Search results

The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel interval Multi-Objective Optimization by a Ratio Analysis plus the Full Multiplicative Form(MULTIMOORA) with combination weights to evaluate the employment quality of college graduates, where the criteria are expressed by interval numbers and the weights of criteria are completely unknown.

Firstly, considering the subjective uncertainty of the weights of the criteria, the interval best worst method (I-BWM) was present to determine the subjective weights of the criteria. Secondly, by the improved interval number distance measure, an improved interval deviation maximization method (I-MDM) was introduced to detemine the objective weights. In the following, based on the I-BWM and the improved I-MDM, a combination weighting method that takes into account the subjective and objective weights is proposed. Finally, a multi-criteria decision-making method based on the interval MULTIMOORA with combination weights is present to evaluate the employment quality of college graduates, and then a comparative analysis with some of the existing distance measures of interval numberswas conducted to illustrate the flexibility.

According to the data of the Report on Employment Quality of Chinese College Graduats released by Mycos Research Institute in 2016–2020 and 2021–2022, the proposed method was used to evaluate the employment quality of college graduates during the period before and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The results verify that the method is more reasonable because the subjective and objective weights of the criteria can be fully considered. Finally, the feasibility and practicability of the proposed method are further verified by varying parameters.

Present an evaluation method on the employment quality of college graduates based on the Interval MULTIMOORA with combination weights considering the subjective and objective weights. And the proposed method is proved that it can provide a more reasonable evaluation results. At the same time, it is verified that the feasibility and the practicability of the proposed method are affected by varying parameters in the paper.

The recruitment of engineering (and science) based graduates and their subsequent development to managerial status is discussed. The problems that organisations experience in the recruitment process are described and ways in which the success rate can be improved are suggested.

Following the outcry of several employers that many higher education (HE) graduates do not possess employability skills and therefore are not employable, the purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine what the labour market (LM) actually demands from the higher education institutions (HEIs) and how the demands of the LM can be met by the HEIs in Nigeria.

The study is based on interviews and focus group with 28 university professors, executives of the students’ industrial work scheme (SIWES), industry executives, executive officers of the Directorate of Employment and the HE course/programme leaders that revealed substantial information about what the LM actually requires from the HE, and how the HE can meet the demands of the LM in terms of supply of quality graduates.

The key findings reveal that with adequate teaching resources and competent teachers, graduate employability skills (technical and soft), which the LM demands from the HEIs, can be imparted to the students. Concerning LM and HEIs partnerships, it is found that understanding the demands of the LM by the HEIs can enhance the graduates’ outcomes and their prospects in the LM.

The study argues that the graduate employability is still relevant to the existing practice, but further engagement and research surrounding how the HEIs in the developing countries, especially Nigeria, can meet the actual demands of the LM in terms of competent graduates are needed to examine this range of HE.

The study provides significant suggestions on the improvement needs of the HE teachers to inspire and motivate students to increase the knowledge (know-how), skills (how to do), self-efficacy (effectiveness) and qualities (technical and creative knowledge) required by the LM.

Academic achievement is not a determinant of college graduates' work readiness, but it requires adequate knowledge and skills to be accepted to work in companies. The purpose of this study is to describe the phenomenon of recruitment in Islamic banking, the obstacles faced by applicants and recommendations for Islamic economics universities to adjust their curriculum to the needs of the labor market so that the absorption of alumni from Islamic economic universities can be maximized.

The informants of this research were the study program management, lecturers of Islamic economic, students, student organizations, graduates, Islamic banking management and Islamic bank customers with purposive and snowball sampling techniques through FGDs and deep interviews. The research data were analyzed by data reduction, content analysis and drawing conclusions. In addition, researchers also used triangulation methods and in-depth observations to find the validity of the data by being directly involved in the FGD discussion.

The results of this study answered the problem regarding the low absorption of alumni from Islamic economic institutions which consisted of individual internal factors, university environmental factors and university external environmental factors.

Researchers succeeded in providing information on strategies for increasing competency of Sharia economics graduates by optimizing the role of academic advisors, increasing hard skills and soft skills and synchronizing programs and curricula implemented by Islamic economics colleges and Islamic banks.

This study envisioned plausible influential factors on service quality and academic excellence relatable to graduate self-confidence in an open distance learning (ODL) outlook. The objective was to expose the moderating role of academic excellence (graduate satisfaction) between service quality and self-confidence (engagement, achievement, loyalty and opportunity, EALO). It was also of interest to explore how, in what routines factors involved interrelated.

This study utilized exploratory design. Qualitatively, service quality included acclimation, advising, module, tutorial, assessment, feedback and referral factors. Service quality led to academic excellence (GPA, study length, relevance and recognition). Besides, academic excellence influenced self-confidence. Quantitatively, service quality, academic excellence and self-confidence were the independent, moderating and dependent variables. Respondents were randomly selected through a survey of eligible Universitas Terbuka alumni.

11 hypotheses were assessed under structural-equation modeling (SEM). Responses from 122 out of 500 graduates were completed. Eight hypotheses were validated by the analysis. The tutorial was the most influential factor followed by module, assessment and acclimation; advising, feedback and referral were excluded. Academic excellence also led to self-confidence. The study was able to visualize a substantial role of academic excellence in moderating service quality to EALO. Besides, important-performance analysis and customer-satisfaction index (IPA-CSI) recognized 21 out of 32 attributes as the pillars of academic excellence.

