IBMRD's Journal of Management & Research

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Employers' Expectations and Perceptions of Business and Economics College Graduate's Competencies in Ethiopia


Affiliations
1 Department of Management, Wollo University, Ethiopia
 

The Practitioners of every business fields are claiming that graduates have little practical knowledge while the academic institutions will defend their right by setting educational objectives. The aim of the study is to find out the employers' perceptions and expectations of the graduates' competency. The research study employed a descriptive research design with a quantitative research approach. The target population of the study was all the general managers and HR managers of all organizations in South Wollo and Oromiya Zone in Ethiopia. The study sample size was 327 by using a purposive sampling technique. The study revealed that there is a big gap between employers' expectations and the graduates' competency of business and economic college in Ethiopia. The results showed that the respondents said there is a lack of skills, knowledge, and abilities among graduates. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that there is a good and significant relationship between the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the graduates. In addition to that, the study has shown that there is no matching between the university curriculum and market demand. Improving and updating the university curriculum to match the market demand and to fill the gap as well as to provide practical training to the graduates are recommended.

Keywords

Competencies, Ethiopia, Expectations, Employer Perception, Graduates.
Notifications

  • Ahmed, Y.Kar, B. and Ahmed, H. (2018). Critical Factors Of Entrepreneurial Competencies For Successfully Managing Micro And Small Enterprise In Ethiopia” International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI), 7 (7).

  • Akinyemi, S., Ofem, I. B. and Ikuenomore, S. O. (2012).Graduate Turnout and Graduate Employment in Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. 2, No. 14. Special Issue July.

  • Argaw, M. A. and Ahmed H. M. S., (2017)“Factors that Affect Consumers' Tendency to buy Locally Assembled Mobile Phone”, IBMRD's Journal of Management & Research, Vol. 6, (2).

  • Arvey, L., Locke, W. and Morey, A., 2002, Enhancing Employability, Recognising Diversity. London, Universities UK.

  • Boam, R., and Sparrow, P. (1992). Designing and achieving competency. London: McGraw-Hill.

  • Boateng, K., and Ofori-Sarpong, E. (2002), An Analytical Study of the Labour Market for Tertiary Graduates in Ghana.World Bank/National Council for Tertiary Education and the National Accreditation Board Project.

  • Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The competent manager: A model for effective performance. New York: Wiley Ÿ Bui, B. and Porter, B. (2010). The expectation-performance gap in accounting education: an exploratory study. Accounting Education: an international journal. 19(1).

  • Business Communication, 34(1).

  • Choi, Y., Kim, J. and Lee, B. (2000), “Public's Perception and Judgment on Nuclear Power‟, Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 27.

  • Daff, L., de Lange, P. and Jackling, B. (2012) A comparison of generic skills and emotional intelligence of accounting education, Issues in Accounting Education, August.

  • Davie H. Cset S. and Poon L. (1999) “Employer's Expectations of the Performance of Construction Graduates”, Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 15, No. 3.

  • De Lange, P., Jackling, B. and Gut, A. (2006). Accounting graduates' perceptions of skills emphasis in undergraduate courses: an investigation from two Victorian universities, Accounting and Finance.

  • Gurcharan S., G. K., Garib S., (2008) “Malaysian Graduates Employability Skills”, UNITAR EJournal, vol. 4, no.1.

  • Hamel, G and Prahalad, C. (1994), Competing for the Future. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

  • Hancock, P., Howieson, B., Kavanagh, M., Kent, J., Tempone, I. and Segal, N. (2010) Accounting for the Future. In E. Evans, R. Burritt and J. Guthrie (eds.), Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010. Sydney: The Institute of chartered Accountants in Australia.

  • Harvey, L. (2000a) New realities: the relationship between higher education and employment. Tertiary Education and Management. 6, 3.

  • Harvey, L., Burrows, A., and Green, D. (1992).Criteria of quality. Birmingham, England: Quality in Higher Education.

  • Hodges D. and Burchell N. (2003) Business Graduate Competencies: Employers' Views on Importance and Performance, Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 2003, 4(2).

  • Howieson B., (2003) “Accounting Practice in the New Millennium: Is Accounting Education Ready to Meet the Challenge?”, British Accounting Review, vol.35.

  • Idaka, I. (2013), Re-Engineering University Education for Employability in Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice.Vol.4, No.11.

  • ILO (2008), Skills for Improve d Productivity Employment Growth and Development (fifth item on the agenda).Report V: ILO conference, 97th session. ILO: Geneva.

  • Jackling, B. and De Lange, P. (2009). Do accounting graduates' skills meet the expectations of employers? A matter of convergence or divergence. Accounting Education: an international journal, 18(4).

