Employers’ Expectation and Satisfaction of Open and Distance Learning Graduates
In this new age of globalization, human capital investment is crucial in preparing a workforce that meets the rapidly changing industry needs. There is now a critical need to re-examine the function of Open University Malaysia as a higher education provider which provides opportunities for the f...
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Format: | Article |
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ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning
2015
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Online Access: | http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1066/1/library-document-1066.pdf http://ajodl.oum.edu.my/sites/default/files/document/vol7-no2-dec2015/06%20LATIFAH%20THIRU%20Employers%20Expectation%20and%20Satisfaction.pdf http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1066/ |
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Summary: | In this new age of globalization, human capital investment is crucial in
preparing a workforce that meets the rapidly changing industry needs. There
is now a critical need to re-examine the function of Open University
Malaysia as a higher education provider which provides opportunities for the
further re-skilling and up-skilling of people who are already employed. Open
University Malaysia is able to contribute significantly to lifelong learning
efforts for these working adults, however, these institutions have constantly
been regarded as ‘the lower quality alternative’ with their flexible entry policy
and flexible delivery and learning modes. This paper examines the extent to
which Open University Malaysia, the country's premier ODL university trains
and develops its graduates to meet employers' expectations with regard to
the different types of skills required at the workplace. Printed questionnaires
were sent via postal mail to employers of the December 2013 graduates of
the Bachelor degree programmes. Responses of 109 out of a total of 600
(18.2%) employers were analysed using quadrant and gap analysis for four
dimensions of employability skills namely, Knowledge and Understanding,
General Qualities, General Skills and Specialized Skills. Quadrant analysis
indicates that General Qualities fall in the strength quadrant, followed by
General Skills, but to a lesser extent. Specialized Skills and Knowledge and
Understanding were placed in the low priority quadrant. In the overall
evaluation, 90.8% of employers were “satisfied” and “very satisfied” with
employee’s knowledge and skills; 59.6% indicated that general performance
of the OUM graduates are “better” and “much better” compared to others
and 89.0% are likely to employ graduates from OUM. The positive findings
serve as evidence on the success of OUM in fulfilling its role in enhancing
general qualities and skills that are synonymous to lifelong learning skills
expected by employers. [ABSTRACT BY AUTHORS] |
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