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The purpose of this paper is to identify the gaps between the importance perceived and the competence gained by the hospitality students in terms of the employability skills.

Questionnaires were distributed to 841 hospitality students in five regions in Malaysia. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.

The findings show that there are significant differences between importance perceived and competence attained in teamwork, leadership, basic, technical skills and ethical skills. Additionally, the finding of this study indicates that the culinary and bakery students perceive that they are not given adequate exposure to possess such skills. It is important to ensure that graduates are equipped with the twenty-first century skills such as problem solving and analytic, decision making, organization and time management, risk taking and communication.

The findings provide insights to curriculum developers and policy makers on the appropriate interventions that need to be taken to improve the employability skills of the graduates.

An original contribution is made by linking employability model to TVET sector.

Knowing the students' readiness for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is essential to producing competent, knowledgeable and skilled graduates who can contribute to the skilled workforce in the country. This will assist the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to ensure that their graduates own skill sets needed to work in the 4IR era. However, studies on students' readiness and preparedness for the 4IR in developing countries such as the Sultanate of Oman are still lacking. Therefore, this study investigates students' readiness level and preparedness for the 4IR. The findings of this study will benefit the HEIs policymakers, administration, faculties, departments, industries and society at large since they will be informed of the student's readiness and preparedness toward industry 4.0.

The authors adopted the measures from the same context as previous studies in this study. The questionnaire was divided into three sections; the first part described the purpose and introduction of the search with the surety to keep the data confidential. The second part consisted of demographical information like gender, education. The last parts consisted of four subsections, question items in these parts are based on the related previous study. Characteristics consisted of 14 items, knowledge consisted of 18 items related to 4IR technologies, Organizational Dimension comprised of four items related to academic programs, curriculum and training. Preparedness contained two items. The participants have rated all the items in 5-Likert scale.

Results from structural equation modeling showed that students' characteristics, knowledge of 4IR technologies and organizational dimensions significantly impact their preparedness for the 4IR. The study also found that organizational dimensions have the highest impact on students' preparedness. Furthermore, the organizational dimension significantly influences students' knowledge of 4IR technology. Moreover, students' characteristics related to 4IR are significantly affected by their knowledge of 4IR technology and organizational dimension. The findings suggest that HEIs are responsible for increasing the adoption of 4IR, and therefore organizational dimensions such as the academic programs, training, technological infrastructure and others are all critical for preparing students for a better future and should be given a priority.

This study has used academic programs and training to measure the organizational dimension. However, other important factors should be considered, such as technological infrastructure and leadership and governance of HEIs. Second, the current research depends on quantitative data, so future research should implement a mixed methodology (questionnaires, depth interviews, document analysis and focus group) to understand the factors affecting students' readiness for 4IR clearly. Finally, although the 4IR has numerous benefits, it also has challenges in its implementation, so future studies should focus on challenges encountered by different stakeholders in implementing 4IR-related technologies.

The curriculum must include mandatory courses related to IT infrastructure design, user experience programming, electronic measurement and control principles, and programming for data science. HEIs should also foster interdisciplinary knowledge by integrating IT, Engineering, Business and Sciences. Furthermore, the HEIs should develop their infrastructure to have smart campuses, labs, classrooms and libraries to make HEIs a space where knowledge can be generated and innovative solutions can be proposed. This entails HEIs offering necessary hardware, software and technical support because if the HEIs improve their technological resources, students will be capable of using 4IR-related technologies effectively.

The advancement of technology has resulted in the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, cloud computing, data science, virtual reality and 3D printing. It is essential to investigate students' readiness for 4IR. However, there is no study as per researchers' knowledge talked about students readiness in HEIs in the Arab world. This study could be a basis for more research on students' perception of the 4IR covering students from various backgrounds and levels.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among training design, trainee motivation and work environment on the transfer of learning for teachers enrolled in a continuing professional education (CPE) training program and the confirmation of potential positive, predictive relationships of trainee motivation, work environment and training design to transfer of learning. This study investigated the contribution of training efficiency and relevance as measured by the training design; work environment as measured by work autonomy, work complexity and work variability; and trainee’s motivation of training (learning- and job-oriented) to the transfer of knowledge and skills from the training program to their workplace. Both direct and indirect effects of mentioned components on the learning transfer were explored.

This study included 160 teachers working in high-needs schools with large numbers of English learners (ELs) Southwest USA. Teachers in this study primarily needed professional development to empower them and enhance their instructional capacity for ELs and economically challenged students. During the recruitment, participants completed a demographic information (e.g. gender, ethnicity, number of years teaching, age, educational background) survey.

A mediation model with training design as the mediating factor was developed and analyzed. The results revealed that training design fully mediated the relationship between trainees’ work environments and the transfer of knowledge, skills and attitude acquired from the training to their workplace. Furthermore, it partially mediated the relationship between learning-oriented motivation and the transfer of learning. These findings further amplify the significance of CPE program training design and foster important considerations for future research regarding the isolation of specific training design aspects that significantly contribute to the mediation of these relationships.

