure the students completing their undergraduate degree are remarkable
having low employability skills. The study emphasised on importance of soft skills as an employability factor in the private
higher education institutions and also tried to demarcate the relationships between the selected soft skills with the
employability of graduates at HEI‟s in Sri Lanka. 5 point Likert Scale was used throughout the analysis. Graduates perceived
that the most important possession at the time of applying for the first job is high verbal communication skill. They also
perceived that listening skills are very important. One more perception that the students felt was that there is a significant
relationship between the level of verbal communication skills and the waiting period to get the first job while there is no
such significant relationship with listening skills.

IV. Findings
The significance of the study of employability and employability skills can be very well understood and recognized on the
basis of the following description.
(a) Employability of passing graduates are the performance indicator for institutions.
(b) Employability skills are skills that are transferable in nature and can be taught.
(c) Employability skills can be a part of the curriculum at finishing schools.
(d) Employability skills are the key factor for employment.
(e) Employers are more concerned on the outcome oriented skills.

V. Conclusion
Many eminent researchers have very well narrated the need of employability and the employability skills for the
sustainability in the job market. In the last few decades, phenomenal change has taken place in the functioning of
organizations. Employability of an individual is linked with multi-tasking, which enhances the scope of job availability. The
employers are nowadays looking for „market-ready‟ professionals who possess higher level of thinking skills who can
significantly contribute in the growth of the organisation. Employees on the other hand are no longer interested in only
securing jobs but are more focused on time-bound ascending mobility. The HEIs‟ have a very significant role to play in the
making of employ-able professionals which in turn enhances their credibility in the market.

References
[1]. Hillage, J. and Pollard, E. (1998) Employability: Developing a Framework for Policy Analysis. Department for Education and
Employment, London
[2]. Lee Harvey (2001) Defining and Measuring Employability, Quality in Higher Education, 7:2, 97-109
[3]. Morley, Louise (2001) Producing New Workers: Quality, equality and employability in higher education. Quality in Higher
Education, 7 (2). pp. 131-138
[4]. McQuaid et al (2005) Introducing Employability, Urban Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2, 191–195, February 2005
http://usj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/42/2/191
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[9]. Robinson et al (2007) Identifying the employability skills needed in the workplace according to supervisors of college of
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International Business Research Conference, 2018 89 |Page

 “Identifying The Key Employability Skills: Evidence From Literature Review”
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