ACADEMIC, PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PREDICTORS OF JOB READINESS : AN INSIGHT FROM RECENT COHORT UNIVERSITY GRADUATES
Keywords:
Graduate employment, Higher education institution, Job competencies, Education policies, Academic excellence
Abstract
The research seeks to explain the impact of academic achievements, personal competencies, institutional features, teaching and learning method and personal development on graduates’ job readiness under the current economic situation. The dramatic changes in unemployment of youth (under 24 of age) started a new debate on the relevance and acquisition of employer-specific skills and competencies obtained from higher education institutions. Following the quantitative approach, data from 611 students who graduated in 2020 and surveyed in 2022 from a public university located in the West Java province of Indonesia, structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, the study evaluates the role and relevance of different skills and competencies obtained from a higher education institution for seeking formal employment. The findings indicate that academic achievements, personal competencies, institutional features and learning and teaching are significant whereas personal development are insignificant contributors to graduates’ job readiness. The results also confirm a significant positive moderating impact of financial support in improving academic achievements, personal competencies and teaching and learning of graduates seeking formal employment. Similarly, the moderating results of job market conditions highlighted as one of the key contributors to pushing graduates to focus on academic excellence, personal competencies and development.
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Altbach, P. G., & Salmi, J. (Eds.). (2011). The road to academic excellence: The making of world-class research universities. World Bank Publications.
Behle, H. (2020). Students’ and graduates’ employability. A framework to classify and measure employability gain. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 4(1), 105-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1712662
BPS. (2025). Unemployment rate was 4.76 percent. The average wage of employees was 3.09 million rupiah. Badan Pusat Statistik Indonesia. https://www.bps.go.id/en/pressrelease/2025/05/05/2432/unemployment-rate-was-4-76-percent--the-average-wage-of-employees-was-3-09-million-rupiah-.html [accessed May 12, 2025].
Cai, Y. (2013). Graduate employability: A conceptual framework for understanding employers’ perceptions. Higher Education, 65, 457-469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9556-x
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Chemli, S., Toanoglou, M., & Roman, J. L. D. V. (2024). Skills mismatch and digital skill shortages in tourism: impact on graduate employment and implications for higher education. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 16(4), 447-465. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTEL.2024.141834
Chusniyah, A., & Makruf, I. & Supriyanto (2025). Two decades of sustainable development studies in higher education management: a bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 26(3), 614-632. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2023-0546
Cranmer, S. (2006). Enhancing graduate employability: best intentions and mixed outcomes. Studies in Higher education, 31(2), 169-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572041
Demissie, M. M., Herut, A. H., Yimer, B. M., Bareke, M. L., Agezew, B. H., Dedho, N. H., & Lebeta, M. F. (2021). Graduates’ unemployment and associated factors in Ethiopia: Analysis of higher education graduates’ perspectives. Education Research International, 2021(1), 4638264. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4638264
Didier, N. (2024). Educational mismatch, labor market completeness, and gender: Evidence from Chile. International Journal of Educational Development, 105, 102990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.102990
Doskeyeva, G. Z., Kuzembekova, R. A., Umirzakov, S. Y., Beimisheva, A. S., & Salimbayeva, R. A. (2024). How can dual education in technical and vocational institutions improve students’ academic achievements and mitigate youth unemployment in Kazakhstan. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1-16.
Ferns, S., Dawson, V., & Howitt, C. (2019). A collaborative framework for enhancing graduate employability. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 20(2), 99-111.
Gousia, K., Baranowska-Rataj, A., Middleton, T., & Nizalova, O. (2021). The impact of unemployment and non-standard forms of employment on the housing autonomy of young adults. Work, Employment and Society, 35(1), 157-177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020936875
Graham, L., & Mlatsheni, C. (2015). Youth unemployment in South Africa: Understanding the challenge and working on solutions. South African Child Gauge, 2, 51-59.
Henseler, J., Dijkstra, T.K., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C.M., Diamantopoulos, A., Straub, D.W. ... and Calantone, R.J. (2014). Common beliefs and reality about PLS: Comments on Rönkkö and Evermann (2013). Organizational Research Methods, 17(2), 182-209.
Hosain, M. S., Mustafi, M. A. A., & Parvin, T. (2023). Factors affecting the employability of private university graduates: an exploratory study on Bangladeshi employers. PSU Research Review, 7(3), 163-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRR-01-2021-0005
Hou, A. Y. C., Yonezawa, A., Chan, S. J., & Mok, K. H. (2023). Crafting the Future of International Higher Education in Asia via Systems Change and Innovation. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1874-4
Huruta, A. D. (2024). Predicting the unemployment rate using autoregressive integrated moving average. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2293305. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2293305
ILO, International Labour Organisation. (2024). Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 - Decent work, brighter futures. International Labour Organization, Geneva: Switzerland.
ILO, International Labour Organisation (2020). Global employment trends for youth 2020: technology and the future of jobs.
Ismail, N. A. (2011). Graduates' characteristics and unemployment: A study among Malaysian graduates. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(16), 94-102.
Jung, J., Wang, Y., & Sanchez Barrioluengo, M. (2024). A scoping review on graduate employability in an era of ‘Technological Unemployment’. Higher Education Research & Development, 43(3), 542-562. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2292660
Justesen, M., & Verner, D. (2007). Factors impacting youth development in Haiti (Vol. 4110). World Bank Publications.
