The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2042-3896.htm
HESWBL
12,3
588
Received 20 May 2021
Revised 27 October 2021
Accepted 27 October 2021
Higher Education, Skills and
Work-Based Learning
Vol. 12 No. 3, 2022
pp. 588-603
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2042-3896
DOI 10.1108/HESWBL-05-2021-0101
The question of university
graduates’ employability:
are the students aware of the
employers’ preferences
Pambas Tandika
Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies, College of Education,
University of Dodoma, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania, and
Laurent Gabriel Ndijuye
Department of Education Foundation and Continuing Education,
College of Education, University of Dodoma, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to university students’ awareness of the employers preferred
competencies and the educational level capable of readying them satisfactory for the demands of the world of work.
Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative approach exploratory research design, data were
gathered in an informal and unstructured manner, researchers identified undergraduate students’ awareness
of employers’ preferred competencies of the graduates.
Findings – Undergraduate students overestimated academic credentials while ignoring soft skills as
employers’ preferences. Nevertheless, they were worried about their capability to compete adequately when
seeking employment despite identifying university level of education as the most appropriate for developing
and enhancing their employability.
Research limitations/implications – The study involved mostly second-year students from one college of
the seven colleges constituting the University of Dodoma.
Practical implications – There is a need for university education to integrate and emphasize the non-
cognitive skills for adequately and holistically preparing future employees with adequate knowledge and skills
to thrive in the world of work demands.
Social implications – There likelihood that a lack of confidence would impact their participation in academia
and work/job. Hence, lower down their productivity and inadequately contribute to social and national
economic growth.
Originality/value – The value of these findings is that they identify, inform and can be used to enhance
university education programming for improved graduate’s employability.
Keywords Employability, Competencies, Employers, University students, Preferences
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Employability despite having no one agreed description is a set of achievements – skills,
understandings and personal attributes making graduates more likely to gain employment
and be successful in their occupations working for their benefits, of other fellow workers, the
community they serve and for the wider economic growth (Yorke, 2006). The concept has
increasingly become an issue deserving the critical attention of both higher education
institutions [HEls] (Nilsson, 2016; Deeley, 2014) churning out graduates and employers in the
world (Nganga, 2014). Defined as different kinds of skills and qualities that are important in
meeting the varying demands of a rapidly changing and dynamic labour market subject to
intense competition (Nilsson and Ellstr€om, 2012), employability depends on different means,
Researchers acknowledge the contribution of the university students who took part in this study. The
authors realize that without their readiness to participate in this study, it would be difficult to have
attained study purpose.
with the formal education side being cited the most (Mitchell and Muysken, 2008). The other Question of
means for preparing an individual to participate in the labour market is the supply side university
characterised by the capacity of institutions, companies or agencies to produce job
opportunities (McDonald et al., 2019).
graduates’
Researches on the concept, employability, have documented extensively and intensively on employability
the graduates’ employability vs the needs of the emerging modern sector as well as the HEIs
elsewhere (McDonald et al., 2019) and in Tanzania (Mwita, 2018; Mbwanji, 2014; Mgaiwa, 2021;
Ngalomba, 2018; Nganga, 2014). The question remains whether students who are future 589
employees are aware of the employers’ preferences when hiring. Determining their awareness is
critical as students enrol in universities to facilitate their search for high employment
opportunities and as it is driven by the demand for social ascension through better employment
perspectives (Garrcia-Arail et al., 2018). HEIs serve many functions in the general public but
among is to prepare a workforce that meets the demands of stakeholders (Blackmore et al., 2016).
Specifically, universities are expected and should be promoting employment by providing an
educational experience that facilitates the acquisition of abilities, skills, competencies and values
needed for the improving social and economical well-being of the society (Azmi et al., 2018;
Pertegel-Felices et al., 2013; Sanga, 2019). Cole and Tibby (2013) add that universities should as
well focus on supporting students build their careers on top of preparing them to obtain
employment. Signed by 29 Ministers responsible for higher education (HE) in European countries
in 1999, Bologna declaration came to support universities in Europe on common European
problems including the employability of graduates and the shortage of skills in key areas
(European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018) by improving the design of study programmes,
research strategies and the management of the Universities (Stiwne and Alves, 2010).
In Tanzania, HEIs, especially universities, have been implementing some initiatives to
meet the modern market demands. One of such is the five-year higher education development
programme – HEDP of 2010–2015 for enhancing relevance, equity and quality of education
(the United Republic of Tanzania-URT, 2010). At its core of reform, the URT aspired to have a
knowledge-based and technology-driven, semi-industrialized, internationally and regionally
competitive middle-level economy by 2025. National sectoral policies [e.g. both the Education
and Training Policy of 1995 that of 2014, National Higher Education Policy of 1997, Technical
Education and Training Policy of 1996, Education Sector Development Programme – ESDP
of 2008–2017] and the overall national policies [e.g. Tanzania’s Development Vision of 2025,
and the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty – NSGRP of 2005] all
advocate for HE to facilitate those enrolled in it complete their cycle of education with
employability skills needed in the society. Thus, the HE sector was considered a potential link
to the economy and required to review and update, or design a new curriculum to contribute
to the increased middle and high-level skilled human capital (Mgaiwa, 2021; URT, 2010).
Despite such reform through the HEDP that constituted institutional reforms, service delivery
and sustainability mechanisms; employers have for several years now claimed that most
graduates lack employability skills as they inadequately meet the needs of the world market
where different industries absorb graduates (Nganga, 2014). Lack of adequate preparations for
the expected workforce (Choi et al., 2019) and pressures exerted on the universities to meet
standards on employability (Suleman, 2016) are some crucial factors for the situation.
Though there are good and commendable initiatives taken by different stakeholders and
universities themselves on university students’ employability; Cavanagh et al., 2015; Garcia –
Aracil et al., 2018 insist on understanding first students’ perceptions of their dread of
employability as a crucial variable in preparing them for the world of work. Documentation of
and publication of the undergraduate students’ views is important as motivation and
commitment of learners (employees-in-making) is a prerequisite for effective learning
outcomes (Tymon, 2011). Indeed, this understanding of students’ awareness is crucial to
different stakeholders to contribute to the planning and implementation of plans aimed to
HESWBL improve the graduates’ employability. Moreover, documentation of students’ awareness of
12,3 employers’ preferences would serve as an important educational impact for boosting their
self-esteem (Pool and Sewell, 2007).
Though there are a plethora of research reports documenting concerns of employers,
voices of the employees-to-be (students) are also increasingly gaining ground because it
would place significant pressure on HEIs to develop degree programmes and instructional
modalities that adequately prepare them for the world of work (Blackmore et al., 2016).
590 Regardless of the importance attached to documenting students’ work readiness, there are
limited reports in East Africa and Tanzania on the subject as available studies on
employability in Tanzania have limited focus on undergraduate students’ awareness of
employers’ preferences. The available studies on employability in Tanzania are enhancing
university students with employability skills through career guidance and counselling
(Sikawa et al., 2018; Amani and Sima, 2015; Mabula, 2012; Mpehongwa, 2014; Shuma, 2017).
Kamuhabwa (2019), Sanga (2019), Mgaiwa (2021) and Fulgence (2015) focused on the
teaching and learning that enhances soft skills and its implication for employability.
Furthermore, Mwita (2018) assessed the human resource practitioners’ perception of the
Tanzania graduates’ employability. The available studies lack focus on future employees’
awareness of employers’ preference, hence such exploration of the students’ perspectives on
work-readiness is critical for informing curricula design and implementation (Caspersz and
Olaru, 2017; Jackson, 2019). Furthermore, lack of students’ voices as targets/beneficiaries of
any job-related education including in HEIs, denies HEIs and employers in Tanzania; not only
impacts designing and implementation of curricula, employees-in-making feelings, opinions
and attitudes to employability would not be heard and considered in the process. On their
side, students would make them aware and forge an identity (Daniels and Brooker, 2014) for
them to become employable and have a competitive edge.
The concept of student preparedness or readiness for the world-of-work is vital in
expanding training institutions’ roles and employers’ preferential skills and Bailly (2008)
argues that the quality of HE is determined by its output expressed in multiple ways one
being the belief and evaluation done by stakeholders’ (graduates and employers)
perspectives. Billett (2015) identifies three knowledge dimensions about readiness for
training institutions, employers and employees to consider and prepare sufficiently for
participation in the knowledge economy: Conceptual (what they know), Procedural (what
they can do) and Dispositional (values, attitudes and interests). In this regard, the knowledge
economy, as an outcome of the shift from a commodity-based industrial society is usually
characterised by increased demands for efficiency and productivity, new ways of organising
work and increased international competition outcome (Nilson, 2016). The Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development-OECD (2018) associates the three knowledge
dimensions (conceptual/discipline, procedural and dispositional) as characterising a future-
ready student. According to the OECD (2018), a future-ready student has a broad range of
skills (cognitive and meta-cognitive skills-critical thinking, creative thinking, learning to
learn and self-regulation); social and emotional skills-empathy, self-efficacy and collaboration
and practical and physical skills-using information and communication technology devices.
Hence a study was necessary to determine the undergraduate students’ understanding of
employers’ preferences and their preparedness for the world of work. Specifically, the study
sought to:
(1) Determine the university students’ understanding of employers’ competency
preferences in the world of work.
(2) Explore the students’ views on the educational institutional appropriateness for
enhancing world-of-work preparedness.
2. Methodology Question of
2.1 Study design university
The study employed an exploratory qualitative research design to gather data in an informal
and unstructured manner. The use of the qualitative exploratory research design was
graduates’
appropriate as undergraduate students’ awareness of the preferred competencies by employability
employers is an area that lacked research and that this study would lay a foundation for
future rigorous studies (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). Given the fact that exploratory research
design is not limited to one specific paradigm (qualitative or quantitative approaches), its 591
selection fitted the study’s intention that intended to generate or discover ideas that could be
potential not only to employers but also to instructors to properly design and facilitate
instruction that meets job market demands.

2.2 Sample and sampling procedure

The study used a non-probabilistic sampling technique to obtain 77 (40 Male and 37 Female)
participants based on their readiness to participate in the study and their convenience. Their
age range ranged between 28 and 47 years. The inclusion criteria were that a participant
should be in the second year of his/her study on reasons that they were at the mid of their
entire programme and hoped that the study would raise awareness and commitment for their
preparation. Since participants were included in the sample simply because of their readiness
to participate, the results of the study should not be generalized to the entire population. The
design was appropriate as researchers were not well-informed about the university students’
understanding of the preferred competencies by employers.

2.3 Instruments of data collection

An open-ended questionnaire and some in-depth interviews were deployed to generate
requisite data necessary to realise the study’s purpose. The two (open-ended survey
questions and semi-structured interview) are the most common methods of data collection for
qualitative data analysis. This study conducted data collection by supplying the open-ended
questionnaire to individual study participants who filled it based on questions ranging from
their basic information about their gender, ages, etc. to central questions of this study [e.g. as
a university student expecting to join the world of work, which competencies for your
understanding are mostly preferred by employers? What is their preparedness for the world
of work? Which educational level is appropriate in preparing youth for the world of work?].
Thereafter, researchers held face-face interviews with participants using an interview guide
for pursuing the meanings of central themes in the world of their subjects (Quad, 2016).
Interviews were conducted later with respondents as are useful to follow-up with individual
respondents after questionnaires to triangulate and get more explanations of their responses
(McNamara, 1999).
The approach tends to be more flexible than a survey, allowing a degree of freedom and
adaptability in eliciting information from the participants while still covering the same
general areas of information related to one’s research questions with each interviewee. The
open-ended questionnaire allowed participants to fully participate and concentrate (Adams
and Cox, 2008) in addition to giving them the freedom to express their views. Meanwhile,
semi-structured interviews used pre-prepared questions, and some were developed during
the data collection to maximise information generation.

2.4 Study area

This study was conducted at one of the government-owned universities in Tanzania as one of
the HEIs—producing graduates for the job market in the country. The university is honoured
HESWBL by different stakeholders—the Tanzania government, political parties, non-governmental
12,3 organisations, employers and the public—to contribute to the production of highly trained
and high-level manpower to improve the production and efficiency in Tanzania and across its
borders.

2.5 Ethical issues

592 This study was conducted between November 2018 and December 2018 and researchers
observed ethics during the data collection, analysis and reporting of data. Before the
fieldwork, researchers secured research permits from the relevant authorities in conducting
this study. It also observed informed consent where research participants were informed
about the purpose of the study and they voluntarily participated. They were assured that
their names would not be used when reporting the findings and pseudonyms would be used
instead. The study also assured the respondents of confidentiality and anonymity.

2.6 Validity and reliability of study findings

Regarding the validity and reliability of findings, the study employed triangulation of data
collection methods (semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaire). During data
analysis, all the researchers engaged one after the other in data analysis to cross-check for
consistency in data analysis. Moreover, researchers ensured rich and thick verbatim
descriptions of the participants’ accounts to support the findings.

2.7 Data analysis

Data analysis followed Miles and Huberman’s (1994) three stages: Data reduction, Data
display and Conclusions (drawing and verifying). Data collected using interviews and semi-
structured questionnaires were reduced into meaningful data through summarization. After
summarization, data are displayed entailing organising and compressing the resultant
information in the form of text and graphical presentation. Finally, researchers drew
conclusions based on the findings.

3. Results
3.1 Students’ preparedness for the world-of-work
3.1.1 Awareness of the preferred competencies by employers. The study involved
undergraduate students drawn from various degree programmes of the selected university
to determine the university students’ awareness of their preparedness for the world of work
with a focus on the preferred competencies by employers. The study also determined the
undergraduate students’ knowledge of the preferred competencies by employers as an
indicator of their preparedness for the world of work. This study was conducted in June 2018
using an open-ended questionnaire survey supplemented by semi-structured interviews. The
data analysis is as summarised in Figure 1:
3.1.1.1 Good grades. As Figure 1 illustrates, good grades usually signalled by someone’s
ability to ponder over a problem and propose useful means of solving it was highly
considered by study participants as being mostly prioritised by employers. The proposed
answers to questions or problems posed in the university exams are the ones that make
students score well. Students added that since questions posed in university examinations
were real-life or work-based challenges made it possible that their capacity to propose
solutions and get good scores underscored their eligibility to deliver in a job.
3.1.1.2 Acting professionally. Good values characterised by punctuality for work and
attending to work matters accordingly and with professionalism were reported to be among
the competencies that students highlighted as important among employers when seeking or
 Question of
university
graduates’
employability

593

Figure 1.
University students’
knowledge of preferred
competencies by
employers

screening applicants for filling vacancies or work opportunities. Study participants gave
various explanations as follows:
Participant 1
Any work or job of a given profession has its ethics. Thus, abiding by and following such
ethics reduces conflicts and disputes amongst employees, or with the employers as well as
their immediate supervisors. Good values reduce conflicts with customers we expect to
interact with when offering services. So, any employer would tend to employ someone ethical
and respectful.
Participant 2
Some of us may go to work while improperly dressed as we ignore the dressing codes of the
respective profession and our culture. Such kind of behaviour would not be liked by either
employers or supervisors as well as by the societal members whom we serve.
In addition to the dressing codes, one respondent reported:
Some people tend to be harsher to clients than being kind. You find common misunderstanding
between the service provider [employee] and the service recipients [clients] because of irritating
language the employee uses that makes clients feel disobeyed and dis-valued.
Based on the views presented by the participants, it appears they are well-informed that at
work, respecting and valuing others and oneself is important to avoid being subjected to
several indiscipline cases that could endanger one’s job. Apart from being expelled from
work, the unruly behaviours could discourage employers from considering future work
applicants with similar traits hence, the decline of employability.
3.1.1.3 Hardworking. Furthermore, analysis reveals that language competence or ability to
communicate ideas well (35%) when serving clients or sharing experience with the
HESWBL supervisor for improving service provision to attract new and maintain old customers, and
12,3 confidence (33.7%) were among the competencies that future employees (students
participated in this study) considered to be essential for employability. Close confidence
and ability to communicate well; study participants did not treat hardworking as a crucial
attribute when seeking employment. In their views, they reported that it was difficult for an
employer to determine the job seeker’s hard-working attributes until he/she was given a duty
to perform. They did not consider hardworking as an attribute that employers could measure
594 and determine in the early stages, before being employed hence its reported low
consideration. One of the respondents said:
We used to respond to adverts for job positions by submitting a letter of application for the
advertised position. When applying, we include copies of academic certificates and curriculum vitae.
Employers could not easily identify a hard worker from these documents unless there is the use of
established indicators to gauge the attribute
3.1.1.4 Creativity and innovation. Though the study participants seemed to pay less attention
to confidence, ability to communicate well and hardworking, issues of creativity and
innovations were not mentioned at all. Lack of mention of such two salient competencies—
creativity and innovation—raises questions on awareness on the importance of such
competencies in increasing and improving the qualities of services and products in industries.
Alternatively, one could argue that they were less informed about such competencies as high-
valued attributes among most of the employers for their industries to compete in their world
market by offering good services that could later rank among good services providers.
3.1.2 Competency gap possessed by undergraduate students. On the other hand, the study
explored the competency gap that characterises study participants and its problems in
limiting their competitiveness with other applicants when seeking a job (see Figure 2).
Analysis of data indicates that though study respondents reported having good grades as the
most paramount feature among employers for employing graduates, they reported lacking
confidence (60%). Confidence was found to be low due to factors such as lack of intensive field
practice and engagement in work-related experiences that affected their capacity to transfer

Figure 2.
Students’ views on
competency gap they
possess
theories (university education) into problem-solving situations (practice). Yet, they Question of
considered themselves as potential employees who could compete with others with less university
assurance that they could secure the vacant job advertised.
As Figure 2 illustrates, though study participants indicated a lack of confidence being
graduates’
lacking to larger extent; their responses also hint at lack of good grades and field experience employability
as vital and could they willingly endure the mismatch of the opinions or behaviours that tend
to be uncommon (tolerant). Regarding the importance of time in work productivity and
efficiency, few of the study participants hesitantly reported that they could not manage time 595
properly. The study participants reported that they were able to observe time as time
management was not a challenge that could disqualify them from acquiring a position from
employers. In this regard, one of the respondents said:
I joined university education to become a professional. I, therefore, believe that punctuality and being
sensitive to time usage in the office is of great importance for me as a worker and to the job itself I
would be charged.
On the sensitivity to time management, the respondents reported is a good indicator of their
preparedness to meet the demand and expectations of the employers coupled with what their
job descriptions and plans decree. Responses in general regarding the preparedness of the
study participants for the world-of-work were found to be high, hence signalling that they
were ready to work and improve service provision.

3.2 Educational institutions appropriate for enhancing work preparedness

Due to the current trends of graduates reportedly being unemployable by employers and
researchers, governments have ended up producing guidelines stipulating the appropriate
educational levels for enhancing graduates’ employability. This study, therefore, explored
the respondents’ views on the appropriate educational level for developing employability
skills among youth. Their responses indicate that experiences beyond schools (lower and
upper secondary) particularly college education were crucial in enhancing an individual’s
employability skills, as Figure 3 illustrates:

Figure 3.
Educational level
preferred to enhance
student’s
employability
HESWBL In this regard, the respondents reported that college education and, in particular, university
12,3 education was the most preferable level as it builds and strengthens previous learning
experiences by linking theoretical background developed in secondary education with
specific job practical skills. At the university level, this theoretical knowledge is advanced
and integrated with field practices which strengthen work experience. It is, therefore,
apparent that the respondents trust university education to be capable of addressing the
employability challenges. The trust held by respondents poses a challenge to universities to
596 work towards improving and supporting individual students to realise their dreams and meet
the expectations of the nation of building a strong and competitive economy by producing
high-level competent manpower.
Towards supporting individuals, there is a problem of limited or poor preparation and
investment impacting organisations and their systems. The problem tends to undermine
the universities’ capacity to fulfil their critical functions of producing graduates capable
of delivering in the world of work to meet employers’ expectations. Furthermore, the
respondents indicated positive expectations as they treated the university as appropriate
in enhancing their employability by equipping them with modern technologies that are
essential in the employment process in addition to equipping them with saleable skills. In
addition to technologies, universities have personnel whose research and work
experiences inform curriculum design and implementation for producing graduates
with competencies that respond to the dictates of the world of work.
The university education was also reported to be appropriate as it enrols learners with age
beyond childhood and makes graduates eligible for employment as they would have
exceeded the age specified to perform decent work. One of the respondents said:
Employers need grown-up people/employees who can interact with customers of different ages and
experience, hence experienced and learned personnel is important and could be trained beyond
secondary education.
The workplace was also reported to be an important area for enhancing employability skills
with a view that fields have people with different experiences who interact with newly
employed staff to build their experience. However, they had some reservations that some
experienced staff tend to be unready to support others and nurture them; as a result, newly-
employed staff gained work experiences gradually and often late depending on their
initiative and creativity.

