An Investigation of the Existence of 21st Century Employability Skills among Higher Education Graduates: A Case Of Botho University

Abstract

Employability has become a vital issue in every profession in the 21st century knowledge economy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of 21st century employability skills among higher education graduates in Botswana, taking Botho university (BU) as a case study. A survey of extant literature was conducted to grasp what different other authorities have written on the issue of graduate employability skills in the 21st century. The study adopted the positivist and interpretivist research paradigms culminating in a mixed method approach in collecting and analysing data. The quantitative method was dominant in this study. The questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data from a large sample, while interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from a small sample to corroborate quantitative findings. A total of 108 supervisors from a population of 150 were used as the sample size. Gathered data was then analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). The findings indicated that BU graduates lacked employability skills making it difficult for them to be employed soon after graduation without the need for further training. The respondents believed that BU graduates did not have adequate communication, analytical, collaborative and innovative and entrepreneurial skills which are critical enhancers of graduate employability in the 21st century. The study recommends that graduates should be involved in activities that can enhance their employability skills during the learning process such as role play, effective class participation and collaborative learning as measures that can enhance graduate employability