ERIC Number: EJ1117540
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0307-5079
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Available Date: N/A
Employing the "Unemployable": Employer Perceptions of Malaysian Graduates
Cheong, Kee-Cheok; Hill, Christopher; Fernandez-Chung, Rozilini; Leong, Yin-Ching
Studies in Higher Education, v41 n12 p2253-2270 2016
Malaysia has made significant progress in advancing access to education over the last two decades, having achieved the education goals of the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, this has not been accompanied by quality improvement, with reports of "unemployable" graduates a frequent refrain. This paper reports on a study of Malaysian employers' perceptions of the country's graduates that finds a much more nuanced picture. While employers view Malaysian graduates as far from ideal, these graduates come with several strengths such as familiarity with local conditions, willingness to work hard, and lower hiring costs relative to foreign graduates. Not all Malaysian located graduates are ranked alike qualitatively; those enrolled in transnational private education are rated better than those from public universities. Major policy implications arising from this state of affairs are discussed.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Employment Potential, Employers, Employer Attitudes, College Graduates, Private Colleges, Universities, Higher Education, Educational Policy, Questionnaires, Interviews, Likert Scales, Online Surveys, Expectation, Mixed Methods Research, Small Businesses, Organization Size (Groups), Employees, Employment Qualifications, Satisfaction, Corporations
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malaysia
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