4. Discussion of findings
4.1 Undergraduate students’ awareness of preferred competencies by employers
Good grades as were highly identified by study participants as a crucial attribute that the
employers’ value the most when hiring someone. This view of the respondents correlate well
with the argument presented by Nilsson and Ellstr€om (2012) who shares that formal
qualifications and degrees acquired from higher education by individuals play a centripetal
role in enhancing an individual’s employability. Though study participants argued that
submission of the application for the call for job opportunity does not clearly give the
employer enough evidence for the qualifying worker and especially the hard-worker;
Humburg et al. (2013) report that elsewhere, grade point average (GPA) is given less
preference by employers as they mostly consider field experiences because it relates with
future job performance. Nevertheless, grades are important for recent graduates without
work experience. Humburg et al. (2013) and Pollard et al. (2015) give an exception for
graduates with average grades from a top-ranked university to be more likely to attract
employers as graduates with above-average grades from an average ranked university
(Schill et al., 1985).
 Moreover, in addition to consideration made on relevant work experience; the match Question of
between the field of study and job tasks greatly become crucial (Humburg et al., 2013; Dacre and university
Sewell, 2007). Experience shared by the study participants on preferred competencies by
employers by prioritizing good grades makes them deviate from the global trend of knowledge
graduates’
that field experience involving collaborators (employers and students) in hands-on training is employability
essential in increasing someone’s employability as it integrates personal and professional skills
relevant for employment (Williams, 2015). Some organizations or employers though not clearly
state, consider a job-seeker with several years of experience when hiring (Pollard et al., 2015). 597
To further boost their opportunities and capabilities for employability and general life
chances, Ndyali (2016) and Mwita (2018) advise graduates to strive and engage in developing
additional skills through training and experience. They should as well put equal efforts in
scoring high GPA with equipping themselves with demanded work competencies by actively
participating in learning by doing, working in teams and thinking creatively are of equal
importance (Brewer, 2013). Lack of innovation and creativity as was not considered by
participants of this study is an indication to many employers that less experienced graduates
are not expected to be innovative or creative enough. The situation facilitate some employers
associate being a recent graduate with a fresh perspective and new solutions to old problems
to contribute to the organization right away (Humburg et al., 2013). Given the fact that the
study observed lack of consideration among participants on the importance of the
hardworking in contributing to employability, Pang et al. (2019) determined that
hardworking and willing to take on extra work is among the five highest-ranked
competencies by employers in Hong Kong that fresh graduates should demonstrate for
successful employability. Probably, the low preference of employers on academic grades is
based on their understanding that academic grades are indicative of how much a candidate
has studied as opposed by intelligence test scores that reflect their actual ability to learn,
reason and think logically (Chamorro-Premuzic and Frankiewicz, 2019).

4.2 Competency gap possessed by students

Whereas undergraduate students involved in this study prioritised academic performance and
indicated lack of confidence as a barrier to their employability, Cinque (2016) identifies other
crucial skills and knowledge that could limit job-seeker to secure employment. Such crucial
skills are lacks of basic/fundamental skills [e.g. literacy, numeracy and using technology]; and
people-related skills [e.g. communication, interpersonal, teamwork and customer-service
skills]. Other crucial skills are conceptual/thinking skills [e.g. collecting and organising
information, problem-solving, planning and organising, learning-to-learn skills, thinking
innovatively and creatively, and systems thinking]; and personal skills and attributes [e.g.
being responsible, resourceful, flexible, able to manage one’s own time and having self-esteem].
Generally, communication skills and good values are attributes that the study
participants reported as important in boosting employability prospects. Humburg et al.
(2013) report that employers believe that interpersonal skills—the ability to work in a team
and communicate and co-operate effectively with diverse colleagues and clients—are almost
as important as professional expertise and could not be compensated even by the best grades
or the most relevant study field. In other words, those preparing for employment should
strive not only to have good grades but also to acquire other skills (interpersonal skills) to
enhance their employability.
Unlike experiences elsewhere as witnessed in Malaysia, the participants involved in this
study and those from the Chinese university were specifically worried about their
preparedness. Students in Malaysian universities were more positive about their
preparedness as they believed their respective university could develop their soft skills
(Teng et al., 2019). Jackson (2019) reports that programme delivery of up-to-date technical
HESWBL content and development prepares well the undergraduate students. Significantly, low
12,3 confidence as largely identified by study participants (refer to Figure 2) made the prospective
employees unable to transfer their skills in practical terms (Ravn and Churchill, 2019;
Jackson, 2016). Importantly, lack of confidence as reported by study participants is an
indication that they would inadequately fulfil occupational roles when in office as they are
inadequately prepared for a career through education (Bandura et al., 2001).
Ravn and Churchill (2019) note lack of confidence is among three common frustrations
598 experienced by young people during their job search. Others are employers’ expectations of
relevant work experience in the young person’s preferred occupation and being required to
apply for jobs not aligned with their career aspirations.

4.3 Appropriate level for preparing undergraduate students for the world of work
Contrary to Brewer (2013) who indicates secondary education as a crucial level of formal
education for preparing the competitive workforce, university education as was reported by the
study participants as an appropriate level for developing the workforce is important for
continuous learning and the development of the labour force (Nilsson, 2016; Tymon, 2013).
Universities were trusted by study participants because of their potential for supporting career
decision-making and job search, development of employability attributes as part of study
programmes and placements/work experience and personal development planning as a
complementary to the process (Knight and Yorke, 2002). In contrast to the findings of this study
regarding the appropriateness of the university education, experience in other places hints at the
necessity of strengthened support and cooperation between the university and the employer
(Artess et al., 2011; Helyer et al., 2011; Lowden et al., 2011; Rust and Froud, 2011). In addition to
engaging students in the cooperation between employers and universities, students ought to
develop an understanding that they have a primary responsibility towards enabling and
engendering their employability (Leong and Kavanagh, 2013; Tan and French-Arnold, 2012). In
other words, they need to be proactive in preparing for a changing world-of-work by actively
improving their knowledge and skills to meet the demands of the modern workplace (Bridgstock,
2017) instead of just blaming training institutions, especially universities (Tran, 2014) for failing
to equip them with requisite skills, knowledge and preparedness for the world-of-work.
Though study participants accorded low consideration on the role of the workplace to
develop them with required competencies, there are contrasting arguments on the factor in
contributing in increasing work experience of those employed. It is argued that employability
could better and more easily be developed outside of the formal curriculum (Andrews and
Higson, 2008; Ng and Feldman, 2009). Employment-based training and experience are cited
by authors with the belief that employers and employers’ organisations are probably better
placed to provide this work-based training and experience than it was in the past (Tymon,
2013). However, Jackson (2010) sees organisations being increasingly reluctant to invest in
developing the transferable skills to graduates due to economic pressures and beliefs about
the lack of commitment from those to be trained.

5. Conclusions and recommendations

Overall, the study participants were aware of some essential competencies preferred by
employers despite not prioritising attributes such as creativity and innovation as well as
communication. Secondly, the study found that teaching and learning in universities have
been more academic than professional-oriented with less attention being paid to soft skills
(teamwork, critical thinking, loyalty, the ability to adapt). In this regard, the study found that
field attachment (individually or through university collaboration with industries) is crucial
in increasing work-based experiences for improved employability prospects and awareness
of the authenticity and value of working experience.
 As such, the study recommends that though academic credentials are important, Question of
interpersonal skills need to be enhanced and inculcated by the training institutions through university
the active personal engagement of students. Secondly, training institutions mainly
universities should work to address employers’ concerns regarding the employability
graduates’
competencies of the graduates so that industries get required employees to effectively and employability
efficiently increase and improve productivity.
599
References
Adams, A. and Cox, A.L. (2008), “Questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus groups”, in Cairns, P.
and Cox, A.L. (Eds), Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, pp. 17-34.
Amani, J. and Sima, R. (2015), “The status of career counselling services in higher learning
institutions in Tanzania”, International Journal of Education and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 8,
pp. 18-28.
Andrews, J. and Higson, H. (2008), “Graduate employability, ‘soft skills’ versus ‘hard’ business
knowledge: a European study”, Higher Education in Europe, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 413-422.
Artess, J., Forbes, P. and Ripmeester, N. (2011), “Supporting graduate employability: HEI practice in
other countries”, BIS Research Paper Number 40, BIS, London.
Azmi, I.A.G., Hashim, R.C. and Yusoff, Y.M. (2018), “The employability skills of Malaysian university
students”, International Journal of Modern Trends in Social Sciences, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 01-14.
Bailly, F. (2008), “The role of employers’ beliefs in the evaluation of educational output”, The Journal
of Socio-Economics, Vol. 37, pp. 959-968.
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G.V. and Pastorelli, C. (2001), “Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of
children’s aspirations and career trajectories”, Child Development, Vol. 72 No. 1, pp. 187-206.
Billett, S. (2015), “Readiness and learning in health care education”, The Clinical Teacher, Vol. 12 No. 6,
pp. 367-372.
Blackmore, P., Bulaitis, Z., Jackman, A. and Tan, E. (2016), Employability in Higher Education: A
Review of Practice and Strategies Around the World, Pearson, London.
Brewer, L. (2013), Enhancing Youth Employability: what? Why? and How? Guide to Core Work Skills,
International Labour Office, Skills and Employability Department, Geneva: ILO.
Bridgstock, R. (2017), “The university and the knowledge network: a new educational model for
twenty-first century learning and employability”, in Tomlinson, M. and Holmes, L. (Eds),
Graduate Employability in Context, Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 339-358.
Caspersz, D. and Olaru, D. (2017), “The value of service-learning: the student perspective”, Studies in
Higher Education, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 685-700.
Cavanagh, J., Burston, M., Southcombe, A. and Bartram, T. (2015), “Contributing to a graduate-centred
understanding of work readiness”, The International Journal of Management Education, Vol. 13
No. 3, pp. 278-288.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T. and Frankiewicz, B. (2019), “Does higher education still prepare people for
jobs”, Havard Business Review.
Choi, J., Dutz, A.M. and Usman, Z. (Eds) (2019), The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential
of Digital Technologies for All. Africa Development Forum, World Bank, Washington, DC, doi:
10.1596/978-1-4648-1444-0.
Cinque, M. (2016), “Lost in translation. Soft skills development in European countries”, Journal for
Higher Education, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 389-427.
Cole, D. and Tibby, M. (2013), Defining and Developing Your Approach to Employability: A Framework
for Higher Education Institutions, Higher Education Academy, New York.
Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2006), Business Research Methods, 9th ed., McGraw-Hill.
HESWBL Dacre, P.L. and Sewell, P. (2007), “The key to employability: developing a practical model of graduate
employability”, Education þ Training, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 277-289.
12,3
Daniels, J. and Brooker, J. (2014), “Student identity development in higher education:
implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness”, Educational Research, Vol. 56
No. 1, pp. 65-76.
Deeley, J.S. (2014), “Summative co-assessment: a deep learning approach to enhancing employability
skills and attributes”, Active Learning in Higher Education, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 39-51, doi: 10.1177/
600 1469787413514649.
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2018), The European Higher Education Area in 2018:
Bologna Process Implementation Report, Publications Office of the European Union,
Luxembourg.
Fulgence, K. (2015), “Employability of higher education institutions graduates: exploring the influence
of entrepreneurship education and employability skills development program activities in
Tanzania”, A published PhD thesis, University of Siegen, Germany.
Garcia – Aracil, A., Monteiro, S. and Almeida, S.L. (2018), “Students’ perceptions of their
preparedness for transition to work after graduation”, Active Learning in Higher Education,
SAGE, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 1-14.
Helyer, R., Lee, D. and Evans, A. (2011), “Hybrid HE: knowledge, skills and innovation”, Work-based
Learning e-Journal, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 18-35.
Humburg, M., van der Velden, R. and Verhagen, A. (2013), The Employability of Higher Education
Graduates: The Employers’ Perspective, European Union.
Jackson, D. (2010), “An international profile of industry-relevant competencies and skill gaps in
modern graduates”, International Journal of Management Education, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 29-58.
Jackson, D. (2016), “Re-conceptualising graduate employability: the importance of pre-professional
identity”, Higher Education Research and Development, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 1-15, doi: 10.1080/
07294360.2016.1139551.
Jackson, D. (2019), “Preparedness for the world-of work: student perceptions of the development of
work-readiness in Australian undergraduate programs”, Journal of College Student
Development, Vol. 60 No. 2, pp. 219-239.
Kamuhabwa, R.L. (2019), “The graduates’ employability challenges in Tanzania: a philosophical
response from Martin Buber’s concept of education as a dialogue”, International Journal of
Educational Excellence, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 75-99, doi: 10.18562/IJEE.050.
Knight, P.T. and Yorke, M. (2002), “Employability through the curriculum”, Tertiary Education and
Management, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 261-276.
