Past studies on employability of graduates have placed great emphasis on the supply side efforts in generic skills development which includes the tertiary curriculum design and delivery mechanisms. However, the responsibility of employers in providing training to prospective graduates and collaborating with universities in enhancing generic skills has been raised. On the demand side, there are numerous studies that have examined employer's perspective in the private sector but few studies have examined employer's perspective in the public sector. The objectives in this study are twofold: (1) to identify employers' perception of the ideal generic skills that graduate employees should possess, and (2) to elicit employers' perception of the lack of generic skills that prospective graduates (i.e. industrial trainees) currently possess. A qualitative research design was utilized, involving primary interview data collected through 16 key informant interviews of employers in the public sector in Kuantan and Johor Bahru. These key informant employers were selected from the UKM's social science industrial trainees who attended training at these two sites. These interview data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicate that there are specific generic skills in the area of information and social interaction skills that the public sector employers seek from the graduates. This study implies the need for a stakeholder-responsibility approach in prescribing a comprehensive normative solution to the employability of graduates. In addition, it also postulates that the culture of learning and gaining varied skills in different spheres of life need to be inculcated amongst students from early years.

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Oil palm is the world leading vegetable oil. It is an important player in the economic development of the country, both as a contributor to gross national product (GDP), foreign earnings and job creation. With high yields per hectare, cheap to produce and its application to food and non-food industries makes it an important product both locally and internationally. The demand for palm oil has lead to expansion of oil palm plantation around the world over the past several decades, with Indonesia and Malaysia accounting for more than 85 percent of the global palm oil market. Smallholders are important players in the world oil palm industry as they contribute about 40 percent of the planted areas in the two most important oil palm countries. Current study investigated the knowledge level of certification amongst the independent smallholders in Malaysia. The study revealed that most of the independent smallholders do not have certification, with a reasonable number of them having little or no knowledge of certification bodies (RSPO/MSPO). The study revealed that though policies are in place to support smallholders to participate in certification for them to reap the enormous benefits; including wider market access, quality fresh bunches and technical skills, more should be done in terms of implementation in reaching out to the smallholders especially through sensitization programs, including, workshops and extension services to properly educate smallholders on the benefits of certification since they are important player in the global palm oil market.

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