What factors determine the development of employability skills in Nigerian higher education?

Igwe, Paul Agu, Lock, Deborah and Rugara, David Gamariel (2020) What factors determine the development of employability skills in Nigerian higher education? Innovations in Education & Teaching International . ISSN 1470-3297

Full content URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2020.1850319

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What factors determine the development of employability skills in Nigerian higher education?
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Abstract

Employability is a set of skills, knowledge and personal attributes that make an individual adapt to changes in the labour market. This study applies “Human Capital Theory” (HCT) and the “theory of Interrole Learning Transfer” (ILT) to examine factors which affect the attitudes, motivations and actions of learners towards their future employability. A qualitative approach enabled in-depth interviews with 36 participants drawn from academics, students, company managers and policymakers. Our findings reveal that there is a disconnect between the teaching of theoretical knowledge and employability skills. Higher education (HE) is presented to Nigerians as if young people must achieve a degree certificate to have a chance to succeed in life. Also, it appears that students have a notion that the certificate is enough to evidence ability. The findings lead to the development of ‘employability model’ which proposes that individual orientation and institutional factors determine the enactment of employability skills.

Keywords:Graduate Employability, Employability Skills, Employability Behaviours, Nigerian Higher Education
Subjects:L Social studies > L433 Education Policy
X Education > X220 Study skills
X Education > X340 Academic studies in Tertiary Education
X Education > X342 Academic studies in Higher Education
Divisions:Lincoln International Business School
ID Code:42846
Deposited On:04 Nov 2020 11:18

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