Leong, R. and Kavanagh, M. (2013), “A work-integrated learning (WIL) framework to develop
graduate skills and attributes in an Australian university’s accounting program”, Asia-Pacific
Journal of Cooperative Education, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 1-14.
Lowden, K., Hall, S., Elliot, D. and Lewin, J. (2011), Employers’ Perceptions of the Employability Skills of
New Graduates, University of Glasgow SCRE Centre and Edge Foundation, London.
Mabula, N. (2012), “Career services promotion to secondary school students in Tanzania: is its dream
of reality”, International Journals of Learning and Development, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 242-257.
Mbwanji, N.H. (2014), The Study of National Skills Development to Facilitate Tanzania to Become a
Strong and Competitive Economy by 2025, Author, Dar es Salaam.
McDonald, P., Grant-Smith, D., Moore, K. and Martson, G. (2019), “Navigating employment from the
bottom up”, Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 447-464.
McNamara, C. (1999), General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews, Authenticity Consulting, LLC,
available at: //www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm.
Mgaiwa, S.J. (2021), Fostering Graduate Employability: Rethinking Tanzania’s University Practices,
SAGE Open, April-June: 1-14.
Miles, M. and Huberman, A.M. (1994), Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2nd ed., Question of
Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
university
Mitchell, W.F. and Muysken, J. (2008), Full Employment Abandoned: Shifting Sands and Policy
Failures, Edward Eldar, Aldershot.
graduates’
Mpehongwa, G. (2014), “Career choices of university students in Tanzania and their implications
employability
for vision 2025”, International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 5,
pp. 260-266.
601
Mwita, M.K. (2018), “Tanzania graduate employability: perception of human resource management
practitioners”, International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 263-273.
Ndyali, L. (2016), “Higher education system and jobless graduates in Tanzania”, Journal of Education
and Practice, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 116-121.
Ng, T.W.H. and Feldman, D. (2009), “How broadly does education contribute to job performance”,
Personnel Psychology, Vol. 62, pp. 89-134.
Ngalomba, S. (2018), Employers Need Graduates to Be Taught Vital Soft Skills, University World News,
available at: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story520181015070551149
(accessed 28 November 2020).
Nganga, G. (2014), Survey Finds Most East African Graduates Half-Baked, University World News,
available at: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story520140523130246934
(accessed 20 July 2020).
Nilsson, S. and Ellstr€om, P.E. (2012), “Employability and talent management: challenges for HRD
practices”, European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 26-45.
Nilsson, S. (2016), “Employability, employment, and the establishment of higher education graduates
in the labour market”, in Tomlinson, M. and Holmes, L. (Eds), (2017), Graduate Employability in
Context: Theory, Research, and Debate, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-OECD (2018), The Future of Education and
Skills: Education 2030, Office of the Secretary-General of the OECD.
Pang, E., Wong, M., Leung, H.C. and Coombes, J. (2019), “Competencies for fresh graduates’ success at
work: perspectives of employers”, Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 55-65.
Pertegel-Felices, M., Castejon-Costa, L.J. and Jimeno-Morenilla, A. (2013), “Differences between the
personal, social and emotional profiles of teaching and computer engineering professionals and
students”, Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 39 No. 7, pp. 1185-1201, doi: 10.1080/03075079.2013.
777410.
Pollard, E., Hirsh, W., Williams, M., Buzzeo, J., Marvell, R., Tassinari, A. and Charlie Ball, C. (2015),
‘Understanding Employers’ Graduate Recruitment and Selection Practices: Main Report BIS
RESEARCH PAPER NO. 231, Department of Business Innovation and Skills.
Pool, L.D. and Sewell, P. (2007), “The key to employability: developing a practical model of graduate
employability”, Education and Training, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 277-289.
Quad, ADJP. (2016), “Research tools: interviews and questionnaires”, available at: https://lled500.
trubox.ca/2016/225.
Ravn, S. and Churchill, B. (2019), “The quest for sustainable employment: challenges faced by young
people during the job-search process”, Australian Journal of Social Studies, Vol. 54 No. 1,
pp. 91-108.
Rust, C. and Froud, L. (2011), “Personal literacy’: the vital, yet often overlooked, graduate attribute”,
Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 28-40.
Sanga, L.P. (2019), “The dilemmas of teaching and assessing soft skills and their implications for
quality of university graduates in Tanzania”, available at: http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/
11599/3429/PCF9_Papers_paper_36.pdf?sequence5 1&isAllowed5y.
Schill, J.W., McCartin, R. and Meyer, K. (1985), “Youth employment: its relationship to academic and
family variables”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 155-163.
HESWBL Shuma, J. (2017), “Enhancing employability skills among higher learning students through career
guidance and counselling: experience from the University of Dodoma and St. John’s University
12,3 of Tanzania”, A Master’s Dissertation, University of Dodoma, available at: http://repository.
udom.ac.tz/handle/20.500.12661/343.
Sikawa, Y.G., Waiganjo, E. and Otieno, O.R. (2018), “Influence of career development strategy on
employee retention in rural public secondary schools in Tanzania”, British International Journal
of Education and Social Sciences, Vol. 5 No. 11, pp. 51-57.
602 Stiwne, E.E. and Alves, G.M. (2010), “Higher education and the employability of graduates”,
European Educational Research Journal (Online), Vol. 1 No. 9, pp. 32-44, doi: 10.2304/eerj.
2010.9.1.32.
Suleman, F. (2016), “Employability skills of higher education graduates: little consensus on a much-
discussed subject”, The 2nd International Conference on Higher Education Advances, 21st -23rd
June 2016, HEAD, Vol. 16.
Tan, L.C. and French-Arnold, E. (2012), “Employability of graduates in Asia: an overview of case
studies”, in UNESCO (Ed.), Graduate Employability in Asia, UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific
Regional Bureau for Education, Bangkok, pp. 1-4.
Teng, W., Ma, C., Pahlevansharif, S. and Turner, J. (2019), “Graduate readiness for the employment
market of the 4th industrial revolution”, Education þ Training, Vol. 61 No. 5, pp. 590-604.
Tran, T.T. (2014), “Is graduate employability the ‘whole-of-higher-education-issue’”, Journal of
Education and Work, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 1-21.
Tymon, A. (2013), “The student perspective on employability”, Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 38
No. 6, pp. 841-856.
United Republic of Tanzania (2010), “Higher education development programme [HEDP] 2010-2015”,
Dar Es Salaam: Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, available at: http://repository.
udom.ac.tz/handle/20.500.12661/343.
Williams, A.-M. (2015), “Soft skills perceived by students and employers as relevant employability
skills”, A published PhD Thesis, Walden University.
Yorke, M. (2006), Employability in Higher Education: what it Is – what it Is Not, The Higher Education
Academy, New York.

Further reading
American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills-
P21 (2010), “21st century knowledge and skills in educator preparation The American
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)”, available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/
fulltext/ED519336.pdf (accessed 28 November 2020).
Brothers, P. (2017), “Graduate employability, career readiness and the graduate skills gap”, available
at: https://medium.com/navitas-ventures/graduate-employability-career-readiness-and-the-
graduate-skills-gap-gei-64-fc6ff4ed5e06 (accessed 8 August 2019).
Cai, Y. (2013), “Graduate employability: a conceptual framework for understanding employers’
perceptions”, Higher Education, Vol. 65 No. 4, pp. 457-469.
Henrich, J. (2016), “Competency-based education: the employers’ perspective of higher education”, The
Journal of Competency-Based Education, Vol. 1, pp. 122-129.
Higdon, D.R. (2016), “Employability: the missing voice: how student and graduate views could be used
to develop future higher education policy and inform curricula”, Power and Education, Vol. 8
No. 2, pp. 176-195.
Higdon, D.R. (2018), “From employability to ‘complexibility’: creator – a construct for preparing
students for creative work and life”, Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 33-46.
Kalfa, S. and Taksa, L. (2015), “Cultural capital in business higher education”, Studies in Higher
Education, Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 580-595.
McCowan, T., Walker, M., Fongwa, S., Oanda, I., Sifuna, D., Adedeji, S., Oyebade, S., Ananga, D.E., Question of
Adzahlie-Mensah, V. and Tamanja, E. (2016), Universities, Employability, and Inclusive
Development: Repositioning Higher Education in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, university
British Council, London. graduates’
Nodine, T.R. (2016), “How did we get here? A brief history of competency-based higher education in employability
the United States”, The Journal of Competency-Based Education, Vol. 1, pp. 5-11.
Slade, C. (2017), “New world of work: are universities preparing students for future careers?”, available
at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/new-world-work (accessed 2 May 2019). 603
Tanaka, N., Horiuchi, S., Shimpuku, K.Y. and Leshabari, S. (2015), “Career development expectations
and challenges of Midwives in urban Tanzania: a preliminary study”, BMC Nursing, Vol. 14
No. 27, pp. 1-6.

Corresponding author
Pambas Tandika can be contacted at: tpambas@gmail.com

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com