1.0 Introduction
According to Principal Statistics of Labour Force (2012), the unemployed rate remained at 3.1% in December 2011 in which the number of unemployed are approximately 400,000 people. In the globalisation era, especially in the global market, graduates are evaluated by a combination of skills and knowledge. The trend of globalisation has leaded the graduates to different demand in employee skills especially soft skills. Graduates who full fill the skills and knowledge that required by employers will benefit from integration into global economy while graduates who lack of knowledge and skills are destined to fall further behind. Graduates must be able to apply both skills and knowledge in the workplace environment because both skills and knowledge will change from time to time.
Skills that employers think that it would be a plus point in graduates are interpersonal skills, technology skills, communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and leadership skills. Interpersonal skills are skills that graduates need for continued existence at a working environment that enhance employability. While technology skills are important to graduates because they lead to change in operations and work applications. Communications skills are required for graduates to deal with the information exchange in workplace settings. Nevertheless critical thinking and problem solving skills will help graduates to face the working environment in a more positive way and leadership skill will guide them to more responsible working ethics.
Changes should be made in the part of future graduates, government bodies and educational institution to be more prepared for the employers’ expectation so that more graduates will be employed. These changes will help future graduates to be more prepared for the changes in the working environment and expectation of an organisation.
2.0
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