Employability Skills as Perceived by Employers and University Faculty in the Fields of Human Resource Development (HRD) for Entry Level Graduate Jobs

Abstract

The world of employment has changed dramatically, technology is impacting practices and experiences, and societies are becoming more global and multicultural. With the rise of globalization, employability is becoming one of the main goals for education systems. Today’s employers require employees to have soft or non-technical skills in addition to technical skills. The purpose of the study was to explore employability skills as perceived by employers and university faculty of human resource development (HRD) and management for entry level graduate jobs. As a result of this research, types of employability skills may be identified which are common among the faculty of HRD programs and employers of HRD graduates both in the U.S. and internationally. To evaluate the interrelationships between the variables of interest among employees and faculty members, both in the U.S. and internationally, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized. The overall results of this study indicate that with the exception of communication skills and the use of technology, there is a significant relationship between 16 of the 18 variables investigated and the type of respondents.