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involving the various industry-linked projects undertaken in the workplace (Yimie, 2018). When industry placements are not available, WIL organises learning experiences in an educational setting (Rothwell & Rothwell, 2017). Such approaches cannot be used to make a complete or perfect real-life work experience. WIL has proved very successful and is now viewed with great favour in higher education (Smigiel, Macleod & Stephenson, 2015). The following section addresses employability.
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definition of employability, this results in an indefinite number of personal interpretations and debates. Researchers perceive employability in unique ways (World Bank, 2017; PWC, 2017b;
Rothwell & Rothwell, 2017; Walker et al., 2015; The Finch et al. study, 2016; Tran, 2015;
Jackson, 2015). As a result, these unique approaches have allowed many definitions of employability to emerge.
2.2.2 Employability in the International Landscape
The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (2014) adopted a new benchmark on the employability of graduates from education and training. The new standard measures the outcome of training and education on transferring graduates from a university (education) to the workplace (employment). Employability is complicated in structure and exists in multiple faceted concepts. Many researchers recognise trouble in using employability’s definition free from ambiguity (World Bank, 2017). Employability is represented in three stages of education, such as (1) the preparation for employment, (2) the transfer of a student from education to employment, and (3) the remaining of graduates in employment and their continuous trend towards building up knowledge in a career (Clarke, 2017). The analysis of the scale of measurement of employability and the separation into its parts by the level of education in 2017, shows that the employment rates for graduates at EU-level who departed from education or training with tertiary education were 80.8% (Eurostat, 2018). Tertiary graduates may take employment in jobs designated for non-graduates because they wish to enter the labour market.
They boost the employment rate of graduates from the university while lowering the employment rates for other graduates. Statistics Eurostat (2018) shows that in Malta, the employment rates of graduates were 96.6% and for Germany, 90.6%. These rates are twice as high as those registered in Greece (49.2%) or Italy (52.9%). For graduates in countries, such as Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom, the employment rates were above 82% of the benchmark target (EU Labour Force Survey, 2018). Research from Graduate Careers Australia (Graduate Careers Australia, 2014) claims the employment rate to be 76.6%, while, in America, the employment rate for graduates is 90.9% (Statista, 2017).
2.2.3 Discourses around Employability
The Economist Intelligence Unit (2014) states that although the various definitions of employability try to simplify it by giving it different levels, the term has remained vague and abstract. Therefore, how people /the two parties understand employability is susceptible to
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change because graduates, as potential employees, and employers have different perceptions of the term. This assumption proves that graduates and employers use the same definition of employability. Walker et al., (2015) argue that it is difficult to create a unique meaning for employability, researchers and graduates having unique perspectives on the subject. Their divergent views of employability would depend on the employable person, what employers need or centre on developing graduate characteristics. Many researchers contend that there should be a systemic definition of employability accepted by all, comprising the training and preparing of graduates. Employability should cover the wants and demands of employers (Hillage & Pollard, 1998; Burgess et al., 2018; OECD 2016; Gore, 2005; Rothwell & Rothwell, 2017). Speight et al., (2013) in their definition of employability include the skills needed by employers and developing graduates at the workplace. However, employers recognise that employability goes beyond filling skills shortages in an organisation (Nankervis et al., 2018). Monteiro et al.,2016) believes that a graduate’s employability can be viewed in two approaches: the possessive and the processual. Graduates who own and apply a list of skills and capacities adopt a possessive attitude. Those graduates who adapt to and enjoy their social, cultural and higher education environment use the processual approach. However, the way graduates move from the school to work is known as the procedural approach. The possessive attitude is the most reliable approach in developed countries. However, many factors such as economic performance and the circumstances of the labour market may dictate which perspective will be used.
Yorke (2006:37) calls for a “set of achievements–skills, understandings, and personal qualities.”
Similar expressions call for care, for example, “skills” cover various exercises including both what we associate with academia and employability skills. Harvey affirms this issue and repeats that “employability is and defined” can give the gist of the most concise explanation of the meaning of employability as approved by Rothwell and Arnold (2007:5). In simple terms, both researchers describe employability as “the ability to keep the job one has or to get the job one wants.” Mohd Salleh et al., (2018), offers a signal that employability is more than gaining employment and so the lack of cohesion or clarity continue around defining employability. Thus, interns gain employability skills in a work context at the employers’ workplaces. Both employers and HEIs, therefore, play critical roles in employability skills. They have to propose how to develop the employability skills they will deliver to the graduates’ course at the universities and workplaces to achieve results. Business Magazine and Verde Frontier Employability Survey (2016) conclude that the employers should name the skills they need since they will be the user of these skills. Academics/lecturers consider it their responsibility to produce professionals who
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are work-ready on graduation. However, they admit that graduates learn and develop employability skills through many experiences in the place of work. The Report on
“Employability Skills for the Future” published the eight most common soft skills that employers need (Prikshat et al., 2018). The eight most common soft skills comprise “communication skills, teamwork skills, problem-solving skills, self-management skills, planning and organising skills, technological skills, lifelong learning skills, and initiative and enterprise skills” (DEST, 2002:
7). The theoretical knowledge of employability skills that graduates learn at universities now applies in the workplace under supervising professional employees (ILO, 2016; Khare, 2016).
Graduates agree that they had the chance to take part in a scheduled programme and worked under supervising professional workers (Walker et al., 2015). Workshop experiences give graduates the possibility of developing work skills, understanding the workplace (Business Council of Australia, 2017).