Considering the significance of learning transfer in developing professional knowledge and skills for target employees and trainees, confirming the mediating effects of training design on training transfer holds critical implications for future research. Specific and purposeful attention needs to be given to the design of CPE training. Investigations into the effects of training design and successful elements such as the training platform (online, hybrid or in-person), sample size, group structure, facilitation and participant demographics are warranted.

The finding of this research provides a preliminary guide for scholar-practitioners. Results of the study confirmed the role that learning-oriented motivation, job-oriented motivation, work variability or flexibility, work complexity and training design play in transfer of learning. In practice, training professionals will be more comfortable pinpointing the factors that lead to the transfer of learning or the lack of it.

Learning transfer has been found to be imperative for target employees and trainees to develop professional knowledge, skills and attitudes. Results of this study reveal variables that promote the positive transfer of learning to the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of servant leadership on work engagement and affective commitment among academics in higher education. Moreover, the paper highlights the role of job satisfaction as an intervening mechanism among the examined variables.

Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to academics working in the Palestinian higher education sector. We used structural equation modelling to examine the hypotheses.

A positive relationship was found between servant leadership and affective commitment. The relationship between servant leadership and work engagement is fully mediated by job satisfaction, whereas partial mediation was found between servant leadership and affective commitment. Both work engagement and affective commitment have a positive impact on academics’ job performance.

The paper provides a fertile ground for higher education managers concerning the role of leadership in stimulating work engagement and organisational commitment among academics.

First, the paper is one of the few studies that empirically examines servant leadership in higher education using data coming from a non-Western context because most of the servant leadership research is conducted in the Western part of the world (Parris and Peachey, 2013). Second, we empirically provide evidence for the argument that servant leadership is needed in higher education. Third, the paper contributes to the limited body of research on work engagement and commitment in the higher education sector.

This paper aims to examine the influence of interactive social media marketing communications on teenagers’ cognitive, affective and behavioral attitude components in South Africa. The study also considers the impact of a number of additional factors such as usage (access, length of usage, log-on frequency, log-on duration and profile update incidence) and demographic (gender, age and population group) variables on young consumers’ attitudes toward social media marketing communications.

A survey was used via three self-administered questionnaires, which were distributed to over 13,000 learners in the age range of 13-18 years (Generation Z cohort) at colleges and high schools in South Africa. A generalized linear model was used for statistical data analysis.

The study ascertained that social media marketing communications had a positive on each attitude component among adolescents, but on a declining scale, which correlates to the purchase funnel. The results also revealed that teenagers who used social media for long time periods; updated their profiles frequently and were from the Colored and Black population groups, displayed the most favorable attitudinal responses to social media marketing communications.

Social media was collectively analyzed and did not consider the number of different social media types, which could be examined individually. This investigation only considered the Generation Z cohort, but other cohorts to attitudes toward social media marketing communications could also be assessed.

Companies and their brands should consider using and/or adapting their strategies based on the declining impact of social media marketing communications on the hierarchical attitude stages among young consumers and the divergent influence on usage and demographic variables when targeting the lucrative and technologically advanced, but capricious, Generation Z consumers.

This research established that social media marketing communications had a favorable influence on cognitive, affective and behavioral attitude components among young consumers, but on a declining scale, which is in congruence with the purchase funnel model. This investigation also makes an important contribution to attitudinal research in developing countries, where there is a lack of research in social media marketing communications.

A leader plays an important role in the growth of an organization. The leader is a person who influences the standards, structure, culture and behaviour of the individuals employed in the organization. A leader also has effects on the result and productivity of teams. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of transformational leadership style on team performance. This paper will also analyze the existence of a relationship between transformational leadership style and team performance.

For this study, the researcher collected the data from 354 individuals employed in IT organizations in Pune. The team members answered questions asked about the transformational leadership style, and the team leaders answered questions related to team performance. The data has been analyzed using the latest available version of Statistical Product and Service Solutions.

The results of this examination suggest that there is strong and positive relationship between the transformational leadership style and team performance. Further, it was also found that transformational leader helps in a great way in improving team performance which in turn increases the organization’s productivity.

Few limitations of this research work are that the data collected for this research work is non-cognitive in nature and simultaneously respondents may incline to evaluate the positive facets of opinion poll more propitiously than negative facets. Secondly, the data have been collected only from companies located in Pune.

This research study provides empirical data that will be helpful for human resources department of an organization, as it can help them in the development of policies and practices. It will also provide help leaders to support employees who are seeking effective ways to support struggling employees in context to their team performance.

The present study can be differentiated from past studies, as it thinks over an ensemble of transformational leadership style as an essential antecedent of team performance and also enhances the knowledge of the researchers and practitioners about the leadership style that upshot to the team performance. This will also help the managers, researchers, organizational development specialist and employees who are seeking effective ways to support struggling employees in context to their team performance.

