Graduate employability post-COVID-19: the case of a Malaysian public university
Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
ISSN: 2042-3896
Article publication date: 6 October 2020
Issue publication date: 17 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents an effort to identify and understand the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the graduate employability (GE) of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) final year students. It examines the readiness of USIM's final year students to the internship during the lockdown period, the readiness to join GE programs and also employment prospects in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was employed, and 1,445 USIM final year students participated in this study.
Findings
The findings reveal that USIM final year students are ready to perform their internship even during the lockdown period. Besides, the students are also ready to join GE programs conducted by USIM, even while COVID-19 pandemic still currently occurs. Meanwhile, for the employment prospects in the future, results show that they believed that the employment prospects in the future after COVID-19 is low. In addition, academic background and internship areas exacerbate COVID-19's impact on the perceptions of USIM final year students on the employment prospects in the future.
Originality/value
This study is believed to be a pioneering study in identifying the impact of COVID-19 on the GE. It also contributes by identifying students' readiness to perform their internship during lockdown period via work from home (WFH) approach as well as their perceptions on the employment prospects in the future.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Centre of Alumni and Career, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) for the data and financial assistance for this study.
Citation
Kamaruddin, M.I.H., Ahmad, A., Husain, M.A. and Abd Hamid, S.N. (2021), "Graduate employability post-COVID-19: the case of a Malaysian public university", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 710-724. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-05-2020-0114
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited