Curriculum, Work Readiness, and Employability in Malaysian Higher Education: Unpacking the Nexus

Abstract

Curriculum design can significantly influence a student’s knowledge and skills, and the student’s ability to employ the knowledge and skills will subsequently determine their individual work readiness and employability in the industry. Inherently, employability of graduates has always been one of the main concerns among employers. In line with this issue, a qualitative study was conducted to investigate the graduates’ readiness for employment in Malaysia, as well as examining the curriculum design of the universities, in order to understand the view of the students’ on the quality of the curriculum design of the Masters at their university. This study adopted focus group discussion that has been conducted in two different universities i.e. one public and one private, that involved 40 participants or 20 participants from each university. The findings indicate the presence of effective module and a moderate comprehensiveness of the Masters program modules which influence the student’s knowledge and skills that are relevant to their jobs, and also their readiness for employment. For the practical implications, universities need to improve their modules and curriculum design to enhance their graduates’ employability chances and to prepare them for any uncertainties