Readiness of Agriculture Undergraduates Towards English Workplace Communication: An Evaluation

Abstract

According to the CareerEDGE Development Profile, employability skills and graduate readiness refer to the subject knowledge, generic skills, employment experience, and also emotional intelligence. Many higher education institutions are aware of the importance of preparing their students for employment. The employment rate reflects the institutions’ credibility since logically education increases productivity and this relates to job performance. This present research was conducted to evaluate undergraduates’ knowledge and readiness towards workplace communication. It focuses on generic writing skills as well as language skills in general and also workplace documents. A survey using questionnaire was conducted among second year agriculture students taking English for Employment module at a public university in Malaysia. The results indicated that graduates are aware of most of the generic and language skills required but some are not confident of their abilities. The result from this research will benefit academics who are teaching finishing schools or courses related to preparing undergraduates for the workplace.