Graduates’ Employability Index of Generic and Innovative Skills: A Survey of Employers in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper assesses employers’ perception on generic and innovative skills as indicators of graduates’ employability. A cross-sectional survey of employers, managers, human capital practitioners and consultants was conducted across different types of work organisations in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling involving stratification and random selection was used such that 60 participants were taken from each of private and public sectors and randomly selected to make a total of 120 participants reached in the study. A 20-item questionnaire with a four-point likert rating scale was developed and administered to the subjects. Data collected were analysed with multiple regression analysis. The results reveal high employers’ demand for generic skills and remarkable innovative skill on the part of graduates as such skills represent core work-demand competence and attributes that could enhance employment opportunities of graduates in a work organisation and foster the fulfilment of employers’ needs from employed graduates. Hence, graduates’ employability is regarded as a function of the ability to demonstrate mastery or competence in array of generic and innovative skills. The study calls for a redirection in higher education towards generic and innovative skills development and mastery, personal development efforts by graduates and collaboration among schools, government agencies and industries towards producing competent manpower for industrial need.