Measuring Business College Graduates’ Employability Skill Discrepancies at the Workplace: An Approach to Assure Higher Education Quality

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the graduates self-perceived level of skill discrepancies in the workplace. Through snowball method, a total of 143 Bahir Dar University Business College graduates were drawn from public and private organizations in Ethiopia. A standardized questionnaire containing selected employability and field specific skills was distributed to graduates at their workplace. The Borich training needs assessment model was employed to identify graduates’ skill discrepancies. Results indicate that problem solving skills and decision making skills were found with the highest mean weighted discrepancy score and high need for curriculum improvement according to the perception of graduates. Graduates also confirmed that Subject understanding/Academic skills show moderate discrepancy and moderate need for curriculum enhancement.

Keywords: Employability Skills, Ethiopia, Graduates, Skill Discrepancies