Kennedy, M., Billett, S., Gherardi, S., & Grealish, L. (2015). Practice-based learning in higher education: jostling cultures. In M. Kennedy, S. Billett, S. Gheardi & L. Grealish (Eds), Practice-based learning in higher education : jostling cultures (pp. 114). New York, NY: Springer.
Kibona, B. (2024). Higher education and employability in Tanzania: Students' account. Journal of International Development, 36(1), 254-267. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3820
Kock, N. (2015). Common method bias in PLS-SEM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(4), 1-10.
Hair Jr, J. F., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMDA.2017.087624.
Lane, M. (2025). 2025/38 “Power and Opposition Under Prabowo’s Political Cartel” by Max Lane. ISEAS. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/category/articles-commentaries/page/158/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/ [accessed 20 May 2025].
Lee, D. M., Trauth, E. M., & Farwell, D. (1995). Critical skills and knowledge requirements of IS professionals: A joint academic/industry investigation. MIS Quarterly, 19(3), 313-340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249598
Mekonnen Yimer, B., Herut, A. H., Demissie, M. M., Bareke, M. L., Agezew, B. H., Dedho, N. H., & Lebeta, M. F. (2024). Trends of higher education enrolment, graduation, and employment in Ethiopia: an empirical analysis. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2302623. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2302623
Merie, H. E., Dessie, A. A., & Bizuneh, M. T. (2022). Modelling the transition process from higher education to employment: The case of undergraduates from Debre Markos University. Education Research International, 2022(1), 1119825. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1119825
Mok, K. H., Ke, G. G., & Tian, Z. (2022). Massification and privatization of higher education in east asia: critical reflections on graduate employment from the sociological and political economic perspectives. In International Handbook on Education Development in Asia-Pacific (pp. 1-18). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Nunley, J. M., Pugh, A., Romero, N., & Seals, R. A. (2017). The effects of unemployment and underemployment on employment opportunities: Results from a correspondence audit of the labor market for college graduates. ILR Review, 70(3), 642-669.
Owens, T. L. (2017). Higher education in the sustainable development goals framework. European Journal of Education, 52(4), 414-420. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12237
Qazi, A., & Al-Mhdawi, M. K. S. (2025). Benchmarking higher education excellence: insights from QS rankings. Benchmarking: An International Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-03-2024-0195
Shyiramunda, T., & van den Bersselaar, D. (2024). Local community development and higher education institutions: Moving from the triple helix to the quadruple helix model. International Review of Education, 70(1), 51-85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10037-7
Sikki, N. (2024). Remodellers of female career preference in academia: Does religiosity serve as a mediator?. Studies in the Education of Adults, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2024.2386139
Sovilla, E. S., & Varty, J. (2023). Work-integrated learning: A US history with lessons learned. In The Routledge international handbook of work-integrated learning (pp. 13-28). Routledge.
Suharno, S., Ihsan, F., Himawanto, D. A., Pambudi, N. A., & Rizkiana, R. (2025). Sustainability development in vocational education: a case study in Indonesia. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-01-2024-0018
Taye, H. (2013). Enhancing graduate employability for enhancing the role of higher education in poverty reduction: a gap analysis study with particular reference to private providers operating in Ethiopia. Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 5(1), 64-88.
Ul Hassan, M., Murtaza, A., & Rashid, K. (2025). Redefining higher education institutions (HEIs) in the era of globalisation and global crises: A proposal for future sustainability. European Journal of Education, 60(1), e12822. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12822
UNSECO. (2025). Central and Eastern Europe the Caucasus and Central Asia: lead for inclusion (1st Ed.). UNESCO, Paris: France. https://doi.org/10.54676/OHBP9303
Wahab, M. H. S., Hosen, M., Islam, M. A., Chowdhury, M. A. M., Jantan, A. H., & Wahab, S. A. (2025). Graduate employability: A bibliometric analysis. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 44(2), 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22267
Wardiyanto, B., Setijaningrum, E., Samad, S., & Kandar, A. H. (2025). Mending the mismatch of minds and mandates: reimagining competency-centric public service delivery in Bojonegoro Regency, Indonesia. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), 2442538. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2442538
Wilson, T. (2012). A review of business-university collaboration. London, UK: Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32383/12-610-wilsonreview-business-university-collaboration.pdf [accessed 16 April 2025].
Wiśniewska, M. Z., & Grudowski, P. (2024). The culture of excellence and its dimensions in higher education. The TQM Journal, 36(2), 593-615.
Yoana, Auwalin, I., & Rumayya. (2024). The role of vocational education on unemployment in Indonesia. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2340858. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2340858
Zulkarnaen, W., Fitriani, I., & Yuningsih, N. (2020). Development of Supply Chain Management in the Management of Election Logistics Distribution that is More Appropriate in Type, Quantity and Timely Based on Human Resources Competency Development at KPU West Java. MEA Scientific Journal (Management, Economics, & Accounting), 4(2), 222-243. https://doi.org/10.31955/mea.vol4.iss2.pp222-243.
Published
2025-06-20
How to Cite
Noveria, A. (2025). ACADEMIC, PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL PREDICTORS OF JOB READINESS : AN INSIGHT FROM RECENT COHORT UNIVERSITY GRADUATES. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen, Ekonomi, & Akuntansi (MEA), 9(2), 745-766. https://doi.org/10.31955/mea.v9i2.6000
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