survey on employability skills among post graduate students of ...

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013© 2013 Ozean PublicationSURVEY ON EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AMONG POST GRADUATE STUDENTS OFBUSINESS EDUCATION IN EDO STATEEDIAGBONYA, KENNEDY* & OYADONGHA DISEYE JULIET***Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Faculty of Education,University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State** Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Faculty of Education,Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State*E-mail address for correspondence: donkynny@yahoo.com___________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: This paper investigated the concept of employability of Business Education graduates. Human CapitalTheory which was popularized by Schultz formed the theoretical framework from this study. The main purpose of thiswork was to ascertain the mean ratings of employability skills possessed by Business Education graduates. Fourresearch questions were raised to guide the study and three hypotheses were formulated. The case study researchdesign was adapted for this study. The systematic random sampling technique was used in selecting 60 respondentsfrom the population of 130. The questionnaire titled ‘Employability of Business Education Graduates Questionnaire(EBEGQ)’ was used in eliciting information from the students. The researcher together with a research assistantadministered the instrument. The Mean, Standard Deviation, percentages, frequencies and tables were used inanalyzing the data. One of the findings is that Business Education graduates employability skills is high. A majorrecommendation made was that shorthand and typing teachers should be encouraged to be more active in impartingthese skills.Keywords: Employability, Skills, Human capital and Business Education__________________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONThe term employability has remained a terminology that is increasingly gaining ground in the globe owing to thehigh level of unemployment among the people (labour force). Robinson (2000) described employability skill as thebasic skills needed for one to get a job and enable him or her to carryout duties well. According to Kazilan, Hamzahand Bakar (2009), they described employability in terms of employability skill. They stressed further thatemployability is a group of important skills instilled in each individual in order to produce productive workforce.This is parallel with individuals who have strong characteristics such as a high sense of self, innovative, productive,skillful, and competitive, a strong sense of determination, and creative in facing the challenges of the nation as well197

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013as globalization in the 21 st century. Besides that, employability skill is also crucial in all profession as well as inbusiness education (Overtoom, 2000). In a similar vein Fugate, Kinicki & Ashforth (2004) defined employability asa form of an active adjustment of individuals towards certain occupations until they could identify and recognizeexisting career opportunities in the work place. Employability could also assist employees to adjust themselvestowards various changes and to increase working abilities which suit the working environmental needs. Brown andHesketh (2004) define employability as the relative chances of getting and maintaining different kinds ofemployment while most people view employability in absolute terms, focusing on the need for individuals to obtaincredentials, knowledge and social status, the concept of employability can be seen as subjective and dependent oncontextual factors. Employability not only depends on whether one is able to fulfill the requirements of specific jobs,but also on how one stands relative to others within a hierarchy of job seekers (Brown and Hesketh,2004). Taking thesupply and demand of labour into account challenges the idea that credentials, knowledge and social status alone willguarantee a good position in the labour market.According to Brown and Hesketh, there are two types of individuals entering into the labour market. They are the“players” and the “Purists”. The players are those job seekers who will go to any length to get a top job. They arewilling to take any risk and to disguise in order to get their dream jobs. Some are willing to part with their cash andothers go to the length of having an affair with the concerned boss just to get the job. Identifying with ruling politicalparties, religious groups, associations and even secret cults are some of the media explored by “Players”. On theother hand, the “Purists” are those who belief that job market outcomes should reflect meritocratic achievement.That is, getting a job should be on the basis of merits. Permit me to say that the “Purists” are fast fading out owingto the scarcity of job opportunities. The high level of unemployment in the country which is a “fall-out” of partialcollapse of the public and private sectors has given room to the “players” to thrive.The Secretary Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) prepared reports on ways of assistingeducational institutions and schools in producing younger generations who are willing to work. The documentoutlines both “fundamental skills” and “workplace competences” to include: basic skills, thinking skills, personalqualities, resources, interpersonal, information, systems technology (SCANS, 1991: 2001).It is believed that an individual that possess the above skills as outlined by SCANS to certain degree will have higheremployability rate/chance. Though an individual may not possess all the skills but it is hoped that the school‟scurriculum should be re-designed and re-structured to bring about the necessary changes; and that individuals shouldassess their skills from time to time to know their relative standing.Business Education is an aspect that has high regard for employability. According to Uwameiye (1992) as cited inImeokparia and Ediagbonya (2009) defined Business Education as the development of appropriate knowledge, skillattitudes and understanding required to fit into chosen occupation or occupations. From the above definition, it isobvious that Business Education is supposed to prepare individual for smooth transition from school to workplace.The curriculum of this programme is designed to make business graduates to easily be employable or to becomeemployer of labour. It is believed that a graduate of Secretarial Education for instance who cannot find a job shouldbe able to create one as a result of the Knowledge, Attitude and Skills (KAS) he/she has.Statement of the ProblemIn recent times, there have been series of complaints coming from both educated and non-educated alike as to thesuitability of our graduates in job placement. The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) was set up in 1971 in this regard inorder to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The Student Industrial Works Experience Scheme (SIWES)which is an “off- shoot” of ITF came up in 1973 and has been trying in this regard but the complaints seem not tohave changed. The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) has been in partnership with the National Youth ServiceCorps (NYSC) to ensure that fresh graduates are fully equipped with the needed Knowledge, Attitude and Skills(KAS) needed to function effectively and efficiently in the world of work. Upon all these, the complaints are stillthere. Olaleye (2009) noted that the various Federal Government programmes on eradication of poverty have failedbecause graduates of the education system lack the practical skills which can be acquired through EntrepreneurshipEducation Programme. On August 15, 2011, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation (NNPC) – Austen Oniwon reported that eighty percent (80%) of job seekers failed the corporation‟srecruitment test (www.thenationonline.ng.net/2011/index). The implication of the report was that those job seekersdid not possess the employability skills that NNPC needed despite their paper qualifications of a minimum of second198

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013METHODOLOGYThe case study research design was adopted in this study. The population consists of 130 post graduate students ofBusiness Education in Edo State. A systematic random sampling technique was used in selecting a sample of 60students drawn from two academic sessions (2009/10 and 2010/11). The instrument used is the questionnaire titled„Survey on Employability Skills of Student of Business Education Questionnaire (SESBEQ)‟. It was structured intwo sections (A and B). Section A contains demographic variables while section B contains 48 items. The instrumentwas given to two experts in Business Education and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation to validate it. Thetest –retest method of reliability was used. The instrument was first administered to 20 post graduate students outsidethe sample but in the population. After an interval of 14 days, it was re-administered to same group and equallyretrieved. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used in correlating both administration and 0.82 wasobtained as the reliability co-efficient. The mean, standard deviation, frequencies, percentages and tables were usedin analysizing the data.DATA ANALYSES AND RESULTThe data collated for this study is analyzed under this section.Table 1: Distribution of population and sampleSession Population Sample size Percentage (%)2009/2010 60 30 502010/2011 70 30 43Total 130 60 93Source: Author‟s FieldworkThe table above shows the distribution of the population and sample for the study which was drawn from twoacademic sessions from UNIBEN Med (Business Education) class.Table 2: Distribution of the Respondents by SexSex Frequency Percentage (%)Male 28 47Female 32 53Total 60 100Source: Author‟s FieldworkThe table above shows the distribution of the respondents by sex. A total of 28 male students and 32 female studentswere used for this study. This figure represents 47% and 53% of males and females respectively.200

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013Table 3: Distribution of the Respondents by Field of StudyField of study Frequency Percentage (%)Secretary Education (OTM) 25 42Accounting Education 35 58Total 60 100Source: Author‟s FieldworkThe table above shows the distribution of the respondents by field of study. It reveals a total of 25 male and 35femalebusiness education graduates. This represents a total of 42% and 58% of males and females respectively.Table 4: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Basic SkillsAspects of Basic Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionReading 3.43 0.62 HighWriting 3.30 0.56 HighMathematics 3.27 0.81 HighListening 3.43 0.55 HighSpeaking 3.38 0.58 HighAggregate 3.36 0.62 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table reveals that the aspect of basic skills possessed by Business Education graduates is high. It showsthat mathematics skill is not as high as others.Table 5: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Thinking SkillsAspects of Thinking Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionThinking creatively 3.32 0.64 HighDecision making 3.28 0.59 HighProblem solving 3.35 0.54 HighSeeing things in the mind‟s Eye 3.27 0.54 HighKnowing how to learn 3.28 0.61 HighReasoning 3.36 0.55 HighAggregate 3.31 0.58 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score was recorded in „Seeing Things in the mind‟s Eye‟ which is 3.27while the highest mean score was recorded in „Reasoning skill‟ (3.36). The aggregate mean is 3.31 which mean thatthe students have high thinking skills.201

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013Table 6: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Resource/Capacity SkillsAspects of Resource/Capacity Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionTime management 3.42 0.67 HighFinancial management 3.45 0.59 HighMaterials and facility management 3.32 0.65 HighHuman Resource Management 3.45 0.59 HighRisk management 3.22 0.69 HighAggregate 3.37 0.64 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score was recorded in „Risk management‟ which is 3.22 while the highestmean score was recorded in „Financial and Human Resource management skills (3.36)‟. The aggregate mean score is3.37 which mean that the students have high resource/capability skills.Table 7: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Information SkillsAspects of Information Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionAcquires and evaluate information 3.20 0.57 HighOrganizes and maintain information 3.28 0.69 HighInterprets and communicationinformation3.27 0.68 HighUses computer to process information 3.05 0.74 HighAggregate 3.37 0.67 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score was recorded in „uses computer to process information‟ which is3.05 while the highest mean score was recorded in „organizes and maintain information (3.28)‟. The aggregate meanscore is 3.20 which mean that the students have high information skills.Table 8: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Interpersonal SkillsAspects of Interpersonal Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionParticipate as member of a team 3.37 0.75 HighTeaching others 3.47 0.23 HighServes customers 3.35 0.64 HighUse leadership ability 3.32 0.67 HighNegotiates 3.32 0.72 HighWork with diversity 3.32 0.66 HighAggregate 3.34 0.61 HighSource: Author‟s Fieldwork202