  • Jones A., Sin S., (2003)“Generic Skills in Accounting, Competencies for Students and Graduates”, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

  • Joseph, M., and Joseph, B. (1997).Employer's perception of service quality in higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 8(2).

  • Kavanagh M. H., Drennan L., (2008) “What Skills and Attributes does an Accounting Graduate Need? Evidence from Student Perceptions and Employer Expectations”, Accounting and Finance, vol. 48, no.2.

  • Kelley D., George C., (2001) “Securing Graduate Commitment: An Exploration of the Comparative Expectations of Placement Students, Graduate Recruits and Human Resource Managers within the Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism industries”, International Journal of Hospitality Management,, vol.20, no.4.

  • Kim, T., Ghosh, B. and Meng, L. (1993). Selection criteria: Perception gap between employers and accounting graduates. Singapore Accountant, 9(4).

  • Lees. D. (2002) Graduate Employability – Literature Review. LTSN Generic centre. University of Exeter. http://www.palatine.ac.uk/fies/emp/1233.pdf.

  • Little, B. (2001) Reading between the lines of graduate employment. Quality in Higher Education 7 (2).

  • Liu, J and Gentle, A (2005), “Survey of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE): Participation, Triggers, Perceptions and Aspirations‟, Autralian Goverment: Survey and Workforce Analysis Section, Department of Education, Science and Training.

  • Meek, V.L., Teichler, U. and M-L., Kearney (2009) Higher Education, Research and Innovation: Changing Dynamics Report on the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge 2001-2009. International Centre for Higher Education Research Kassel (INCHER Kassel). /ED/HED/FRK/ME/3.

  • Mitchell, J (2003), “E-business and online learning: connections and opportunities for VET‟, Research Readings, NCVER, Adelaide.

  • Nikitina L., Furuoka F., (2012) “Sharp Focus on Soft Skills: A Case Study of Malaysian University Students' Educational Expectations”, Educational Research for Policy and Practice, vol.11, no.3.

  • Page, C., Wilson, M., and Kolb, D. (1993). Managerial competencies and New Zealand managers: On the inside, looking in. Auckland, New Zealand: University of Auckland.

  • Raymond, M.A., McNabb, D.E., and Matthaei, C.F. (1993). Preparing graduates for the workforce: The role of business education. Journal of Education for Business, March/April.

  • Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. SCANS (1991), “What Work Requires of Schools”, A SCANS Report for America 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor.

  • Smart, K. and Cappel, J. (2006), Students Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study, Journal of Information Technology Education, vol. 5.

  • Spencer, L., and Spencer, S. (1993) Competence at work. New York: Wiley.

  • Trading and Econmoince (2017) retrieved on 09/10/2017 https://tradingeconomics.com/ethiopia/unemployment-rate.

  • Ukpong, E. A. (2001), Introductory Overview. In Ukpong, E.A. (ed.) Bridging Tertiary Institutions and LabourMarke t in Nigeria. National Manpower Board.

  • Umo, J. U. (2001), Education-Employment Connection and the Nigerian Tertiary Graduates: An Analysis of the Missing Links. In Ukpong, E.A. (ed.) Bridging Tertiary Institutions and Labor Market in Nigeria. National Manpower Board.

  • Weligamage S. and Siengthai S. (2003) “Employer Needs and Graduate Skills: The Gap between Employer Expectations and Job Expectations of Sri Lankan University Graduates, 9th International conference on Sri Lanka Studies, 28th – 30th November 2003, Matara, Sri Lanka.


Abstract Views: 279

PDF Views: 73




  • Employers' Expectations and Perceptions of Business and Economics College Graduate's Competencies in Ethiopia

Abstract Views: 279  |  PDF Views: 73

Authors

Hamed M. S. Ahmed
Department of Management, Wollo University, Ethiopia
Teshome Tessma
Department of Management, Wollo University, Ethiopia

Abstract


The Practitioners of every business fields are claiming that graduates have little practical knowledge while the academic institutions will defend their right by setting educational objectives. The aim of the study is to find out the employers' perceptions and expectations of the graduates' competency. The research study employed a descriptive research design with a quantitative research approach. The target population of the study was all the general managers and HR managers of all organizations in South Wollo and Oromiya Zone in Ethiopia. The study sample size was 327 by using a purposive sampling technique. The study revealed that there is a big gap between employers' expectations and the graduates' competency of business and economic college in Ethiopia. The results showed that the respondents said there is a lack of skills, knowledge, and abilities among graduates. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that there is a good and significant relationship between the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the graduates. In addition to that, the study has shown that there is no matching between the university curriculum and market demand. Improving and updating the university curriculum to match the market demand and to fill the gap as well as to provide practical training to the graduates are recommended.

Keywords


Competencies, Ethiopia, Expectations, Employer Perception, Graduates.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.17697/ibmrd%2F2020%2Fv9i2%2F156630