Exploring essential soft skills for maximizing employability of english graduates in Bangladesh

Abstract

Soft skills, absolute knowledge, various skills, positive attitudes, values, beliefs, and habit are vital for graduates' professional, social, and personal success. Many graduate and postgraduate students struggle to adapt their learning to their daily lives and work. Thus, Bangladeshi graduates face substantial unemployment. Knowing and practicing soft skills during school helps them meet workplace needs. Therefore, soft skills training must be included in the curriculum to help students use soft skills gleaned from English literature in real life. This study assesses the soft skills needed for employment by English graduates of tertiary colleges affiliated with Bangladesh's National University (NU). The study reviewed national and international government documents, published and unpublished studies, online resources, and researchers' experiences and observations. The outcomes were categorized thematically to determine the most essential soft skills for English graduates' employability. Finally, drawing from lessons learned from national and international perspectives, some policy gaps have been explored in Bangladesh, and some policy suggestions have been made to implement soft skills training in the curriculum of English language and literature courses at NU-affiliated colleges. The findings suggest studying instructional methodologies, classroom management, question sets, teacher preparation, assessment systems, soft skills instruction, mentorship, and counseling. After reviewing the literature, the researcher finds that English graduates need 49 sub-skills in twelve soft skills: Communications, interpersonal, self-management, people management, collaboration, emotional intelligence, time management, problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, leadership, and creativity. Upon evaluating the literature, the study found that while soft skills can be improved in the English curriculum, the instruction for implementation is unclear.