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013The above table shows that the least mean score is 3.32 and the highest mean score was recorded in „teaching other(3.47)‟ The aggregate mean score is 3.34 which means that the students have high interpersonal skills.Table 9: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of System and Technology SkillsAspects of System and TechnologySkillsMean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionUnderstanding systems 3.20 0.65 HighObserve and improve on theimplementation3.20 0.63 HighSelects Technology 3.02 0.74 HighApplying technology to tasks 3.00 0.71 HighMaintains and troubleshoots equipment 2.85 0.85 HighAggregate 3.05 0.72 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score is 2.85 which was recorded in „maintains and troubleshootsequipment‟ and the highest mean score was in 3.20. The aggregate mean score is 3.05 which mean that the studentshave high system and technology skills.Table 10: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Personal Quality SkillsAspects of Personal Quality Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionResponsibility 3.63 0.52 HighSelf confidence 3.58 0.53 HighSociability 3.42 0.62 HighSelf management 3.48 0.53 HighHonesty 3.57 0.58 HighPunctual and efficient 3.43 0.55 HighAdaptable and flexible 3.35 0.60 HighSelf control/Self directed 3.43 0.64 HighGood work attitude 3.50 0.53 HighAggregate 3.49 0.57 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean was recorded in „Adaptable and flexible‟ which is 3.35 which the highestmean score was recorded in „Responsibility skills (3.63)‟. The aggregate mean is 3.49 which mean that the studentshave high Personal Quality Skills.203

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013Table 11: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Secretarial SkillsAspects of Secretarial Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionTyping speed 2.55 0.78 HighShorthand speed 2.23 0.80 LowTaking/preparing minutes 2.78 0.81 HighOffice planning and organization 2.98 0.61 HighAggregate 2.64 0.75 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score was recorded in „shorthand skills‟ which is 2.23 while the highestmean score was recorded in „office planning and organization (2.98)‟. The aggregate mean is 2.64 which mean thatthe students have high secretarial skills.Table 12: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Accounting SkillsAspects of Accounting Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionPreparing financial records 2.75 0.83 HighAuditing financial records 2.63 0.86 HighFinancial analyses 2.72 0.80 HighCost analyses 2.67 0.77 HighAggregate 2.69 0.82 HighSource: Author‟s FieldworkThe above table shows that the least mean score is 2.63 and the highest mean score was recorded in „preparingfinancial records (2.75)‟. The aggregate mean score was 2.69 which mean that the students have high Accountingskills.Table 13: Mean and Standard Deviation for Aspects of Employability SkillsAspects of Employability Skills Mean Standard Deviation (SD) DecisionBasic Skills 3.36 0.62 HighThinking Skills 3.31 0.58 HighResource and Capability Skills 3.37 0.64 HighInformation Skills 3.20 0.67 HighInterpersonal Skills 3.34 0.61 HighSystems/Technology Skills 3.05 0.72 HighPersonal Quality Skills 3.49 0.57 HighSecretarial Skills 2.64 0.75 HighAccounting Skills 2.69 0.82 HighAggregate 3.16 0.66 High204

European Journal of Educational Studies 5(2), 2013As for the aspect of Accounting skills, the lowest mean score was recorded in the item „Auditing financial records(2.63). Auditing skill is closely related to investigative/thinking skill. Ones thinking skills greatly influenced onesauditing skills. Based on the finding of the study, it is revealed that the thinking skills of Business Educationgraduates are not as high as that of Personal Quality skill. It must be emphasized that the low aggregate mean scoreof Secretarial and Accounting skills is an indication that Business Education graduates are not well equipped withtheir „core skills‟ and this can affect them.CONCLUSIONThis paper has carefully examined the concept of employability of Business Education Graduates. Based on thefinding, it can be concluded that: (i) Business Education graduates employability skills is high. (ii) There is asignificant difference between employability skills with sex. (iii) There is a significant difference betweenemployability skills and the field of study and; (iv) there is a significant difference in the aspects of employabilityskills possessed by Business Education graduates. It therefore implies that the current level of skills possessed byBusiness Education graduates is just okay for them to secure placement in the world of work.RECOMMENDATIONBusiness Education graduates‟ employability is a major concern of all stakeholders. Based on the findings of thisstudy, the following recommendations are pertinent to the advancement of Business Education:i. Shorthand and typing teachers should be encouraged to be more active in imparting these skills.ii. Business studies in Junior Secondary School which form the basis for Business Education in higherinstitutions should be revamped (that is, making the teaching of all its components compulsory).iii. Business Educators should develop modern motivational technique to motivate their students.iv. The co-ordinator of Students Industrial Works Experience Scheme (SIWES) should ensure that studentscarryout their training in industries related to their fields.v. Government and Non Governmental Organizations should provide more infrastructural facilities andteaching aids.vi. Students and graduates should seek professional trainings from professional bodies like Nigerian Institute ofManagement (NIM), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Administrative Staff College ofNigeria (ASCON), Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and Institute of PersonnelManagement (IPM).vii. Institutions should collaborate with industries around to ease the transmission of these skills. That is, havingschool - industry partnership because some of these equipment/facilities are not in the schools.206

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