Employability Of Politeknik Melaka Engineering Graduates From Industry And Employer Perspectives In Terms Of Technical Skills And Generic Skills

Abstract

National education aims to produce the leading human capital in terms of skills and knowledge in the field taken through various challenges. It is vital to transforming the Malaysian economy towards achieving developed and high-income status. Therefore, the quantity and quality of graduates born must be the best to meet the standards of the industry and employers. It is the main thrust that contributes towards the success of the country's aspirations. The employability of graduates is the main focus throughout the selection phase to ensure that qualified graduates are accepted to work. Therefore, this marketability study is conducted based on the current situation, which sees various constraints in meeting the criteria set by the industry and employers. This study will be able to reference higher learning institutions, especially the Politeknik Melaka, to prepare graduates to succeed in the hiring process. This study gave questions to several employers and industries that received engineering technical students (Civil, Mechanical and Electrical) who undergo industrial training, including graduates working in the industry. Among the aspects of assessment is their perception of the quality of students and the measure of the quality level of the education system in the polytechnic for a graduate to get a job and career development. The results of the study found that the performance of graduates is excellent, with some weaknesses in some aspects as prescribed by the employer. This critical situation needs to get the attention of the polytechnics through improvements in terms of theoretical and practical learning as well as facilities to achieve the mission and vision of polytechnics as the leading institution of TVET Malaysia.