Based on the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, this study aims to answer a key research question, i.e. can the job characteristics (i.e. job demands and resources) affect intention to retire early? Additionally, a mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and organizational commitment on the relationships of job demands and job resources, respectively, with early retirement intentions has been explored in the study.

The data has been collected from survey of 450 employees from the banking sector in the state of Punjab (India). A structured questionnaire adapted from past literature has been used as survey instrument for the study. Partial least squares structural equation modelling has been applied in the study using latest version of SmartPLS (version 3.2.8) software.

Both job resources and job demands have a direct significant impact on early retirement intentions. Moreover, a significant partial mediation effect of emotional exhaustion and affective organizational commitment has also been found out on the relationship of job demands and job resources with early retirement intentions, respectively.

The study makes incremental contribution by highlighting the role of both deterrent and motivational factors that either instigate or discourage early retirement intentions among employees. It offers valuable insights for the organizations to use efforts for curtailing the excessive job demands that lead to emotional exhaustion and further result in early retirement intentions. Besides this, adequate job resources should be provided to the employees that lead to the development of affective organizational commitment, which further helps in sustaining the workforce until their actual retirement age.

Many youths are out-of-school with few having the basic sustainable skills to earn a living. Some of the engaged ones have interpersonal relationship and other problems that can sustain the successes of their business. Therefore, this study is set to investigate the relationship between affective behaviour, emotional intelligence and success of out-of-school youths in cell phone maintenance enterprise.

Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. Of the total, 350 out-of-school youths who are engaged in cell phone maintenance enterprise in computer village Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, were used as a sample, but 292 samples with completely filled research instrument were used for the study. Data collected were validated through the principal component analysis and the hypothesis tested through the confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS and SPSS.

The result of the study showed that affective behaviour and social skills do not necessarily predict but self-motivation predicts the career success of out-of-school youths in cell phone maintenance enterprise. Self-awareness, emotional regulation, social awareness and emotional receptivity significantly influence affective behaviour towards success in their chosen career.

This study enhances the cell phone maintenance association or group to adopt the participation of on-the-job training of their members to help them build good relationship and self-esteem. The training will improve their emotional intelligence and further enhance the creation of a formidable emotional intelligent workplace team.

The study affirms that the constructs of emotional intelligence are predictors of career success among out-of-school cell phone maintenance. It boosts their moral and psychological behaviours towards building good customer relationship which culminates into success in their career area. This study also motivates the out-of-school youths that success is multifaceted that involves building adequate personal and social relationship within the circle of their co-maintenance personnel and customers.

This study showed that success in any chosen career involves adequate training, inter- and intra-personal relationship and building adequate emotional intelligence to overcome the varying challenges that may be encountered. Also it indicated that personal development in a chosen career is essential and career successes can be built around personal goal orientation rather than building it in circle of people around. The study does not totally neglect social relationship because no man can live and succeed in isolation.

This study aims to support researchers and practitioners in finding suitable instruments for future research studies and organizational quality assessments.

Employees’ success of learning at work is strongly influenced by the quality of the workplace learning environment. In the recent decades growing effort has been given to the development of surveys to measure the quality of workplace learning, resulting in a large number of available survey instruments. This study conceptually draws on a 3-P model and uses a qualitative metasynthesis to collect and categorize n = 94 surveys that intend to measure the quality of workplace learning (WPL).

The results underline that research on WPL environments is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor, where every discipline enriches the field by a new perspective and own foci. Overall, this study finds a focus on learning culture and working conditions, on social and functional inclusion of the learner and on support and feedback during training. Products of WPL such as professional competences or career aspirations play a minor role.

With the integration of quality measurement instruments from various research studies, this study produces an interactive online instrument map that gives a broad, yet organized overview of available quality measures in the WPL field.

Upon graduating from university, many engineers will work in new product development and/or technology adoption for continuous improvement and production optimization. These jobs require employees to be cognizant of ethical practices and implications for design. However, little engineering coursework, outside the traditional ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) required Engineering Ethics course, accounts for the role of ethics within this process. Because of this, engineering students have few learning opportunities to practice and reflect on ethical decision-making.

This paper highlights one approach to integrating ethics into an engineering course (outside of engineering ethics). Specifically, the study is implemented within a five-week module with a focus on big data ethics, as part of a Supply Chain Management Technology course (required for Industrial Engineering Technology majors), using metacognition as the core assessment.

Four main themes were identified through the qualitative data analysis of the metacognitive reflections: (1) overreliance on content knowledge, (2) time management skills, (3) career connections and (4) knowledge extensions.

Three notable points emerged which contribute to the literature. First, this study showcased one example of how an ethics module can be integrated into an engineering course (other than Engineering Ethics). Second, this study demonstrated how metacognitive reflections can be used to reinforce student self-awareness of the learning process and connections to big data ethics in the workplace. Finally, this study exhibited how metacognitive reflection assignments can be deployed as a teaching and learning assessment tool, providing an opportunity for the instructor to make immediate changes as needed.