Three of the hypotheses were invalidated by the quantitative analysis. Further inquiry with much broader coverage is then required to diminish the variance to finally find the ideal framework.

Utilizing work task data drawn from the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills of 2011–2012 and 2014–2015, we derive a new skills-based indicator of graduate jobs, termed ISCO(HE)2008, for 31 countries. The indicator generates a plausible distribution of graduate occupations and explains graduates’ wages and job satisfaction better than hitherto existing indicators. Unlike with the traditional classifier, several jobs in major group 3 “Technicians and Associate Professionals” require higher education in many countries. Altogether, almost a third of labor is deployed in graduate jobs in the 31 countries, but with large cross-national differences. Industry and establishment-size composition can account for some of the variation. In addition, two indicators of the relative quality of the higher education system also contribute to the variation in the prevalence of graduate jobs across countries.

The reformers of the UK higher education system hoped that radical reform would simultaneously result in: improvements in the quality of education provided, increases in cost efficiency and a significant expansion in student numbers. This paper takes a close look at the reforms by undertaking both a time‐series and a cross‐section econometric analysis of the data to examine the relationships between quality, quantity and efficiency. Claims that the evidence shows that there have been genuine efficiency improvements and that these can be explained by the mechanics of the principal‐agent relationship which exists between the taxpayer and the higher education sector. However, it is also found that educational quality is costly, for example it is likely to cost the taxpayer £1,200 per academic per year to gain one percentage point in the production of first‐class graduates.

The unemployment rate in Egypt has reached 24.8 per cent of the labor force and is significantly higher among university graduates. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Higher Education (HE) and employability in Egypt and to ask these pressing questions: How do students perceive the relationship? What are its main problems? What are the changes required to help improve the relationship from their own perspective?

Offering an in-depth analysis of a case study of an Egyptian public university by interviewing four Egyptian HE students either in their final or their second-to-last year of study, this paper attempts to decipher the Egyptian HE students’ attitudes towards quality education and employability as an ultimate purpose. It also offers a macroscopic view of the necessary changes to make HE graduates more employable.

The paper argues that, for effective HE reform to take place in Egypt, radical, comprehensive changes pertaining to programme design, curricula, assessment, pedagogy and admissions are called for, taking into account the contextual political, economic and cultural conditions.

Although there is a considerable amount of research literature examining the significant discrepancy between university graduates’ educational gains and the functional requirements of the job market (Allen and De Weert 2007), not much of that research has examined the way graduates understand and manage their employability in light of the recent changes in both HE and the job market and the few studies focusing on this were mainly conducted in the Western world (Al-Harthi 2011).

This study aims to analyze the quality of the Egyptian accreditation system. With a view on the high competition in the domestic labor market as well as with regards to the international competitiveness of Egyptian graduates and the potential role of Egyptian universities in the international market for higher education, a high quality of study programmes and the provision of skills which meet the employers’ needs is a pressing issue for policymakers in Egypt, in particular in the light of the recent and ongoing transformation process.

Based on a triangulation of document analysis and semi-structured interviews, the authors analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the system of accreditation as well as current measures to improve quality in higher education and provide policy implications for further action undertaken by Egyptian policymakers to improve the accreditation system.

First, the authors provide a sound overview of the newly established accreditation system in Egypt and analyze the role of the National Authority of Educational Quality Assurance and Accreditation within this process. Second, the paper addresses the structural shortcomings as well as implementation problems of the current accreditation system which limit the capacity of the national accreditation agency to provide accreditation for all institutions of higher education in Egypt and to ensure the overall quality of higher education. The role of peer reviewers is of pivotal importance in this context. A specific problem which has not been analyzed so far is the role of religious institutions, the so-called Al-Azhar institutions, in the accreditation process, and the consequences this will have for further developments in accreditation.

The paper concludes with providing policy implications at the backdrop of the ongoing political transformation process in Egypt.

The paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Egyptian accreditation system and contributes to the understanding of the pivotal role of peer reviewers in this process. Also, for the first time, the challenges regarding accreditation of Al-Azhar institutions are targeted.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education.

This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to understand the labour market dynamics in Lebanon and explore factors that correlate positively with gainful employment with a special focus on the graduates of an institution that emphasises the liberal arts and soft skills training.

The paper finds that quality higher education – particularly with a focus on soft skills and internships – boosts the potential of graduates to secure their first jobs after graduation.

Reliable data on higher education, employability and youth are scarce in Lebanon and the region. The paper is based on one labour market study in Lebanon while seeking to extrapolate to Lebanese youth as a whole as well as reflect on employability and youth in the Middle East region.

The paper demonstrates support for improving quality in higher education as well as making soft skills training and the liberal arts critical components for increased employability of youth in Lebanon and the Middle East.

The paper is innovative in its reliance on primary data from a labour market survey as such data are scarce in Lebanon. In addition, advocacy for soft skills training and the liberal arts in the midst of focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other professional education at the university level is rare in the Middle East.