The Importance of Generic Skills for Technical and Vocational Students Employability

Abstract

Technical and vocational education is no longer a "second class" option in the eye of the community because of its significant role in producing human capital for industries. Hence, consistent efforts have been done by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to enhance the students’ skills and capability. Recently, a lot of graduates are unable to secure a job after graduating because of a failure to meet the employer's expectation. The reasons are because employers normally have their preference criteria in recruitment, such as having a good employability skills. Therefore, this concept paper has been developed in order to study the importance of generic skills in improving the employability of Malaysian vocational students. The "CareerEDGE" model have been used to further discuss the relevant generic skills needed by TVET students in Malaysia. In addition, the elements of generic skills that are important to vocational students will be identified then it will be presented to the stakeholder, which are The Malaysia Ministry of Education in formulating effective vocational education and training strategies towards the development of high skilled and competitive graduates. In this study, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, communication skills and leadership skills have been discovered as the main components of generic skills to be addressed to vocational school students. As a conclusion, generic skills should be applied thoroughly by all parties because it will benefit the student by improving their skills and self-esteem in order to compete in the career world. Keywords: Generic skills, Employability, Technical and Vocational Education Introduction