Employability skills for entry-level human resources management positions: Perceptions of students and employers

Abstract

This paper offers (a) a multidimensional Employability Skill Scale development method, and (b) one 30-item, seven-dimensional, and another 26-item six-dimensional employability skill requirement scale for use with entry-level human resources management positions, as perceived by employers and students, respectively, in Bangladesh. The study is based on samples of 174 and 446 survey responses collected from corporate managers and university students, respectively. There were significant variations in opinions between employers and students on employability skill requirements in entry-level human resources management positions. Employers prioritized skills such as subject knowledge, applying knowledge, listening effectively, breadth of knowledge, working safely, and self-management. On the other hand, students preferred skills such as team leading ability, complex problem-solving ability, judgment ability, proactivity, negotiation ability, strength of reference, type of university, and image of the university.

Developing Multidimensional Employability Skill Index: A Study of Local and Multinational Companies in Bangladesh

“…Managers also suggested that presentation ability, mainly verbal communication, is another important skill they would like to see among the candidates. A quick look at the skills with higher priority (shaded ones in Table 6) shows that Bangladeshi companies put more emphasis on "Academic Skills" while recruiting entry-level executives (also reported in Chowdhury & Miah, 2016).…”

“…To prepare an initial pool of skill items, the authors sorted out all available employability attributes irrespective of the country of study and job categories (similar approach followed by Chowdhury & Miah, 2016). This initial list then can be customized to the priorities of the employers (both local and MNCs) of Bangladesh through a three-step process-refining with academic experts, further purification with human resource (HR) managers and by using quantitative data (please refer to Research Method section).…”

Peer to Peer Synchronous Interaction and Student Engagement: A Perspective of Postgraduate Management Students in a Developing Country

“…Peers encouraging each other highlight potential for academics to use PPSI for countering student's minimalist approach with reading learning materials [41]. Moreover, peer to peer interaction provided an avenue for students to practice workplace-relevant skills such as team-building capability [33]. Additionally, this study endorsed interrelation between PPSI induced student's engagement with reading materials and workplace relevant learning.…”

“…This implies that academics will be rewarded with a stronger enhancement of student engagement when delivering teaching interventions that facilitate both academic learning and workplace relevant cognition. Given that employers in Bangladesh are looking for subject knowledge as well as knowledge application [31,33], this type of teaching intervention is necessary to improve quality in higher education.…”

“…There is scope for improving quality in higher education in Bangladesh, with a prominent issue being graduates lacking adequate workplace-relevant skills [32]. In a recent study on higher education in Bangladesh [33], both employers and students were reported to value teambuilding capability as an employability skill. In the same study, employers in Bangladesh showed priority for subject knowledge, breadth of knowledge, and application of knowledge.…”