Does Higher Education Enhance Employability Skills Enough for Today’s Graduates?
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Abstract
Employability skills are a critical component of modern higher education, imparting the tools that students need for modern work life. This paper focuses on what employability skills are critical for Thai graduate employees, what universities and other higher education institutions are doing to impart employability skills to their graduates, and how the Thai higher education curriculum can be enhanced for greater development of both traditional and 21st century employability skills. The study, which is based on a combination of secondary research and curriculum review and comparison across the United States, United Kingdom, and Thailand, proposes curriculum changes to embed employability skills in Thai undergraduate higher education. Recommendations, which include establishing career services departments or functions at universities and embedding employability skills in the undergraduate curriculum, can help the Thai higher education system to catch up in employability skills development.
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