CAREER READINESS: A SURVEY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL

The major purpose of this study was to determine the extent of effectiveness of learning employability skills at university level. This research intends to study the impact of the syllabus in developing fresh graduates' knowledge and skills required for self-marketing as well as to determine their level of career readiness. It also aims to evaluate the degree of usefulness of the Employability Skills Development module among fresh graduates of the National University of Science and Technology, College of Engineering in the Sultanate of Oman. The research design used in this study is descriptive as the results obtained are presented as inferred from the analysis. The study was conducted in NUST College of Engineering. Data collection for this study was done by administering a questionnaire to fresh graduates. Simple random sampling method was used. The raw data was tabulated and the percentages were calculated for each questionnaire item along the five response options besides the overall percentages were also computed for each dimension. The sample size was 134 fresh graduates, covering both male and female fresh graduates from different engineering specialisations. The data was collected using simple random sampling method. A questionnaire consisting of 20 items was developed by the researchers to collect data. The questionnaire had three dimensions; namely self- assessment, job search techniques and self-marketing tools. The results strongly confirm the effectiveness of the ESD module with an overall 89.55% of students expressing their confidence in facing career challenges. The results show a clear indication of career readiness through the three dimensions namely self-assessment, job search techniques, and self-marketing tools. Eightyone percent of the students were equipped with skills to make winning moves in the modern day competitive job market. Students found the ESD module useful in increasing their career readiness. It confirms the usefulness of having such kind of training at university level and likewise applauds the effectiveness of the module.