HONING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS: GRADUATE-INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE SHARING

With the current challenging business environment and rapid competitive labor market, employers sought for graduates with good generic skills which include communication skills. Today, excellent academic performance, though important, does not serve as an immediate passport for employment. Past research has shown that graduates do not fit themselves into the labor workforce due to their poor employability skills. This deficiency leads to high unemployment rates. Thus, the Malaysian Ministry of higher Education has drawn a major education framework known as the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (PSPTN) which puts the Graduate Employability as one of the Critical Agenda Projects (CAP) nationwide. In response to this, the Centre for Languages and Human Development, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) has taken the initiatives to collaborate in a joint program which includes mock-interview sessions, shared bitter and success stories as well as the myths versus reality in job-seeking with one of the potential leading industries. This paper discusses both the industry and participants’ responses and feedback the program. It also recommends similar collaborations with other industry as well as building good rapport with them in molding the newly graduates as future taskforce with the relevant skills deemed by the industry.