Employability skills development approaches: An application of the analytic network process

• Main Authors: Abdul Hamid, Mohamad Shukri, Islam, Rafikul, Abd Manaf, Noor Hazilah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asian Academy of Management & Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2014
• Subjects: QA Mathematics
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/19412/1/AAMJ%2019%201%202014%2093%20111.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/19412/; http://web.usm.my/aamj/19012014/Art%205%20(93-112).pdf
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

Institutions of higher learning need to re-evaluate their teaching-learning approaches to develop the necessary employ-ability skills for their graduates. The main objectives of this study are to identify the important employ ability skills and the corresponding employ ability skills development approaches in a Malaysian setting. The results of the application of an analytic network process (ANP) show that the 'ability to speak fluently in English' is the most important skill, followed by the 'ability to write effectively in English' and the 'ability to think critically'. On the other hand, the most effective employ ability skills development approach is found to be 'work-integrated learning'. The other effective approaches are identified as 'stand-alone subject model', 'academic support programme', 'embedded subject model', 'non-academic support programme' and 'campus life activities'.